Mililani Blog

This is my first blog posting of the year.  I still haven’t figured out where we want to take this blog.  We do know that we want to share information with the community,  and want others to also post information on a variety of topics.  We welcome your ideas.

As Barak Obama becomes our next president, many are looking forward to seeing what the new administration and Congress will do to reverse our slumping economy.

What steps having you been taking to adjust to what’s been happening?

In our own household, we haven’t done much to reduce spending, except for our utility bill.  We recently turned-off our outside fridge, installed compact flourescents, and replaced our top-loading washer with a new energy-saver front loading model.  Many of our neighbors installed solar water heating, but we opted not to.  We instead installed a timer on our water heater.  We added solar fans a few months ago to reduce the need for air-conditioning, and we now grow more vegetables in our small strip garden.

We planted eggplant seeds and cress (which isn’t doing well because of the rain), and just started  a 2-year project to grow asparagus (Twin Bridge Farms variety), first in egg cartons, then eventually in soil.  We added a dwarf apple banana plant few months ago, which is now over seven feet tall.  We replaced our gas mower, with a push-mower from a garage sale.  It gives me a good work-out, and I find that I’m mowing our lawn more frequently because it’s convenient and easy to use.

We’ve also done a lot of house-cleanning in the new year, sorting through the clutter accumulated over many years, and discarding or giving them away.  Our resolution for the new year is make-do with less, and to stop buying things that are really not necessities.

What have you been doing in the past year, and what do you plan to do in the new year to adjust to the slumping economy?