Open House

Most Malaysians are still in the Raya mood. I'm sure, this month of Syawal, you will likely be invited to an open house or you yourself might organize an open house. That's the spirit of Raya, at least in Malaysia. While doing that, I offer a few suggestions in caring for the environment but at the same time enjoying your open house:

1. Please do not use polystyrene or plastic utensils. These are the worst kind of pollutions to our mother nature. They fill the dump site and they are not biodegradable. Use your own porcelain plates and cups. Wash them after use and you can use them over and over again. If you don't have enough plates and cups, you can always rent them from caterers. They do provide this kind of service. I think, in the long run, renting is cheaper than buying a whole bunch of utensils just for that sake of the open house.

2. Organize the open house late evening i.e 4 p.m to 7 p.m. During noon, the weather will be very hot. Hence you will need more energy to cool your house either using fans or air-conditioner. Organizing the open house at night will require more energy to lighten your house. You can save more energy by organizing the open house when there is still visible natural lights.

3. Stagger the open house timing. For example, 4 p.m to 5 p.m for colleagues. 5 p.m to 6 p.m for family members etc. This will avoid over crowding at certain times. Over crowding means you will need more energy to cool your house. More people release more heat. By staggering, you will be able to distribute the crowd over the entire open house duration and spend more time with the designated guests.

Ideas that matters.