My spreadsheet can be viewed here.
| Areas | Average | 90% | Jan-08 |
| Gasoline (per person) - in gallons | 41.66 | 4 | .83 |
| Electricity (kwh) (household) | 916.66 | 90 | 85 |
| Heat +Cooking: Natural Gas (therms) (household) | 83.33 | 8 | 7.5 |
| Heat +Cooking: Oil (gallons) (household) | 62.5 | 6 | 0 |
| Heat +Cooking: Wood (unsustainable) (household) | 10.42 | 8 | 0 |
| Garbage (lbs/year) (per person) | 136.88 | 27.38 | 4 |
| Water (gallons/year) (per person) | 3,041.67 | 608 | 26 |
| Consumer Goods ($/year) (per household) | $10,000 | $1,000 | $293.04 |
| Food: Local | 70% | 41.7% | |
| Food Bulk | 25% | 5.84% | |
| Food Wet Goods | 50% | 5% | 3.81% |
I hope I did this right. Also hope the table above shows up okay. This is my first time using the spreadsheet which I got from the Riot yahoo group. In the food category, 48.65% of our groceries were not local. This number is not accurate because the groceries were purchased from a local non-chain store that does have bulk bins and carries local produce but I forgot to write down what specific items we were purchasing every trip. I know I got sea food from Iceland (I guess there is no mercury in their fish?) and a bottle of blood orange juice from Italy…but I forgot to write down the specifics. I’ll try to do a better job this month.
Edit: Posted the entry too soon.
The Consumer Goods category breaks down as follows:
I purchased a pair of new sneakers for $119. They are supposed to last 10 years and have thick soles. This is my most expensive pair of shoes ever. I also purchased a safety razors and blades for my husband to get away from using disposable razors (I got the Merker Classic Safety razor). Additionally I purchased my first mouse. The old one I was using was free from a job I worked at 6-7 years ago. I could have waited and purchased a used one…but didn’t. This category also includes cloth napkins (for dining), and dish scrubbers and a pyrex dish I got to take lunch to work. Its made of glass and carries 4 days worth of meals so I can take a large dish on Mondays and not worry about lunch for the rest of the week. And since I don’t mind eating the same thing for 4 day, its one less thing to worry about.
The only thing I noticed is that garbage and water are listed per year. Since you’re doing per month, you might want to divide the others by 12. Also it looks like the consumer goods is items per year, and I think your numbers are dollars per month so you might want to adjust that as well.
But other than that, looking good!! I can’t believe how little electricity and heating oil you use in PA!!
Comment by arduous — February 8, 2008 @ 1:20 pm
I divided through and made sure the units matched up. The consumer category is actually in dollars per the riot rules, but I put the $ sign to make things clear. The gasoline figure is also off because my husband doesn’t use public transit as much as I do. He rides pretty much everywhere. But I didn’t want to makes things too complicated…
As for how little heat we use, we’re not home much. So we mooch heat off of other sources (library, work, etc) when we’re out and about.
Comment by Beany — February 8, 2008 @ 6:51 pm