My recent posts have been pretty serious… toxic mattresses, plastics overload, rainforests, genetically modified food, polluted oceans… today I’m just going to make a confession…

I am The Great Public Lights Caper!

Yes, you heard it correctly…. I take a crazy and unusual pleasure in turning out public lights!  I absolutely can’t stand walking into a public restroom and realizing they are illuminated for absolutely no one.  You know exactly what I’m talking about.  Whether it’s a single restroom or a restroom with a dozen stalls, we’ve all walked in to see extraordinary amounts of lights blazing… and the room empty.

So what do I do?  When I leave, I turn them off.   I’ve “hit” libraries, museums, movie theaters, restaurants, small retailers and mega-stores.  I’ve even been known to shut down an entire Target restroom if I find a switch handy near the door.  Although, chances are someone in these heavily trafficked restrooms will walk-in meager minutes after I leave and turn them on again, I always feel compelled to shut them off.

I suppose I’m hoping it will have a trickle down effect.  Maybe the person that walks in after me will think they’re supposed to turn them off after THEY leave and a chain reaction will occur.  It reminds me of that old Faberge Shampoo commercial “… and they told two friends… and so on, and so on, and so on…”.

Maybe I’m just a bit crazy (yes, that’s likely!), but can you imagine the energy that would be saved if these lights were on only when they were needed.  I do, however, love walking into restrooms that have motion sensors so the lights only come on when someone enters.  Now THAT’S thinkin’!

But for now, I will continue to be The Great Public Lights Caper and hope that a little bit of my insanity catches on!  (What will YOU do the next time you leave a public restroom?… hmm, maybe you’ll think about this post, won’t you?!?)