The Sewing Mom

The Sewingmom has been hearing so much about the energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs.  These bulbs save in so many ways.  These bulbs save money because the use 75% less electricity to get the same amount of light as a conventional light bulb.  The CFL bulbs last up to six times longer than a regular bulb which means a consumer has to buy fewer bulbs, and CFL bulbs do not burn as hot so they add less waste heat to your home or work environment. 

So, is there any disadvantage to using CFLs?  I’ve been asking this for a while now, ever since I learned on the local news that CFLs contain mercury.  The concern is this, what happens when the CFL bulb reaches the end of its useful life and gets tossed into the trash can?  Where does the mercury from inside the light bulb go?  Does it get into the ground in the landfill? 

I found my answer today in the September addition of the Texas Co-Op Power magazine.  The headline reads “Use Care When Disposing of CFLs”.  Okay, this does NOT sound good! Fortunately, the article stated that the level of toxic metal in a CFL’s tubing only about 5 milligrams.  This is a relatively small amount compared to a mercury thermometer which contains about 500 mg.  (Older mercury thermometers contain about 5,000 mg!)  Still, what happens to these CFLs when they are disposed of or even worse, accidentally broken?  Where does the mercury go?

There are definite guidelines for handling CFLs and I think these should be included in the packaging of all CFLs.

If a CFL is broken:

1.  Open windows and sweep up bulb fragments with a broom or vacuum.  DO NOT USE YOUR HANDS!
2. Wipe the area with a damp paper towel to get all the glass fragments.
3. Put all fragments and used paper towels into a plastic bag, seal the bag and place in an outside trash bin.
4. Wash your hands.

When a CFL has reached the end of its useful life:

1. Recycle it or take it to a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Site
2. If #1 can’t be done, seal the bulb in a plastic bag and place it in an outside trash bin.

While I’m still not clear about the level of mercury that will get into our landfills, I do feel somewhat more comfortable knowing there are more advantages than disadvantages to using CFLs.  What do you think?

Linked to Kate – Bite Me

Step #14 is to create unique, quality content and you should spend 99% of your blogging time doing exactly this. When I first opened my blog this morning and thought about what I could write, my initial thought was to write about my previous days activities. Then I realized, thankfully, that for readers this would be about as boring and mundane as watching the grass grow. Nobody wants to read about what the Sewingmom does on a daily basis, everybody else does pretty much the same thing, so it would not be very interesting to read about. However, if something unique happens to you during the day, write about it! We have adopted a rather unique puggle puppy and I do enjoy writing about her. While not unique, I also enjoy including pictures on my site whenever possible, I believe readers find them enjoyable. Another example of unique writing is Marcus’ Interactive Movie Reviews.

I have visited a few sites where I had trouble reading posts due to lack of quality. One tip I would give is once you write your post, read it back to yourself, out loud if possible. This is when you will more than likely catch incomplete sentences and incomplete thoughts. Make sure your thoughts flow and are organized so your reader can follow them and understand what it is you’re trying to say.  The second thing I would highly recommend is to use spell check if you have it. I know Wordpress offers it in their post writing and with a simple click Sewingmom can make sure all words are spelled correctly, making for more enjoyable post reading.

Plinko’s is growing so much and so fast!  She had her 2nd vet visit last week and weight 10 lbs, that almost double what she weighed one month previous.  We are still putting eyedrops in her eyes to help her tear ducts develop, but it’s nothing serious and other than that she’s very healthy.  The vet just loves her, he goes on and on about her when he sees her and likes to hug her!  It’s rather funny since he is an older gentleman to see him gush over her the way he does. 

Her potty training is going pretty well too.  She’s had one accident free day and most days usually only has one or two accidents in the house and they usually tend to be right in front of the back door.  She just needs to figure out that she needs to whine or something so we know she’s at the door!  We did learn at puppy training that it helps to not leave their water out all day and night, so we’ve started picking it up around 7 in the evening.  This is around the time she usually gets pretty hyper and has her accidents, so picking up the water just means she has less liquid to get rid of and it has definitely helped.

Her personality is really coming out, she’s actually very funny.  One thing she does that always makes us laugh is when she watches t.v..  She usually just sits and watches whatever catches her attention, but yesterday a trained dog was on the television and it caught her eye.  I think she wanted to play with this other dog and was mad because she couldn’t get to it.  I snapped a quick picture while we were laughing.

Step #13 is to Give Your Blog it’s Own Unique Voice.  I agree with Marcus, this step is basically a repeat of Step 8 – Let Your Readers See the Real You. At The Coffee House a reader can learn quite a bit about the Sewingmom and learn about better blogging right along with her! When writing posts, be sure to use your own words, your own feelings, your own sentiments. This will allow a reader to feel like they are getting to know you, even if you never meet. This is especially important if you choose to do paid blogging on occasion. Your readers will enjoy reading about you and will accept the fact that you also get paid to blog now and again.

School started here yesterday and today the Sewingmom (me) did my first stint as a volunteer for my daughter’s new school.  I signed up to work as a “copy mom” which means I go in and run copies for teachers and do laminating and miscellaneous clerical type things.  This is a position I did as a volunteer when my daughter was in 1st grade and I did it as a paid employee for the last 5 years as a classroom aide. 

Since moving here in April I have felt out of place and not know anyone, this sewingmom felt somewhat alone.  Even though I’ve had a ton of stuff to do around the house, unpacking, decorating, painting, cleaning, etc., it’s not the same when you’re used to getting up & going to work every day.  Today, I felt back in the swing of things for the first time since we moved.  It made me really glad that I I signed up to do this and even more glad that I was called to do it!  I was assigned to go every Tuesday morning and I think I will look forward to that. 

I signed up for a few other volunteer positions at the school so I’ll have to wait and see if I get called for any of those.  Right now I don’t plan on returning to work, I’d like to enjoy some time off.  I do have a few things I’d like to try for myself and I think this is my opportunity to do those things.  So, for now I feel like the Sewingmom has gotten back on track and I look forward to moving on.

What type of volunteer work do you do?

By the way, I did remember to take 1st day of school pictures yesterday, after school! I could sure use the brand new HP Photosmart Printer being given away in a contest at 5 Minutes for Mom. Go on over and enter, it’s very simple!