Hoarders

In my basement, there is a secret stash.  I hate to admit it, but the hubs and I have become hoarders.



Light bulbs.  We have started to stockpile light bulbs.

I'm sure by now you've heard that the incandescent bulb, a staple of the lighting industry since the 1800s, is banned, to be phased out starting after the end of the year.  Compact fluorescents will now be your only standard light bulb choice.  We are not happy.

I like think I've got some eco-friendliness going on, but that is by my choice.  I'm not thrilled to be forced into a bulb I don't really like based on the guise of energy-efficiency.  (Oh, and I don't have great things to say about the low-flow toilet we had to purchase when we redid the other bathroom, either.)  I don't understand why, in this country that was founded on capitalism, competition, and the ability to make money, our choices have become so limited (that's partially aimed at you, cable companies, of whom I can only choose one when I move to a new town).  So, we have decided to hoard the bulbs, buying a few packages at a time until we can no longer do so, so we can continue to bask in their warm, energy-inefficient glow.

Comments

  1. I completely agree. While I don't have a huge problem with compact fluorescent light bulbs, I have seen our choices start to dwindle in other areas. It is your right to use whichever you think is best, not what the gov't thinks you should use. It is our way of "voting" for which products stay in production and which companies will succeed.
    I could type about this for days... seriously.

    I had no idea the old lightbulbs were banned. I need to get some for my lightbox and some extra for when they burn out. Thanks for the heads up!

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  2. My least favorite thing about the efficient bulbs is how big they are. It's like trying to jam a globe into your light shade.

    I didn't realize the regular bulbs were banned, either. I heard they were going to be phased out, but I didn't know they were taboo already.

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  3. No, not yet, but at the end of the year, which means that luckily, you can still find them, which means I can grab more! I think they are starting with the 100-watts and working their way through. :P

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  4. the first thing that came to mind is those people on those weird-super-strength shows who like to eat light bulbs. Or maybe Im thinking of My Strange Addiction. You and your husband are just llightbulb glass eaters. It's ok

    -rachel w k
    rwkrafts.blogspot.com

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  5. I was doing the same thing but they are getting harder to find here. :-(

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  6. we like the new ones and phased our house over long ago, I knew about the phase out, but this post got me to thinking they might be the next e-bay craze, you might have a gold mine in your basement :)

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  7. Ha, Ha! I LOVE this blog entry. It's great!! I'm with you on companies having monopolies on items. We moved to small town and there is only ONE telephone provider. And now they've bought out the next local provider, so our previous provider, Qwest, which was ten times better than the one we have now, is gone. I hated it when we moved here and it was TWICE as much for telephone and internet as it was in town. Now I don't get a choice. :(

    I'm right there with you!!!!

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  8. The folks who lived here before us hoarded light bulbs, too and left them all here for us. We are set for at least a few years! LOL

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  9. What?? A low flow toilet?? Wow what's this world coming to. I'm all about the planet but some things are getting carried away.

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  10. We switched over to all fluorescent when we moved into our new house. In the month that we phased out all the old bulbs, our energy bill dropped drastically and I didn't notice much of a difference in terms of the light emitted. I'm totally with you on the cable companies though. I even once yelled at the Comcast lady on the phone when she told me that my service had been switched without warning to a more expensive plan. I think I said something like, "You're a complete monopoly and what you're doing is wrong." haha

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  11. I'll just add this..........I am pretty green, but I HATE the CFLs. They look flourescent because they are flourescent. Beyond that, and this is REALLY IMPORTANT WARNING.........if you break one, did you know you are supposed to leave the room for 15 minutes? then when you return (while kids and pets stay in other room) open the windows, and then use a wet paper towel (do not use vacuum or broom) to wipe the bulb into a glass container with a cover? I'm assuming you're then supposed to keep in said container until the yearly hazardous waste collection in your town. Seriously, we can put a man on the moon but can't come up with a better 'energy' efficient light bulb than this? ok, getting off my soap box.....but here's a link to epa's clean up instructions for CFLs if you want to read for yourself.

    http://www.epa.gov/cfl/cflcleanup.html

    I too am going to become a hoarder of the good old incandescent bulb.

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  12. WHAT?! banned?! i'd say we are pretty eco-friendly in my household, but i too hate fluorescents! i gave them a try a ways back and was thrilled when they burnt out so i could put incandescents back into my lamps. boohoo. i guess i need to start stockpiling too.

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  13. I am a big incandescent bulb fan, too. Fortunately I found out that these bulbs are not banned! Imagine my relief! They have to be more energy efficient, but will still be available. (For example: http://www.lighting.philips.com/us_en/products/ecovantage/index.php?main=us_en_consumer_lighting&parent=7593748565&id=us_en_products&lang=en)

    :)

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