Made in the USA

     Tis' the time for New Year's Resolutions.  Just about every one makes them.  We want to lose weight, save money, stop smoking or what ever other nasty habit we might have.  We decide to treat ourselves and other people better, to turn over a new leaf.  

     We make them and then about mid February, the newness begins to wear off and it gets really easy to push them to the back burner....again.

     I have made a couple already, but here is the one I'm going to try to stick to all year long......I'm going to try to replace every light bulb in my house with a new LED bulb!  Doesn't that sound exciting?  

     LED bulbs are just about the next best thing since sliced bread in my book.  I've ranted about them before, but seriously folks, they are great!

     I walked through the house this morning and started counting light bulbs.  I've got 14 other irons in the fire that I should be doing, but for now, I'm counting bulbs.  So far I've found 102 bulbs.  Good grief, that's a lot of light bulbs so it may take all of this coming year and part of the next.

     I have a jump start on my resolution because I have already replaced 4 bulbs.  The light they emit is nice and bright and they don't put out the heat like an ordinary incandescent bulb does.  Oh, I'm getting better with my spelling, I didn't have to look up incandescent and spelled it right the first time!  The best thing about LED bulbs is they last for a really long time.  You have to take that into consideration when weighing the price.  They are a little expensive, but they last for over 20 years so it has to be looked at as a long term investment.

     I was so excited with the last two that I purchased.  Obviously I'm not getting out enough, but I couldn't wait to install them. These were track light replacement bulbs and I wasn't sure if they could really replace the halogen bulbs.  I like the light that a halogen bulb puts out but they get really hot and they don't last very long when they are used a lot.  Mine are in the kitchen, so they are on more than any other bulbs in the house.  The new LED bulbs out perform the halogens by a mile.

     Feeling quite smug with my new purchase, I looked at their packaging and that's when I got disappointed.  Made in China.  
Dang!  

     We've already had the fluorescent bulbs crammed down our throats to save energy and I've yet to find one of those made in our country.  Further more I do not like the light of a fluorescent bulb. To me, it's like sitting in a cave with a candle.  Yes, they have made them brighter, but most of the time they need to warm up a while to reach their full potential of brightnessness.  If you have one in the closet and just need to be in there for a second, you're not going to want to stand there and wait for the bulb to warm up.

     The technology for the LED was first discovered in the early 1900's in Russia.  It wasn't very cost effective so nobody jumped on the band wagon.  Later on, in Texas, the LED bulb began to get a little more user friendly and now they have been fined tuned to be a great energy saving replacement, not to mention for the umpteenth time, they put out GREAT light.

     I do not wish to buy my light bulbs, or any thing else for that matter, from China.  After a search on Google, I found a company in Golden, Colorado called EarthLED.  They have lots of different styles of LED bulbs, their prices are lower than some of the "big box" stores but most importantly, the bulbs are made in the USA.

     I've yet to order from them, but this morning when I yanked open the refrigerator door, wouldn't you know it, the bulb burned out.  I've had this frig for less than a year and I've already replaced this bulb so I will give EarthLED a chance to prove that the LED will last longer than the refrigerator.

     Just think about it, better light, uses very little energy and lasts for over 20 years.  Why, they could even be handed down to the next generation!  Also, if you decide to move you can get more for the price of your home if you leave all the LED bulbs.  If the future owner doesn't want to meet your price, pack up all the light bulbs.

     Yes, I'm a bit odd when it comes to certain things.  I get excited over light bulbs and I save all the cotton that comes out of vitamin bottles.  My youngest son-in-law asked me why I kept the cotton.  I told him it was his inheritance, now he may also get a light bulb or two.