September is National Preparedness month! Read on to find out what’s in my Go Bag. See how I’m saving on my energy bills around the home.

Energy Efficiency

Our Energy Efficiency campaign encourages homeowners to save energy by taking actions around the home. What’s amazing about this call to action is that it can have great financial benefits as well as environmental ones. FACT: homeowners who shift their thermostat 10 – 15 degrees for eight hours each day can save 10% annually on cooling and heating bills. I inspected my apartment for things that would improve the overall energy efficiency and lower my electric bill using information from www.energysavers.gov. Here are some things that I found I could do around my own home: • checked my appliances for the energy star sticker, which designates energy efficient products approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy • replaced by traditional light bulbs with long lasting, low energy ones. • set a timer for the thermostat so that it wasn’t constantly running • cleaned the filter on my heating/cooling unit since dirty filters prevent it from running efficiently • shut my laptop off completely when not in use • unplugged chargers that aren’t being used FACT: compact florescent bulbs use about 75% less energy and last up to 10 times longer than traditional incandescents.

Emergency Preparedness

For this call to action I’m combining the Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Preparedness-NYC campaigns since I am a New York City dweller. One of the most important things for any evacuation plan is to have a Go Bag– supplies you will need in the event of an emergency. In the past few years, New York City has been susceptible to major storms, tornadoes, hurricanes and even an earthquake. Even before taking on this project I knew a Go Bag would be crucial I ever had to evacuate in a hurry. For a recommended list of go bag items from the NYC Office of Emergency Management go here. I also signed up for Notify NYC so that emergency alerts go directly to my phone in the form of a text message. If you live in New York City, you can sign up for this free service here. Not pictured: • Learned about car seats for Child Passenger Safety • Signed the Reading pledge and got to download the song “Book People Unite” • Sent a letter to my local elective official asking them to support minority education for Supporting Minority Education • Sent a letter to my local senator and representative asking them to support early childhood education programs for Community Engagement • Pledged that I would think before I speak for Gay and Lesbian Bullying Prevention

Call to Action wrap-up

Well, summer has flown by and I have completed 32 call to actions, which means I only have 6 call to actions left to go! I urge each and every one of you to follow the links in this post and learn the things that I did– it’s really valuable information, folks!