Home Brewed Benefits (Coffee...yum)

I love coffee so much. I recently adjusted my sleeping habits from 3am-11am to about 12am-8am. Even though it's the same number of hours, I feel more productive. Before it felt like by the time I became a functioning person, the rest of the working world was closing.

Part of the reason I got on that sleep schedule was because I couldn't find any motivation to get up at an earlier hour. I am not in school. I am not working (on disability). And because I didn't have a schedule for myself, I just floundered.

Then someone gave me a French press and coffee grinder, and they changed my life. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, haha, but hear me out.

I find the process of brewing coffee to be very calming and methodical. I start with beans that are Fair Trade Certified, so I know that they are great quality and that the farmers who grew them were paid fair wages. Then, while I'm heating up the water, I typically wash out my French press from the previous morning, haha.

During this whole process, I focus on each step. I consider each a small accomplishment. I know that sounds weird, but I somehow tell myself that I could be brewing the easy way. This way is longer, does not require a paper filter, and achieves a tastier result.

When I measure out my beans, I get a small whiff of coffee scent. By the time I'm done grinding the coffee, the scent fills my nostrils and man, it smells so good. I finish up all the steps, the most fun being when I push down the plunger and there is a thin line of foam forming at the top of the press.

Then I add my coffee creamer - chocolate caramel - and wow. Delicious. You wouldn't believe how many cups of coffee I can get out of that one creamer container. Which, by the way, costs about the same and sometimes less than one fancy coffee at Starbucks. Do not get me wrong - I love getting coffee at coffee shops, big chains and the little guys. We just can't afford to buy it on a daily basis.

At the end of this process I sit down in front of my laptop and I am ready to take a look at my agenda for the day. I feel like I've accomplished something small and it's time to tackle something else. I feel like I did the right thing for farmers by buying Fair Trade Certified coffee AND the right thing for our budget.

Brewing my own coffee puts me in the right mindset for most of the day. I'm sure you could substitute this process with smoothie making or something. It's funny how making a big deal out of the smallest of accomplishments can really shape your thinking.

Keeping PG&E Costs Down - Special Programs

We live in the Central Valley of California. It gets pretty hot here, although I feel terrible saying that since I've been to the south during the summer. We don't have the high humidity to deal with at least. Still, as I look at the weather prediction for this so far beautiful day in May, I'm already dreading the late afternoon. Should be getting into the 90's. Sigh.

Not fun for a house with no air conditioning!

This will be our third summer with no central air conditioning. We have a small wall unit, but it just can't cool down our three bedroom house.

Well recently we signed up for a weatherization program through PG&E, and I am so glad we did! A man came to our house and counted how many doors and windows we have. He also took inventory of how many large appliances we have, and what year they were manufactured. Before leaving he gave me a breakdown of all commonly used appliances in a house and how much they cost per minute/hour to run. It was extremely helpful.

Then the workers came out a week later. They checked every major appliance to make sure they were energy efficient. I've heard from friends that if you have outdated appliances, they will sometimes replace them, including your refrigerator, furnace and/or water heater. The woman who sold us our house had just recently upgraded most of ours, so we were okay in that area.

They moved on to making sure our filters were clean (we do have a furnace fan). One man went throughout the house and replaced every light bulb with an energy efficient one. He also replaced both of our shower heads.

I left them with my husband for a while and by the time I came home they had replaced our laundry room door from a sliding door to a nice white one with slats (matches our trim perfectly!). They applied caulking around the windows and installed weather strips in each doorway.

Pretty awesome for a free program. If you can meet the low income requirements, then DO THIS!

http://www.pge.com/myhome/customerservice/financialassistance/energypartners/

Since then I've continued to research ways to keep our house cool during the summer. Here is a link I found today:

13 Free or Cheap Ways To Keep Your Home Cool This Summer | One Caveman's Financial Journey