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How Texas families can Save Electricity When Working From Home

This post is sponsored by Payless Power, a Texas prepaid electricity provider 

Have you been working from home more often than usual and have no clue how to reduce the amount of energy that you consume during these hours of increased activity? You are not alone! There are several easy ways to shift your habits to be more energy efficient. Read below for some tips on saving electricity when working from home.

Tips for Saving Electricity When Working From Home

1. Optimize Your Window Shades

Instead of turning on the lights in your home office, take advantage of the natural daylight that comes through your windows to brighten and warm up your space. However, it is energy efficient to keep your windows covered in any parts of your home that you aren’t currently occupying. Blinds, shades, and other window coverings have an aesthetic and functional benefit as they are able to block out a portion of the heat that enters our homes. During the warmer months, you can practice free room cooling by covering up your windows during the day. You can also shade your windows from the outside to further decrease the heat that is able to enter your home.

2. Use Fans Instead of Air Conditioning to Cool Down

If you find that your home office is uncomfortably warm when you have the windows exposed, you should fight the urge to turn on your air conditioning and instead use a floor and/or fan to cool down the room. While it feels as though floor fans decrease the temperature in the room, they are actually just circulating the air, and if your office is already warm, the fan may just push around hot air. To avoid this, point the fan out an open window so that it can push the hot air outside, allowing for cool air to move inside. Alternatively, you can place a fan across from an open window you can create a cross breeze to cool off the room.

3. Plus Your Workstation into a Powerstrip

Even when you power down your monitors, docking stations, and laptops, if they are still plugged into the wall they are likely continuing to consume energy, which is known as “vampire energy.” One of the best ways to mitigate vampire energy is by plugging your entire workstation into a Smart Strip surge protector, which automatically cuts off all energy when it’s not needed. For maximum energy savings, it is recommended to unplug the power strip all together once you are done with your work day so that your electronics are not consuming needless energy overnight.

4. Use the Dishwasher At the End of the Day

When you work from home, it is likely that you will often have all 3 meals at home, resulting in a big pile up of dishes throughout the day. While it might seem practical to hand wash your dishes immediately after you use them, it is actually more efficient to utilize your dishwasher. So much water is wasted while hand washing dishes, particularly as people typically leave the sink running when manually removing food debris from dish ware. It is estimated that individuals use 27 gallons of water per load to clean dishes by hand and that households waste over 6,000 gallons of water by hand washing per year. Thus, it is more energy efficient to utilize a dishwasher, particularly if you have or can afford to upgrade to an Energy Star appliance, which uses as few as 3 gallons of water to complete a cycle. Additionally, an easy way to improve efficiency is to only utilize the dishwasher at the end of the day when there is a full load in order to minimize excessive use of detergent, water and energy.

How Do You Save Electricity When Working From Home?

Which of the above electricity saving tips seems the most accessible to your current lifestyle? One thing you can do today that takes less than 5 minutes is ordering a Smart Strip surge protector online so that you can reduce the vampire energy that is consumed by your workstation while you are not using it. Have no fear - you will be able to save electricity while you are working from home!

Cooler Weather Forever 21 Sweater

Sometimes during the cold winter months, it’s so hard to be creative with looks. After doing the whole cute cardigan, scarf, long sleeve otk boots or ankle whichever you prefer, with some jeans or a great pair winter pants that won’t leave you looking like a giant roll of something. I personally get bored, and a little frustrated at winter. Personally I favor summer one - hundred precent of the time as opposed to the cold weather, unless maybe I’m somewhere where it snows. I actually got the chance to go to Virginia during December and experience true winter minus the snow, all the trees were so colorful I felt like I was in a movie. My inner kid was screaming, it felt so nostalgic and welcoming that I wanted to stay. In the spirit of that trip and being a little different at least here in Houston on those random days when it’s cold but no too cold I pulled this look together. I paired a few simple low price things in my closet together for a day at the butterfly exhibit downtown. Lets get into it

First and most important a fluffy soft sweater, this I got at forever 21 ages ago but still hold weight in my winter essentials but most importantly is intact as if I’d just bought it. Followed by a pair of mules which are perfect for a days worth of walking around. Linked two additional pairs here and here, as well as down below. My high slit skirt too which is super soft and can be paired with a lot of different looks. What is your go to look during winter? Let me know below!

Weekend in New Orleans

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It’s officially October, and I’ve been left wondering where the heck September went. October is my favorite month of the year besides January (hello birthday month). I absolutely love everything about October, it’s fall, there’s that sudden change in the air, there’s scary movie marathons, you can finally drink hot coffee outside without burning up, there’s sweaters, cuddles with that special someone or maybe with a glass of wine (I’ll take both) , it just feels GOOD. When I think about fall weather, New Orleans is one of the first places that comes to mind, it just feels like the kind of place to spend this time of the year, the old preserved history, coffee shops, beignets, and the feel of the city as a whole is inviting, this the perfect place to be entirely whoever you want to be to excess. I spent the weekend there and discovered a new New Orleans can do, and open seating plan that allows you to come into the cafe through multiple big doors that also double as windows. This day it was foggy and a bit humid so I opted for a short plaid dress from Zara and my trusty Goorin Bros ‘Dakota Fedora’ which is sold out, but here’s a similar option .

Cotton On Dress

Fall weather is the best kind of weather, and although here in Texas it takes forever to begin to feel it we switch to fall as soon as October comes, and some even before. With fall weather come the ever endless fall weddings. The weather is mostly breezy, your guests don’t sweat profusely their hours long make up, hair, and that dress they had to go to THREE different stores to find. It’s a serendipitous time of the year. I know wedding colors are strict, some people say don’t wear red, because you’re not celebrating your love someone else is, and we all know white is completely off limits. But, I fell in love with this cotton on dress which is is super comfortable and can be turned up a notch with accessories. I got this dress at CottonOn and I’ve linked it below as well as similar ones. If you’re gonna go to a wedding do it right with these simple and beautiful options.

Currently obsessed with B&W Blouses

There’s been an eternal debate in my head since I was 12 years old. Wear ALL black or pick a color! Currently I’ve not completely strayed from wearing all things black but am making an effort to add a pop of color here and there. Right now though I’m loving black and white. It’s not that I refuse to wear color, but a lot of the time the pieces that call my name seem to come only at the moment I notice them in black, or white. With that said, the reason why white right at this very moment is a color I’m wearing a lot is because of …you guessed it loose pretty peasant blouses. There’s something so delicate yet powerful about wearing a good peasant blouse, that is, the right kind of course. A good blouse is like a good pair of jeans, when you find the right one it can be paired with, a million different other things in your closet. Of course if you have to wear a blazer or jacket over it for work, make sure to get one that doesn’t have the supper puffy sleeves, because YES it is cute, until you have to figure out how to make it fit under your jacket (never fun). Nonetheless I gave in to this style and bought myself one. Here are other blouses that I’m crushing on and am likely to buy even as we transition into fall

Asos Vero Moda Petite Volume Tie Sleeve Blouse $22

& Other Stories Boatneck Knit Sweater $49

& Other Stories Linen Blend Wrap Top $59

& Other Stories Puff Sleeve Knot Tie Blouse $89

& Other Stories Tie Waist Blouse $89

Summer in Cuba

This summer, I spent what seemed like most of July in Cuba. I have to say, going back to the country I was born in was nothing short of amazing, emotional, and eye-opening. The moment I set foot on the ground after getting out of the plane, (there’s no connecting bridge to the gate) I was overcome with emotion, joy, sadness, and relief all at once. Describing in detail the feeling that night we landed in Santiago de Cuba. I guess my heart and mind were in disbelief, they thought it was a practical joke. Oddly enough the warm summer breeze I grew up with here as a kid was still fresh in my memory. At that moment it all came rushing back, the Sierra Maestra mountains in the distance at night, the little to no noise of sirens, again that breeze that just feeling it and thinking of it gives me goosebumps even now. Here’s the thing somewhere in my mind, I was convinced that life and circumstance were getting in the way of me going back to Cuba. There was always a “but” and I kept finding an excuse to push back the trip, as well as just plain and simply being not prepared and a little afraid of how I would feel, and don’t even get me started with the political situation 🤦🏾‍♀️ all these things as well as the lack of growth I had as a person in those times I thought of going. I was simply not “there” yet. Being back home showed me how much I had grown as a person from who I was 4 years ago to who I’ve grown to be at that very moment I set foot in my little island. Let’s be honest here since I am at a point of reintroducing myself in the blogosphere. I grew up mostly alone, it was just me and my accountant mother who worked long hours for little pay in Cuba, and my grandmother. Still, we were better off than most of the people I knew. Then there was my musician father who spent 5 months out of the year traveling Europe, Paris, Italy, Australia, etc. you name it so I learned at a young age to be strong (but that’s another post). Which brings me to the point, when I saw my uncle who was like and is like a second father to me. I was so happy my heart felt like it was going to burst. But at that point, Alonzo had gotten through consoling me from crying. We had been waiting for our luggage for 1 hour and 30 mins give or take, so I was just happy to see a long lost and missed face.

That’s all for not the end of the story but a brief introduction, stay tuned for Friday’s post about all the things we did during our trip and the vlog that will be up on my Youtube Channel soon.

xx -Stephezinho

Why I Started Eating Vegetarian

I have been a transitioning vegetarian since 2017 🙈🙈

We grow up our whole lives convinced that we HAVE TO eat meat and just animals in general. I know this better than anyone else being Cuban we eat beef, pork ,lamb, all kinds of seafood and exotic things like crocodile and turtle. But here’s the thing as a kid & growing up I never really had a taste for eating meat. I preferred rice, beans, and a side of a tomato salad with some cucumbers and maybe an avocado, or some lettuce with a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and a little bit of lime juice or vinegar. REALLY I was that specific.. still am. Needless to say to my mom always said I was and still am a picky eater. These good habits have waxed and wained over the past 2 to 3 years. I had a period of time in 2015 when I was really into cooking and perfecting the way I made steak (that was my favorite) then I wanted to dabble into other things different ways to make chicken, etc. I was hooked, and although I incorporated vegetables in my daily life, it wasn’t as much healthy way because it was always paired with some kind of meat. I know what you’re thinking…how can I even think of not eating meat we ALL need it to get the proper nutrition is what has always been said to us. MEAT is protein! Let me tell you that boy is that not totally right. Since the summer of 2017 when I started to notice during working out I was moving slower, it was harder to breathe, among other subtle signs here and there is when I decided it was time to embrace my vegetarian side… which truly had always been a habit. Not being a big meat eater most of my life I thought it was going to be SUPER easy and I’m here to tell you I was SUPER wrong. It takes a lot of preparation and dicipline because once you get a taste of meat, its kinda hard to go back. I’ll be sharing my journey and tips with you in a series of posts that will be titled Meat eater > Vegertarian. Stay on the look out for those and until then. Stay healthy my friends!