Dealing With Curbside Waste and Recycle Collection

When I was growing up in small town Ontario (population 2,000) we had garbage collection weekly.  There was no recycling but at the same time there was a heck of a lot less packaging, bottles and can to deal with.  Still they were either reused in the home or tossed.  Each fall leaves were raked and burned by residents.  The corner grocery store had a burn barrel as did a few other residents.  After several years of renting, we bought our first home in small town Ontario (population 10,000).  Shortly after that the municipality tried to force everyone to have huge garbage bins on wheels to be picked up by a special garbage truck.  That plan was about as popular as a ton of bricks falling on your head.  We went back to using our own garbage pails and garbage bags.  A couple of years after buying our second home the same town introduced recycling.  It was limited at best but seemed to be catching on if you could keep your blue box from walking away.  By the time we bought our third house in the same town, waste and recycling collection was getting a bit more advanced.  Still there were many times we put both out the night before without problems.  Then we bought our fourth and fifth house, semi-rural and rural respectively.

It did not take us long to realize putting garbage out at night was the perfect invitation for all types of wildlife so we got into the habit of putting it out in the morning.  That was fun because they usually picked up our garbage about 6:45 AM.  We decided to move back to our home town shortly after buy our vacation home in Florida so we bought our sixth and likely last house.  We have had to learn a whole new curbside collection system.

Waste is collected weekly here and recyclables every other week.  The collection crew is about the testiest I've ever encountered.  They are unionized so they won't take more than four full sized garbage bags of waste and if there is anything, even one small thing that shouldn't be in the recycle bins (blue for bottles, cans, plastics; black for fiber) then they leave it where it is.  We put out a see through blue recycle bag full of tin can, the very same kind sold in local stores that we've been using for at least the past 10 years, and they left it.  I called the municipality who told us they should have taken it BUT union rules states they do not have to take any recyclables that are not in the appropriate bins.  The weight limit for waste and bins is 40 lb each. 

So, two weeks ago we missed both waste and recycle collection because it was the day after a stat holiday so collection is a day delayed.  We noticed others had their bins out but we had a torrential downpour so I was waiting for it clear before putting out the garbage pail and bins.  The trucks went by in the pouring rain so nothing was collected.  Last Tuesday we were away so nothing was put out.  Tomorrow I have two black bins, two blue bins and two kitchen sized bags of garbage.  So that isn't too bad.  It will be nice when we finally see the bulk of the crushed cardboard boxes gone from our move.  There's a lot right now because I went on a binge emptying packed boxes.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

New Recycling Bins

Our municipality announced that we would be getting new recycling bins this week but we had to pick them up ourselves.  The great news is not only are they larger but they are FREE!  When we moved here last September there were no recycling bins even though the previous owner should have left them with the property.  We have a 2-stream recycling program using a black box for fibre products and a blue box for food, beverage and liquid containers.  The first couple of times we put our blue box items in clear blue recycle bags and they wouldn't take them so I called the town.  They said the recyclables had to be in a bin so I asked for bins.  They said it would be $10 a piece to which I told them we just moved in and there were no bins.  Finally, they gave the two bins for free but only because there weren't any here.

Apparently our municipality is concerned that recycling has reached a plateau in the community and may even be declining.  They are issuing the free bins as an incentive to increase recycling to prevent recyclable items from ending up in the general garbage.  In reality, recycling is not the answer.  It costs money for picking up the recyclables and transporting them to the recycling plant and all that gasoline used to do so is leaving a very big carbon footprint.  Personally, we do not need larger recycling bins.  You see, foods put up are home canned (everything from beans (eg. baked beans) to soups, to stews, jams, jellies, fruits, vegetables, meats, fish and poultry) or home dried or frozen.  I use mason jars for home canning and those jars get used a multitude of times until they break which is rather rare. That means we buy very little in the way of foods packaged in cans, glass jars or plastic.  We cook mainly from scratch and we are very careful in avoiding excess packaging.  We compost and a soon to be installed garburator will take care of just about everything we can't compost.  We don't have a newspaper subscription and very seldom buy magazines.  Honestly, it takes us over a month just to fill the two recycling bins we have right now! 

Quite frankly, the municipality should rethink their plan.  Instead of larger recycle bins they should be encouraging reducing and in fact they are to some degree.  I do think that is part of the trend they are seeing really.  Those who are eco-friendly are already reducing to begin with and manufacturers are reducing packaging.  The Ontario government has implemented a 5¢ per plastic bag mandatory surcharge for all businesses so there are less plastic bags being used.  Many are using cloth shopping bags, cardboard boxes or plastic bins at grocery stores.  Still, I don't see this trend in other stores though.  Our municipality has also started a website where you can post items you want to get rid of or for items you want.  The problem is Kijiji and the local Freecycle already cover this need.  Our municipality is trying so what it really needs is support from the community.  Nothing that can go into the recycle bins should ever be put into the garbage

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

Still Unpacking

We started moving here September 1, 2011 with being fully moved in on the 15th when we took official possession as owners.  Here it is ten months later and we are still unpacking!  In fairness, we were at our vacation home for a total of eleven of those weeks.  Then the house was disrupted as we've had rooms being painted as well as various service people and our custom woodworker in.  My husband could not start unpacking his larger sports and music collection until the custom shelving was finished for the games room.  It was installed a couple of weeks ago so more boxes are getting emptied.

Summer is upon us so that has meant outdoor work to be done in addition to the heavier canning season starting.  We opened the pool which translates into more company.  Our boat is in the water but we haven't had her out yet.  So we have a lot less indoor time to unpack and get things organized.  Still we are plugging along trying to get a box or two unpacked each day.  As we unpack we do a bit of culling out.  Even though we did a lot of decluttering preparing for the move, clearly we still have too much stuff!  Not only that, we have cardboard boxes to crush and moving bins to store which tend to take up a lot of room until dealt with.  If we keep at it, everything should be unpacked and dealt with by the end of summer.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

Lock Those Windows to Reduce Air Infiltration

Our first home was a duplex with fairly decent windows then we bought our turn of the century home.  It had old wood windows with no locks on them and storm windows to make them a bit more energy efficient.  By storm windows, I mean storm windows.  We took the glass storms off when the nicer weather hit, replacing them with screens and visa versa when the cooler weather hit.  Now this was the way it was when I was growing up so I thought that was the norm.  We lived there for eleven years, tolerating all of the drafts.  When we bought our next house, a back-split in a nice subdivision, I discovered windows don't need to be drafty.  Fast forward to this house, built in 1994.  The windows have built-in locks.

Window locks are more than providing security.  I have a lot of problems with my ears so aside of the intense itching, certain noises seriously hurt my ears and they don't have to be loud either.  Think, the low hum of the refrigerator or that low whistling of air coming in a window just cracked open.  Shortly after moving in, we had the AC on and all the windows shut.  I could hear a whistling that almost drove me nuts trying to find where it was coming from.  Eventually I tracked it down to our bedroom where we had shut but not locked the window.  What was happening is the AC was causing a small amount of air to be sucked in that window.  I locked the window and the noise went away.  Most would not ever have noticed the slight whistle but because my ears are so sensitive, I noticed it. 

Locking your windows when using your HVAC system saves you money.  The lock pulls the window tighter, creating a more effective seal preventing air leakage or air infiltration.  If your windows do not have locks and they should for security purposes, it is quite an easy and inexpensive DIY project.  So do take advantage of window locks to help save a bit of energy and money using your HVAC system.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

Our Executive Home

We moved into our new to us home in September of 2011.  It is in an 'estate' subdivision.  The house was billed as being an executive home when it was built in 1994 and each time it has been on the market it was billed as such.  The house itself is gorgeous with some nice features (eg. marble/ceramic flooring, laminate flooring, ceramic tile countertop, interlay brick driveway and sidewalks) but in our opinion is lacking a lot of features that we would consider being standard in an executive home.  The rooms are large and spacious, the exterior is lovely but the gardens and interior need updating.  The front garden beds in particular are a real cliche, seriously being ripped completely out and starting from scratch.  Both decks basically need to be rebuilt and the fence needs to be replaced but the pool deck is simply horrid.  All of the lighting fixtures need updating and of course the interior needs painting to suit our tastes.  We have a lot of plans for this house.  Essentially, what we need to do is a lot of upgrades and improvements to bring our house up to what is expected in an executive home.  Here's a few of them with those already completed marked accordingly:

• garburator - Unless prohibited by the local bylaws, a garburator (kitchen disposal) is an expectation with most moderate to high end houses.  This house does not have one or if it ever did, it was removed.  We have bought a garburator but have not installed it yet.   It should be installed within the next week or so depending on time restraints.
• central vacuum - This really is an expectation in any moderate to high priced house in our area.  They are inexpensive (under $1,000) and very easy to install during a new home build.   We installed a Hoover central vac about two months ago.  
• pool/decking - If a pool is installed in higher priced houses in our area, it is usually an in ground model.   The previous owners installed an above ground pool here rather than an in ground.  There are two reasons for this with the first being the cost and the second being a possible buried obstacle.  Line locates did not indicate any buried utility lines.  We are replacing both decks to form one large deck giving a nice finished edge around the pool and covering almost the entire back yard in decking.
• fencing - The existing fencing may have met the code when the pool was installed but it certainly does not meet the current code for pool fencing.  It provides little in the way of privacy and is in need of repair.  We are replacing the fencing incorporating it into the decking to give privacy while meeting the current code.
• landscaping - Landscaping really creates the curb appeal of a house so even low priced houses are expected to be neatly landscaped.  Higher priced homes in our area are often professionally landscaped.  On first glance our property has lovely gardens but they are really over grown, weed filled and poorly planned.  The front garden beds were edged with the brick raised walls but poorly done.  I really don't like the look of the raised walls so have already removed it from the small garden between the sidewalk and garage on the west side.  That bed has been revamped with a trellis, clematis and red cedar chips.  I am working at cleaning out the larger front bed that will also have red cedar chips and all new plantings.  The front bed will wrap around the west side of the house.  The small garden bed between the garage and sidewalk on the east side will also have the red cedar chips and two trellises with clematis.  I'm using the less is more philosophy for the plantings in the gardens, a naturalization method for crocuses in the front yard, and container plants combined with climbing flowering vines to soften the fences of the new decking.
• front porch - Our front porch is a cement slab about 4' x 10' raised about 1' with a small, half-circle step to the sidewalk.  It is plain and non-descript. We are resurfacing it with a concrete decorative finish. 
• interior - Most of the interior upgrades needed are decorative as in fresh, updated paint colours.  We are replacing the sinks and countertops in the bathrooms as well as adding custom built wood trim and built-ins.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

Ten Home Improvements That Reduce Air Conditioning Costs

There is no doubt about it, the cost of electricity is continuing to climb.  We now have TOU pricing with the highest rate falling between 11 AM and 5 PM from May 1 to October 31.  Unfortunately, this covers the hottest time of the day (12 PM to 4 PM) precisely when air conditioning is needed the most.  There are several low to moderate cost home improvements that can help reduce your air conditioning costs.  Here are a few of them:

1. If your HVAC is older than 20 years the recommendation is to replace it with new, energy efficient models that use less electricity.  There are grants available in Ontario to help offset the cost of replacement if doing both at the same time. (about $7,000 to $15,000)
2. If your furnace is working fine and under 20 years old, you can replace the AC unit only. (about $2,000 to $3,000, professionally installed)
3. If your HVAC is newer than 20 years old but has the older style blower motor, it is possible to replace the motor with a new, energy efficient one that uses less electricity. (about $100 to $350, DIY)  Savings on this replace will be about $500 per year.
4. Plant shade trees strategically to help shade the house.  (about $50 to $1,000 depending on size of tree).  Larger trees will need a backhoe to plant them (about $200 for one man, 2 hours labour)
5. Plant non-invasive flowering vines (eg. clematis, climbing roses) on trellises on the east and west walls of your home.  (about $50 per trellis, $15 per plant) This will help shade the walls keeping the interior of your house cooler.  Do not plant invasive or damaging vines like English ivy or Trumpet vine on your house as both attract mosquitoes and spiders.  Both damage exterior surfaces of your house and English ivy in particular attracts rodents.
6. Install solar window film to lessen solar gain in the summer and thermal loss during the winter.  (about $300, DIY to $1,000, installed depending on number of windows and sizes).
7. Seal your house to prevent cooled air from leaking out or hot air from entering into your home.  (about $2 per tube of caulk, DIY)  Weather strip doors and windows to prevent air leakage. (about $10 to $30 per door, $5 per window)
8. Replacement windows can greatly reduce both your heating and cooling costs.  If you can't retrofit your windows with weather stripping, caulk or second pane of window, consider replacing them with energy efficient, double or triple pane windows.  Whole house window replacement (about $3,000 to $5,000) can be a DIY project or you have have them professionally installed usually in one day.  
9. Install awnings on your windows and doors.  This is an age old method of shading windows and doors.  They can be wood, aluminum or fabric and some are retractable.  You can install them on all your windows if you want a uniform look although awnings installed on north facing windows will make those rooms considerably darker, or install just on problem windows and doors like an south, east or west facing patio door.  Not only does an awning installed on a patio door shade the room indoors, it creates a shaded outdoor sitting area as well.  (about $200 per window depending on size)
10. Install a seasonal gazebo off your patio doors.  This will shade the patio giving you a nice outdoor dining or sitting area while also shading the interior of the room.  (about $400, DIY)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012

Ten Ways to Save on Air Conditioning

Our previous home was rural, on waterfront property with fairly dense shade cover and good cooling breezes so we only turned the air conditioning on when the humidity levels were high.  This house in in an urban subdivision backing onto a small field.  There is virtually no shade that affects the house other than when the sun hits noon and later the deck on the east side of the house gradually gets shadier.  The attached garage likely helps on the entrance level as it shades from the morning sun as while it is warm it is not a hot as the sun would be.  We have had a couple of weeks of rather hot weather with temperatures reaching a high of 32ºC/90ºF range but with the humidex feeling like 38ºC/100ºF and UV index 8 (very high) and smog alerts.  That means the air conditioning is really working over time.  Here are ten things we are doing to save on our air conditioning costs:

1. We close the window treatment on any window receiving sun until the sun is completely off the window.
2. The temptation is to keep the main entrance door open and screen door close but that lets in a lot of heat so we have been keeping the main entrance door closed.
3. We closed the HVAC registers on the lower level that is partially below grade and always cooler.
4. We have all lights turned off during the day with the exception of the bathroom as there is no natural light source but only when absolutely needed.
5. Cooking has been kept to on the outdoor grill, very minimally indoors (eg. toaster) but only if absolutely needed.
6. We have been making low or no cook meals (eg. BLTs, meal style no cook sandwiches, meal sized no cook salads)  on the extremely hot days.
7. Any home canning that has to be done (and that's inevitable) has been done on the odd cooler day, earlier in the morning when I could open the patio doors and the hot water from the BWB canner dumped immediately after processing was complete.
8. We have refrained from using heat producing appliances like the blow dryer, curling iron, clothes iron, dryer, oven and anything else that produces heat on the extremely hot days as well a very minimally during the recent heat wave.
9. We keep our thermostat set to 24ºC/75ºF which is quite comfortable without the humidity in the house.
10. We minimize opening any exterior door during the heat of the day (12 PM to 4:00 PM).

Garden Gnome
©2006-2012