Category — Green Tips

You may have recently read our energy saving tips for your refrigerator.  Just to recap- they included keeping your refrigerator full, but not overly full, and selecting an Energy Star refrigerator.  But, did you know there are even more things you can do turn your refrigerator into an earth-friendly green machine?

Glass Storage Containers:  Storing food in glass containers, such as the Pyrex storage containers above, naturally keeps food colder, and reduces your refrigerator’s work load.

Vacuum Coils:  Every few months, use your vacuum cleaner to remove the dust and cobwebs from your refrigerator coils.  Clean coils make for a more efficient refrigerator.  A soft bristled brush may also be handy for cleaning tight areas.

Avoid the Sun:  If your refrigerator sits in a sunny spot, either move it, or cover the nearby window with window blinds, or insulated curtains.  Source:  Ideal Bite.

The Pyrex containers above are available at Cookware.Com.

If you’re like millions of other Americans,  you may be planning to travel around Thanksgiving.  Here are some green travel tips for planning an environmentally-friendly Thanksgiving trip.

1) Invest in Quality Luggage:   If you’ve found yourself needing a new luggage set this year, resist the urge to save a buck on plastic, poorly constructed bags in favor of luggage that’s designed to last awhile.  After all, buying one quality luggage set that will last a decade, maybe longer, is much more environmentally-friendly than buying cheaper suitcases every couple years.  You’ll probably save money in the long run.

2) Toiletries:  Avoid purchasing those little bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel.  I know, they’re awfully cute, but they’re a packaging nightmare, and close in price to their larger counterparts.  If you have room, just pack your full size toiletries, or buy a set of reusable travel bottles. [Read more →]

With Thanksgiving preparation, and whirlwind of cooking plans underway, you may be wondering how to reduce energy use in the kitchen.  Here are a few green living tips for saving energy while preparing your Thanksgiving dinner….or any dinner!

Scrub, Baby Scrub: A blackened cooktop on your kitchen stove absorbs heat, and causes you to consume more energy, but a shiny stove top efficiently reflects energy into the cooking pan.  Now’s the time to clean your cooktop, and get ready for the Holidays.

Join the Hoods: Range hoods can help you quickly whisk away the extra heat in your kitchen, before you’re prompted to turn on the air conditioner!

Ugh…Clean the Oven: The last thing you wanted to hear, right?  Just like a dirty stove top, a grimy oven steals energy, and can cause foods to cook unevenly.  Ahem…just do it.  [Read more →]

If you’re worried about the environmental concerns and health issues related to chemical-packed traditional household cleaners, you may want to consider steam cleaners as a green cleaning option.  Steam cleaners hold water in a storage tank, and a heating element boils the water which creates pressurized steam.  Then using a wand or other attachment, you can clean with powerful blasts of hot steam, without detergents or other additives.

There are many ways to use a steam cleaner for environmentally friendly household cleaning, including:

• Ceramic Tile Floors
• Showers & Bathtubs
• Carpet
• Lawn Furniture
• Eliminating Odors
• Disinfecting
• Decks
• Grills
• Upholstery
• Hard to Reach Nooks & Crannies

The steam cleaner above is made by Euro-Pro.  It holds enough water for 30 minutes of cleaning time, and includes several attachments.  The Euro-Pro Shark steam cleaner is available at Ace Hardware. Here’s an interesting article on the benefits of steam cleaning.

A lot of the heating and cooling energy you are paying for each month could be going right out the window.  Whether you live in a warm climate or a cool climate, insulated drapes, curtains, or window blinds can help you save energy and reduce power bills by providing a barrier that reduces drafts, and blocks hot sunlight in the summer months.

And, no, insulated drapes don’t have to look like the ones your grandma bought in 1972!  Insulated window treatments are widely-accepted as a green living necessity, and are available in lots of modern styles.

These tab-top drapes come in several shades, and are insulated on the back side with a 100% acrylic lining.  They come in several sizes, up to 160″ x 84″.  Matching valances are optional.  I found the insulated curtains at Plow and Hearth.

Energy-efficient washing machines are a good investment to conserve power and save water.  However, the products you put into your washing machine can have just as big of impact on the environment.  Most run of the mill laundry soaps contain surfactants and chemicals, many of which are derived from petroleum.  Here are a few green living tips for cleaning up your act in the laundry room.

When You Need Bleach: Let’s face it, green laundry isn’t worth it if your clothes don’t come out clean. Sometimes you need some serious cleaning to get out grass stains or foods like tomato sauce.  Ever had a kid in soccer?  Here’s the tip:  avoid chlorine bleach.  There are many bleach alternatives available like oxygen boosting products.  Here’s  a large selection of “oxy” cleaners.  I use one scoop of an oxy booster with almost every load of laundry.  The trick is to put the oxy powder in the washing machine first, let the water fill, and then add clothes.

Fabric Softener Alternative: A scoop (1/4 to 1/2 cup) of baking soda added to the rinse cycle is a natural way to soften clothes.  Here’s another chemical free fabric softener.

Stubborn Stains: Soak resistant stains overnight in a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water.  (8 parts cold water, 1 part peroxide)

The front loading washing machine above is an LG Energy Star washer, and it is available at HomeClick.

Electric blankets are a great way to save energy,sleep toasty, and reduce heating bills in the cooler months.  By keeping your bed warm, there is no need to heat the rest of your home to room temperature during the overnight hours. Any electric blanket uses only a fraction of the energy of your home’s furnace, but if you want to save even more energy, select the most energy-efficient electric blanket you can find.

The electric blanket above uses only 25V of electricity, compared to the 120V used by most other electric blankets.  There’s a pre-warm feature that lets you quickly “preheat” your bed at the highest setting, before the blanket automatically switches back to its regular setting.  There is also an automatic 10 hour timer which will turn the blanket off if you forget.

The Safe & Warm electric blanket is available at Frontgate in twin, king, and queen sizes.  King and queen sizes have dual controls in case you and your sleep-mate differ when it comes to sleeping temps.

Always follow the safety recommendations included with your electric blankets.  Here are more electric blanket safety tips.

The Clock is Ticking!

Only 4 more days ’til Halloween!  Here are a few last minute green Halloween ideas to help you put the final touches on your Halloween decorations, and your party.

Recycled Pumpkin

Here’s a great recycling idea!  This pumpkin decoration is made from an empty laundry detergent jug.  Just add some construction paper facial features and leaves, and a green pipe cleaner to complete the look, and this would make a cute table centerpiece.  You could also hang these recycled Halloween decorations from their handles with string.

Homemade Halloween Treats

Whatever you do, don’t forget about the treats, or you’ll be the target of every trickster in the neighborhood!  Homemade Halloween snacks are always a better alternative than prepackaged, trash-generating items.  Here are some fun ideas for decorating Halloween cupcakes.

Think Ahead!

Why not plan a costume exchange for next year?  What a waste to get only one use out of Halloween costumes!  Before you put everything away, invite the neighbor kids, cousins, co-workers,etc. over for a quick costume exchange.  You’ll be saving money, and reducing landfill waste.

Did you know that using your microwave oven to cook a meal or a side dish uses 2/3 less energy than a traditional kitchen stove?  And, here’s the weird thing…minute by minute, microwaves actually use MORE power than your kitchen stove, but because microwaves cook so much faster, the overall energy use is less.

I know you must be thinking that microwave ovens turn out rubbery, gloppy food that no one wants to eat, right?  Although microwaves certainly aren’t the best choice for every meal, these appliances have come a long way, especially when it comes to quality results.

Some new microwave ovens use convection cooking, and even halogen lights to improve food quality.  The Sharp microwave/convection oven above combines microwaves with the circulating heat of a convection oven.  It has two racks for baking, and gives you the option to turn off the turntable when you don’t need it.

Here’s another energy saving tip:  Clean your microwave oven regularly, and it will use even less energy!

As Blu-ray, and digital downloads replace the video tapes of yesteryear, you’re probably wondering what to do with all that old media bulging out of your home entertainment center, or media cabinet.  Before you give up and toss it all in the trash, read below for some recycling tips for old electronics, cassette tapes, CDs, and video tapes.  Isn’t it time to give up those old “Mork & Mindy” Betamax tapes anyway?

GreenDisk:  For $6.95, this electronics recycling center will take up to 20 pounds of electronics or related media.  If you have more than 20 lbs, its 30 cents extra per pound.  Pack everything up in a box, estimate the weight, and visit the site to purchase a mailing label.

ACT:  Alternative Community training is a non-profit agency that provides jobs for people with disabilities.  They’ll erase your old tapes and repackage them to be used again.

Craigslist:  You know someone wants your stuff, but you just have to find them.  Post for free on Craigslist and watch your stuff disappear.

Our Earth: This site offers a nationwide search directory for recycling programs.