The days are numbered for incandescent light bulbs. You’ve probably heard that production of 40 and 60 watt light bulbs will cease this month to make way for the more energy efficient Halogen, CFL & LED bulbs. This news may not keep you awake at night, but personally, I’ve been a wreck… and have started stock-piling 60 watt-ers.
For the past few years, I advised my decorating clients that those “ugly new fangled light bulbs” were only for closets, upstairs hallways, and Vermonters… never for living rooms, dining rooms or God forbid bedrooms! I believed that the blue garish light they cast made every room look & feel like an OR. Now don’t worry Ms. Granola, I’m not totally environmentally irresponsible. I recycle, own a HE washer, (which I despise) always use re-usable grocery bags, (almost) never buy plastic water bottles, turn off the faucet when I brush my teeth, and on Saturdays (in summer) I walk to the farmers’ market (with my reusable bag) and buy locally grown vegetables… BONUS point: My husband drives a hybrid.
But maybe I’m old. (gasp!) Recently I asked my college age son what he thought of energy-efficient light bulbs and he shed some light on the subject for me. It seems that he and most of his generation have embraced energy-efficient light bulbs. He may have found my fierce attachment to 60-watt bulbs a little bit odd, and a lot old fashioned, but he gently placated me saying that the newer bulbs cast a warmer hue than the earlier versions, and they emit less energy-wasting heat, and last about 20 x longer than my beloved incandescents. He made me realize that if you’re someone who spends most of your days in an office, classroom, hospital, or other public space, you’re more accustom to fluorescent lights and probably aren’t as traumatized by the light bulb conversion as I am. But for me, someone who spends most of her time in HOMES, and whose job it is to make homes look beautiful and feel comfortable, this is a game changer.
So, I will attempt to get with the program. I’ll force myself to start using terms like lumens, brightness, and Kelvins instead of watts. I will stop sneaking 60 watt bulbs into my clients’ lamps and moving their CFL bulbs to their hall closet. I will accept that one day soon, incandescent bulbs will join the ranks of the Blackberry, Yellow Pages, land lines (with curly cords) and answering machines. They say we won’t even miss them, (which I don’t believe because I still love gas lamps.) But, I vow to rip off the light bulb Band-Aid! Just as soon as my stock pile is gone.
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