Daryl Yoder-Bontrager was a little embarrassed to be held up as an example.

"We're not doing anything really radical. … It's just a bunch of little things that you can do," he said of his and his wife's efforts to live a sustainable lifestyle.

Still, Daryl and Marlisa Yoder-Bontrager's home and lifestyle were touted Thursday as models of the "green" life.

Speaking to about 30 people in the Yoder-Bontragers' backyard, at 102 S. Ann St., Lamonte Garber, a board member of the Lancaster environmental group LIVE Green, praised the couple for the solar panels on their roof, the strawberries in their backyard garden and their willingness to walk to most destinations.

The Yoder-Bontragers opened their home to show others what they had done and encourage others to do likewise. Yet, he insisted, there was not that much to see.

The changes they have gradually made over the years have mostly been small incremental steps that anyone could do. They include:

• Turn the thermostat down during the winter. The Yoder-Bontragers turn the heat down to 50 degrees overnight.

"We discovered the wonderful utility of wool and feathers," he said.

• Live without air conditioning during the summer. They open windows at night to cool their home and close them during the day to keep out the heat.

• Turn off lights and appliances. They turn off lighting when they leave a room. They also turn off the power strips for electronic devices. Those devices, such as computers, televisions, cable boxes and modems, waste power when not in use.

• Turn down the temperature on the water heater. When you have to add cold water to make the temperature comfortable to skin, then the heater is set too high, Yoder-Bontrager contends.

• Insulate water heater pipes. Adding insulation is something anyone can do to save energy.

• Don't buy plastic wrap. The Yoder-Bontragers reuse plastic bags.

Daryl and Marlisa said living in another culture has influenced their lifestyle. The couple served with the Akron-based Mennonite Central Committee in Bolivia and Honduras.

When they returned to Lancaster, they moved to South Ann Street in the city. Five years ago, they noticed a six-unit apartment building in their neighborhood was for sale.

Windows were broken. There were holes in the roof, and the building's residents were mostly cockroaches, but they saw possibility. They bought the building with another family, who live downstairs.

The Yoder-Bontragers renovated the second floor gradually over three years. They removed the trim from the 1895-era building and added a new layer of insulation and drywall before replacing the trim. The work kept the historic look of the home while reducing heating costs.

The third floor remains two apartments.

By sharing the property, they were able to split the mortgage. They also share a washing machine and alternate cooking dinner.

"Those are the things that you don't think of as being green, but they really are," Daryl said.

The Yoder-Bontragers also own a property on North Plum Street. The house is rented, but they tore up the grass in the backyard for a vegetable garden.

Marlisa, a self-described "urban farmer," said they rarely buy vegetables. They eat them fresh from the garden in summer and can and freeze them for winter.

She points to a freezer packed tightly. They had put up applesauce, Wednesday night, she said.

They continue to get produce through the winter from vegetables grown in a 12-by-20-foot "hoop house" on the North Plum Street lot.

In their South Ann Street backyard, flowering plants hide the utilitarian function. The ground cover is strawberries. Against a wall are raspberries. The shade is provided by a grape arbor, and the smaller plants are spices.

"There is nothing that gives me more pleasure than to be cooking a meal and come out here and pick all the spices I need," Daryl said.

The water for the plants comes from barrels that capture rainwater from the home's downspouts.

Fertilizer for the garden comes from boxes in the basement. They add kitchen scraps and let the worms do the work.

Part of living in the city is the ability to walk or ride their bicycles to most places. They gradually realized that it is only a 10-minute walk from their door to the center of the city.

It is really just as change in mindset, Daryl said.

"Why is it acceptable to drive 30 minutes to go someplace and not acceptable, to walk 30 minutes to go someplace?" he asked rhetorically.

bharris@lnpnews.com