Make Sweater Day everyday

Did you participate in National Sweater Day on Feb 5?

Not just to clean out your closet

This movement to draw attention to energy conservation started in 2010, and is a day in which you are asked to wear a sweater and turn down your thermostat.

According to stats from the World Wildlife Federation, heating accounts for about 80 percent of the residential energy use in Canada (which makes sense, given the depth and length of our chilly winter). Additionally, this energy use accounts for a major source of emissions. They say that if you lower your thermostat by just 2 degrees, you can “reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 4 megatons – equivalent to shutting down a 600 mega watt coal-fired power station.”

Wow- can you imagine what that might translate into for your energy bill? Wearing your sweater shouldn’t just be confined to one day. When you save energy, you are saving money at the same time. Win win.

Make sweater wearing-fun

Is there a better event in the world than the chance to parade around an ugly sweater? Other than the obvious tongue-in-cheek fashion function, making a point to don a sweater can have some budgetary benefits for you as well.

Get out your great-aunt’s hand knitted special. The more pom-poms the better.

Now that you are a conservationist…

Now that you see the clear financial (along with environmental) benefit to energy conservation, why not let this abundance spill into other areas in your life?

Get your family on board to make changes and adopt energy-saving habits. Not in a room? Turn the lights off as you leave. Every time. Even if you are coming back (which is my kids’ favourite response).

Have a quick shower instead of a bath, saving energy, money and time.

Be mindful of the hour that you are using some of your power house appliances. Do laundry and run the dishwasher during non-peak energy hours (peak hours run from 7am-11am and again from 5:00pm- 7:00pm.

The best savings are in the middle of the night. I always set my dishwasher on a delay to run in the wee hours of the morning.