31 Days of Green Little Things: Turn Off The TV

Welcome back to my 31 Days of Green Little Things!  This is my place to talk about the little things that I do to help the environment.  I'm glad you're here.

O.K., I admit it.  We don’t watch TV.  We're weird… except for a few hours on Sunday afternoons around this time of year and a couple times over the summer to watch Michael Phelps swim.  Admittedly, we spend more time playing football than actually watching it though.  It's been this way for the a couple years and do you know what I notice most about TV now?  Nope, this isn't an energy post... until the end.  It’s that there are so many commercials!!! 

When we take a break from TV, we take a break from commercials.  When we take a break from commercials, we actually feel better about ourselves… or at least I do.

Our family gave us their "old" TV to replace our old school tube TV.

Now when the TV’s on, all I see are commercials telling me how this new kind of junk food will make me skinnier/stronger/smarter, how "great" the fuel economy is on new trucks, how crappy my cell phone is, how much of a “must see” every movie/TV show is, and how everything we know and love is doomed if the other person is elected!  O.K., I get it.  I studied Mass Communications for my Master’s degree… but whoa!  After a prolonged TV break, commercials are intense! 

Commercials just make us want to waste (I mean spend) our hard-earned money on things we don’t really need.  Wasting more of our resources – financial and environmental.

I know if I paid for cable/dish/satellite I could just skip all of those but last year I heard about a study on how much energy is used by those cute little signal boxes. I guess it makes sense that a DVR would consume so much energy.  It is working 24/7 - just in case.  But more than a fridge?!  Plus, the few dollars it costs in energy would feel like nothing compared to the monthly bill.  

Are you still reading?  Really? I’m a little surprised but very happy.  And, guess what!  I’m not even going to suggest you stop watching TV.  I mean it would be cool if you tried to go a week or even a day without it but this is about little things and that might rock your world!  Just try to be more mindful of the TV you watch.  Don’t use it for background noise.  Don't watch the show after "your" show.   Put it on a power strip and turn it off when you finish watching.

(More on phantom loads another day.)

And maybe most importantly, don’t believe all those commercials! You don't need that stuff!  Most people are happier with less.  Seriously, you’re cool.

So are you up for it?  Can you turn off the TV when no one is actually watching it?  Don't tell me it's on while you were reading this post...  (Oh, and feel free to call me out on the fact that I did not post this on a Sunday!)

Peace,

Stacey

To follow other "31 Days" journeys, check out The Nester.  She's hosting this party.  Thanks for the motivation to join this year.
I started a Facebook page for my blog.  "Like" it if you're so inclined.