I know this whole project is nearing its close, and I know I promised big changes, but you’re going to have to put up with a few more baby steps.
Here’s two reasons why:
1) a single big change usually ends up negating a lot of little changes I’ve already made, which seems silly — for example, turning off my electricity would pretty much cancel out my CFL bulbs, PeakSaver initiative, Bullfrog Power, showers in the dark, turning lights off when I leave the room, not using a dishwasher or having cable, air-drying my clothes and so on); and 2) well, this whole challenge was originally about taking a lot of small steps rather than making enormous sacrifices.
So today, I’ve decided to support holey walls. No, not holy walls — holey walls, as in the kind that once had big, heavy picture frames hanging on them and now have crumbly holes where the nails used to be. Normally, I’d go hit up Canadian Tire for some Poly filla, a plaster-like substance you squeeze into the holes before scraping over them. Apparently it’s “cellulose based,” which doesn’t sound so bad, but it still comes in a plastic tube.
Instead, however, I’m going take the slacker route and just cover them up with… more pictures! No one will see them that way and it involves less product, not to mention one less receipt (Canadian Tire insists on printing those endlessly long suckers out).
Another option might be some sort of homemade plaster, but I’m a little nervous about filling my walls with flour and water.
Photo punched out from over here
I’ve been putting pictures over holes for ages, but that was laziness and lack of DIY skills, now I realise I’m being green too! Thanks.
you could use toothpaste if the hole is small.
This month, domino magazine features Lili Diallo, a designer who is lauded for her whimsical approach to hanging art: that is, using the holes that are already there. (Shocking!)
So, Vanessa, you can feel both eco and aesthetic with your new pic-hanging strategy. AT blogs about it here.
Good luck with your last week.
Did you consider making a paper maché out of receipts for a quick patch? I am feeding my worms my receipts and the name and address scraps of paper from my mail.
Not doing something bad, in this case is like doing something good! And I don’t think anybody would come up and tell you: hey, slacker, that’s not enough! Mostly because I don’t think most of us could achieve a one change a day during a week challenge.
Oh, I wanted to ask what will happen to this blog when this is over. Have you decided yet?
I keep a small bag of drywall compound in my garage for such purposes… it comes in a paper sack. I pick the sacks up at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, so I’m buying used supplies and keeping it out of a landfill.
Just mix the drywall compound up with a little water and smear in the hole. Lightly sand, and paint!
I hang lots of pictures over holes, too.
I am, by far, new to most of these concepts, and have very little to no knowledge in this particular area, so just pass by this comment if it doesn’t make too much sense…
that being said…what kind of an impact is there for leaving the hole in terms of losing heat or damaging insullation materials? I would think leaving a hole, especially if it’s on the larger side, would have a greater consequence than it would to fix the hole in as environmentally conscious a way as possible, like what Jennifer suggested above. Any info?
I’m with Pat – isn’t the key thing to maintain the airtight envelope as best you can? Since you said you did a lot of caulking, you don’t want to leave any holes in the plaster on any exterior walls. For interior walls it might be less of an issue.
I actually stumbled on this page by searching on Bullfrog plus peaksaver. I signed up with Bullfrog, and I think I should look into peaksaver – but that is a HydroOne program. Can you actually be on both? I don’t see why not, since HydroOne has to manage overall demand, even from customers whose kWh money goes to Bullfrog.
The real mismatch may be when “smart meters” are rolled out, between now and 2010. I don’t see any option for Bullfrog customers to get time-of-day pricing. Maybe they’ll work that out later?