Usually I’m here offering suggestions and solutions. Today, I’m just looking for answers.
First, the backstory: We are, without doubt, a water conserving family. We have water efficient appliances, have taught our kids to conserve and have put all of the best water saving tips in place. Our usual water bill runs between $45-$65 per quarter. The accompanying sewer usage fee costs us a fairly equal rate per quarter, so for this time of year, I was expecting a bill of just under a hundred dollars.
The bill arrived. (Hold onto your hats:) $260!!! Did I choke? Yes… I did. (And I also swore profusely!)
After 57 minutes(!) of waiting for a City of Cleveland Division of Water customer service representative they put my bill “on hold” and schedule a service appointment.
Yesterday the tech arrived, ran all the tests, said everything was in working order – no leaks, no problems detected - and that he would report his findings to the office. I was advised to call tomorrow for a “decision”. What EXACTLY does THAT mean?… a “decision”?
The interesting thing is that the tech also assessed our previous 16 months of bills and commented “Wow, your family really IS efficient!” According to him, a family of four typically uses just over 3 MCF units per quarter (this is the measurement of usage in cubic feet per thousand). He also says, when they are teenagers, it normally raises to 4! We have been consistently at, or just below, 2… yes, 2!
So what gives? Honest answer… I have no idea. And what are we supposed to do? The curious thing… my mother-in-law’s last quarter bill? $500+! This quarter? $1200! WHAT is going on with the Cleveland Division of Water? How do you battle what they claim is true when you simply know it cannot be?
Has this ever happened to you? What is the solution? Because this time, I have absolutely NO ANSWERS…


If you want to “buy” greener, just “concentrate”… buy concentrated formulas of anything and everything, that is. It helps to eliminate a lot of packaging waste, even if it happens to be recyclable. As much as I hate math… it’s simple math. Less volume = less packaging.
states canceled school because of a quarter inch of the white stuff!
der glass doors on your fireplace as opposed to screens.
duct work!
The next few weeks will be high time for parties! (I love parties! And I mean for any and all occasions!)
paper. Or check out
I do NOT buy Ziploc baggies… ever. Okay, one exception: when I had to buy them to complete our daughter’s list of “required” school supplies. I wanted to wear dark glasses and a hood because I felt like I was going to be detained and questioned by the “Green Police” at any moment for abandoning my pledge to headquarters!
Not long ago I wrote a post about 

Even the greatest of moms have to occasionally rely on a 
I’ve always been a huge advocate of recycling. It’s one of those practices that I honestly find inexcusable when most communities make it fairly simple to participate at home… not all, but most.
o think that, if we DON’T recycle, they all become landfill. What a waste… literally.
It’s been mind-boggling (albeit nice and distracting too, to occasionally think about something else) but everything from all of the paper and disposable/single-use supplies, to unused but illuminated rooms, to plugged-in equipment with ’no one attached’, to the cafeteria (a haven for Styrofoam) all adds up. While some of the waste is hazardous and toxic, I was surprised to discover that 85% of the waste that exits hospitals is actually non-infectious waste. Now, there’s room for improvement …