A Week Away From Home

I have been on Spring break since Monday. Getting a break from school is great but I always worry when leaving all my possessions for a week. I had to fight the urge to leave a light on in my apartment. Growing up, every time my family left on trips for days at a time we left a light on in the living room. I suppose the purpose was to make people think we were home, hopefully preventing break-ins. It seems like such a waste to me to leave lights on for days at a time. After I graduated and moved out of the house, my mother found a timer to plug a lamp into to save energy. The gadget turns the lamp on everyday during a certain time period for as long as you wish. Although the light is only appreciated by the cats when we are away, this little device gives my mom piece of mind while saving some energy during the day and preserving the light bulb as well.
I decided against leaving a light on because the guilt of all the wasted energy would have eaten at me over the week. Another thing I did to save energy while not at home was to unplug all small appliances. As I have mentioned in a previous entry, I have been trying to unplug things like the toaster and blender after using them. This has proven harder to remember than I thought it would be, unfortunately. But for a whole week lamps, alarm clocks, computers, and air fresheners will all be unplugged as well as the toaster and blender. Also, the temperature in both the refrigerator and the thermostat were adjusted. It took some convincing my roommates to raise the temperature a few degrees in the frig but I finally got their permission. My logic is no one will be there to open and close the frig, letting cool air out, and no one is leaving meat there for a whole week. Other products don’t need to be kept quite as cool, right? Hopefully we won’t return to any spoiled foods.