Tag: eco-friendly

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Articles Lawn & Garden Uncategorized

Getting Your Yard to Look Marvelous In a Budget-Friendly Manner

A large number of homeowners take a great deal of pride in their lawns. If you happen to be one of these people, there’s no need to stress about taking care of your lawn even if you’re on a budget. Let’s take a quick look at a few budget-friendly tips you can follow to keep your lawn looking its best all year long.

Swap out your services

If you have time to mow your own lawn, then by all means you should. If, however, time doesn’t permit, then you’ll need to hire someone to mow it for you. Unfortunately, paying for lawn mowing services can get quite expensive. Think about it, if you hire someone to mow your lawn for $50 a week, that’s still $200 a month, sometimes $250.

To avoid having to pay for lawn care, you could swap out your services. For example, if your lawn care guy has kids, you could offer to babysit one to two days/nights a week in exchange for mowing your lawn. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Make sure your lawn is mowed in the right manner

When mowing your lawn, it’s best to leave the mower blades high. In doing this, the grass will grow deeper roots, which means your grass will not only be thicker but healthier too.

Quit wasting time picking up any clippings

After your lawn gets mowed, it may be tempting to pick up any loose clippings. In all actuality, though, it’s best to leave them sitting as they are because they will eventually start to breakdown, which means they’ll be contributing nitrogen to your lawn and serve as a free form of grass fertilizer.

Plant your own flowers

Instead of paying a landscape specialist thousands of dollars to plant shrubs, trees and flowers, consider doing the work yourself. There are many free, online tutorials that you can use to walk you through all involved planting steps, and best of all, you’ll be able to take much pride in your yard once the work is done.

Water your lawn in the morning

According to Keypointapp, it’s best to water your lawn in the morning. The grass will soak up the water, and any excess water will evaporate before the day ends, meaning it’ll be less likely that fungus will form on your lawn.

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Articles Eco Tips Home Improvement Uncategorized

Tips for Adding Beauty and Value to Your Home the Eco-Friendly Way

When people go about remodeling or adding onto their homes, they often think the involved processes will be overly expensive. Don’t be fooled by this false belief. There are many affordable ways that you can give your home a makeover, and best of all, you can be eco-friendly at the same time. Here are some great tips for adding both beauty and value to your home, while at the same time being mother nature’s best friend.

Replacing Your Roof

Yes, replacing your roof can be a bit costly at first, but if you cover it in shingles or metal that are light in color, this can greatly reduce the temperature in your attic. As a result, you’ll likely reap the benefit of cooler temperatures in your home, which means you can save a considerable amount of money on your cooling expenses.

Decorating with Pallet Racks

Pallet racks are often given away for free from both large and small businesses. By gathering several of them, you can easily recycle them by constructing shelves, indoor and outdoor furniture and lots more. You can paint or stain these racks any color of your choosing, which is an excellent way to add lots of character to your home.

Swap Out Your Showerheads

Being friendly to mother nature involves reducing your water usage. A great way to do this is by switching out the showerheads in your bathrooms to ones that support the low flow of water.

Install Extra Ceiling Fans

Fans can go a long way in adding flair to any room, and better yet, they make it easier to cool your home during the warmer months of the year. Mother nature will truly appreciate it when you turn off the AC and crank up the fans.

Insulate Your Water Heater

There’s a good chance that your hot water heater is already insulated, but if you add extra insulation, this will make it easier to heat your water, and it could save you up to 15 percent or more on the expense of heating your water.

Tint Your Windows

Just the same as you can tint the windows on your car, your home’s windows can be tinted too. In doing this, you’ll be reflecting the sun’s glare, which will make it easier to cool your home.

The Takeaway

Giving your home an eco-friendly makeover doesn’t mean you have to empty your bank account. And even though you’ll be spending money to carry out the projects, you can rest assured that you’ll be saving money at the same time on several of your utility bills.

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Eco Tips Lawn & Garden Uncategorized

Low-maintenance, low-water: Herb and flower spiral garden

It is a challenge for gardeners in hot climates to maintain a working food or flower garden without using a ton of water. With water shortages prevalent throughout the south, it is important to consider planning your garden with water conservation in mind. Not only will it help the environment, it will preserve the health of your soil and vitality of your crop.

A common problem with over-head watering is the salt that builds up in the dirt from evaporation. When garden water evaporates, it leaves salts and other trace minerals behind which eventually can have negative consequences for the soil, which was one of the main problems during the great depression and the famous dust bowl .

There are a number of steps you can take to assure that minimal water will be wasted, while getting a maximum yield from your crop whether that is flowers or food.

A great way to conserve water is through the manipulation of the garden plot. To build a low water herb spiral, you’ll want to dig a bowl-shaped hole in the desired location. Pick an area of yard with adequate sunshine for a good portion of the day.

  • Dig the circle down about a foot deep and about three feet in diameter. You’ll want to have enough room for all of the herbs or flowers you plan to sow, making sure to leave at least 6 inches between each plant, also accounting for the width of that plant.
  • Layer about 4″ of gravel on the bottom, building a rock spiral off of that foundation. Fill the remaining structure with good quality potting soil. The gravel will hold the water at the bottom, keeping the soil at a regular moisture level without over-saturating.

This and other techniques can be utilized to conserve water without a bunch of consistent hassle. Just dig the spiral, lay the gravel, do some initial watering sufficient for transplanting, and watch it grow. This low maintenance herb spiral will last a long time, and collect rain water without any help from you. Happy gardening!

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Eco Tips Lawn & Garden Uncategorized

Building and Decorating Your Patio In an Eco-Friendly Way

There’s something about the outdoors that makes people want to live a greener life. And this especially rings true for outdoor patio areas. Fortunately, there are many ways to build and transform patios into some of nature’s best friends.

Choose your construction materials wisely

It’s of the utmost importance to construct your patio areas using sustainable building materials. Some of the more eco-friendly materials to choose from include:

  • Reclaimed brick
  • Recycled stone pavers
  • Natural stone
  • Locally produced bricks
  • Responsibly harvested wood

Choose your builder wisely

Just the same as you need to carefully choose your building materials, you’ll also need to thoughtfully pick a builder. It is highly recommended by the Sierra Club that you choose a builder who is LEED certified by the US Green Building Council. When you hire this type of contractor, you can rest assured that he or she will have the advanced knowledge that it takes to build your patio according to eco-friendly practices.

Decorate and accessorize

Decorating your outdoor patio area in an eco-friendly manner isn’t as difficult as you think. Take for example removal wallpaper murals. These types of paintings don’t require paste or glue, making them extremely auspicious to mother nature.

When it comes to outdoor furniture for your patio, once again you’ll want to choose pieces that are manufactured using sustainable materials, such as bamboo. You should also strive to add liveliness to your outdoor area for nighttime entertainment by using solar-powered accent lighting fixtures.

Lanscaping around your patio area

You’ll need to give a lot of thought into the landscaping that you place around your patio. You’ll of course want this area to promote serenity and joy, all the while using plants, shrubs and trees that are native to area.

What’s the importance of native plants? For starters, these plants will be grown locally in your area, meaning they’ll be much more likely to survive in your backyard. Also, since they are native to your area, they will require less water to stay alive, which can do wonders for your water bill.

If you’re unsure as to the plants that are native to your community, a local agricultural extension can provide you with lots of valuable information.

The Takeaway

Building and decorating your outdoor areas doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. And best of all, with a bit of effort, you can construct and accessorize your outdoor areas, including your patio, by being environmentally friendly.

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Eco Tips Furnishings Home Decor Uncategorized

Eco-friendly decorating tips

Putting your home together in an eco-friendly way is not that hard if you know what type of products and aesthetic you’re looking for. When decorating, think about how you want to minimize your footprint and create a space that is environmentally-conscious. Integrating recycled materials and other items can make a tremendous difference in your décor. If you’re really creative, you can have a charming and classy space without spending a lot of money. Here are a few tips:

  • Make it You

Take the time to think about what brings you joy. Do you love greenery? Do your spaces all simulate an outdoor environment? You can achieve this by having a variety of plants and eco-friendly furnishings throughout your home. You can find eco-friendly sheets and bedding in organic fibers, or use them for your curtains or furniture covers. There are a lot of green furniture products on the market that serve many purposes. From your chairs and sofas, to your table and bathroom fixtures, there are products that will accommodate your needs in all natural woods and other materials.

  • Paint Makes a Difference

Everyone knows that changing the paint color in a room works wonders. To stay eco-friendly, use paints that are low VOC or zero VOC. You can also find these in beautiful finishes to upgrade your furniture for an entirely different look.

  • Recycle Your Glass

One of the quickest ways to spruce up your décor and stay eco-friendly is by repurposing your glass jars or vases. If you’re into pretty colored glass, this is a beautiful way to add a creative display. If you’re really into decorating, use some of that low VOC paint to paint some of your jars or glass containers for a beautiful finish.

  • Bring the Outside In

Incorporate elements of nature into your décor by using seashells, pine cones that you can paint, pieces of wood or other natural materials arranged in collections or large pieces that serve as focal points. Take a minute to survey your current décor and decide how you want to change or enhance your space and take it from there.

If you decide to get rid of some of your existing pieces, donate them to charity or an organization that can use the pieces. This makes a conscious efforts to beautifying someone else’s home and makes a positive contribution to preserving the environment.

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Articles Home Decor Recycling

How to Upcycle Old Wooden Furniture

Looking to add some fun and unique furniture pieces to your home? If so, then you might want to look at what you already have or even check out a local antique shop. You might be surprised at just what kinds of furniture you may be able to upcycle and use to add one-of-a-kind style to your space. Old wooden furniture, such as dressers and end tables, can be upcycled and restored with just a little bit of creativity and elbow grease. Read on to learn how to restore and upcycle old wooden furniture for your home.

Stripping Existing Paint and Varnish
Start by removing any hardware from the furniture that you want to keep intact so that only the wood structure itself remains. Hardware may include knobs, handles, and even metal drawer sliders. From there, you’ll want to apply the remover (using a paint brush or sponge) as directed on the label and give it as much time as needed to work. Attempting to strip the paint or varnish before it’s ready will result in an inconsistent look and will not be fully effective (HowStuffWorks).

Once the remover has been left on as long as is needed, use a scraper and/or steel wool to scoop up the clumps of removed paint or varnish; then, dispose into a safe container to bring to a local hazardous materials facility.

Sanding and Preparing for New Finish
Once you’ve stripped the old paint or finish, you’ll probably want to prepare the bare wood for a new finish. This will involve sanding the wood. The grain of sandpaper you’ll want to use will depend on the condition of the wood; if it needs a lot of sanding, then a coarser grit paper (around 160 grit should do the trick) will be needed. For finer sanding, stick to 240 grit or higher.

Applying the New Finish
Once the furniture is sanded, it’s ready to take on a whole new look. Decide between staining the wood and painting it based on your personal preferences. If you’re looking to achieve a truly rustic and unique look, consider distressing the paint yourself (HGTV). Once the new finish is dry, adorn your new wooden furniture with new hardware if desired to give it even more character.

Save the planet and your pocketbook by upcycling old furniture and giving it new life in your home. You’d be surprised at just how much fun you can have with this project!

~Danielle N. 

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Green Building Recycling Uncategorized

How To Make S’Mores And Memories With Your Old Washer And Dryer

Is it time to replace your old, beat-up washer and dryer? Don’t drag them to the curb just yet. All it takes is a little creativity and elbow grease to transform them into something entirely different from their intended use. In fact, that old, beat-up washing machine and the dryer that no longer gets hot will soon become the focus of your next backyard get together. With these easy instructions, you can transform the washer to a fire pit and the dryer to a beverage cooler.

From Washing Clothes to Making S’mores

Have you have dreamed of sitting around a backyard fire pit, roasting marshmallows, eating S’mores and making family memories? Good news, the metal drum of your old washing machine can make that dream come true. Follow these four simple steps and you can start making memories this weekend.

  • Remove the metal drum from the washing machine.
  • Remove any rubber or plastic pieces attached to the drum.
  • Using a wire brush and warm soapy water, scrub off all the soap scum and rust.
  • Paint the drum with a high heat-resistant spray paint, such as Rustoleum.

The fire pit can be used as a portable unit or installed in a decorative stone surround. To make the fire pit portable, simply bolt three metal casters to the bottom of the tub. For a more decorative, permanently placed pit:

  • Clear an area in the yard that measures about 3 feet by 3 feet.
  • Place the tub in the center of the cleared space and place decorative stone about 2-inches deep around the tub.
  • To contain the stones, sink bricks in the ground to create a perimeter around the fire pit area.

 From Dryer to Beverage Cooler

The only thing more perfect than a backyard fire pit is sipping on a cold beverage while you’re roasting marshmallows. The basket of the dryer is the ideal size for a beverage cooler and the holes allow the water from the ice to drain. Simply remove the basket from the dryer, clean with warm soapy water, fill with ice and your favorite beverage.

What to do With Leftover Parts-
Once you have removed the tub from the washer and the dryer, separate the remaining parts. Take the metal housing from both appliances to a metal recycling plant where you can sell it for scrap metal. Appliance repair shops often need difficult to find parts for older machines, which means you could sell your extra parts to them. Check with your county about how to correctly dispose of any left over wiring and other unusable parts from your old appliances.

Want to turn your fire pit into a grill? Visit your local appliance repair shop to search for inexpensive metal grates from old ovens or refrigerators. Clean the grate and place it over the fire pit and you instantly have a unique, one-of-a-kind grill.

~Rene W.

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Articles Eco Tips Recycling

A Re-Purposeful Life

New isn’t necessarily better. In fact, repurposing items can create a unique environment filled with pieces that can’t be found in chain stores and can keep articles out of landfills. You can take this a step further when you reclaim materials from a deconstruction site. If you’re building or deconstructing a home or business, consider buying or selling materials to use again.

PlanetReuse connects buyers and sellers to materials for repurposing from deconstruction projects. You can build a home or business with reprocessed items from top to bottom. The PlanetReuse Marketplace features links to roofing materials, ceiling fans, wooden beams, lighting, molding, siding, windows, carpet tiles, and pine flooring. There are kitchen cabinets, bathroom sinks and various types of tables waiting to be recycled. For treasure hunters, stained glass windows, vintage clawfoot bathtubs, and antique sconces are yours for the salvaging. Moreover, if you’re interested in redoing your driveway or garden, you can use reclaimed landscaping rock, edging pavers, bricks, cobblestone or granite to create your own work of landscaping art. It’s all available at PlanetReuse, so check out its Marketplace section to see what’s available online.

Habitat for Humanity ReStores are nonprofit home improvement stores and donation centers throughout North America. Its website features a drop-down menu with filters by zip code and state to find Restores in the U.S. and offers an alternate filter for Canadian Provinces. Not only can you buy new and gently used furniture, appliances, home goods, and building materials, you can buy items far below retail prices. As an added attraction, proceeds go to build homes in communities in need of aid.

The Building Materials Reuse Association (BMRA) specializes in finding deconstruction or reuse businesses in your area with its business directory of listings and an interactive map. BMRA works to advance the recovery, reuse, and recycling of building materials by reducing resource consumption and landfill waste.

When it comes to interior decorating, you can adorn your home or business with vintage items from antique stores, yard sales or check out Freecycle.org; it’s an organization dedicated solely to recycling free items. Another option is to conduct online searches for reuse centers and resellers in your area. Lastly, if you see a deconstruction project in your area, contact a project representative or community liaison to see what may be available.

To reprocess an old saying, they don’t make things like they used to, so why not reclaim it? With recycling options at your fingertips, you can make your life a re-purposeful one.

~Maureen F. 

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Eco Tips Featured Uncategorized

Going Green:5 Small Steps That Make Big Differences on the Environment

Going green simply means choosing to live your life by taking steps to be more environmentally responsible. Being more eco-friendly is intended to decrease the ecological impact you make on the earth and its resources. Going green may seem confusing or overwhelming to some, but it doesn’t mean you have to take drastic steps. The first step to going green and preserving the planet is to start small. Many of the small changes you make will have a large impact on preserving Earths natural resources.

Reusable Shopping Bags

One of the easiest, yet most effective things you can do to start going green is to stop using plastic grocery bags. Using reusable shopping bags will not only reduce the amount of plastic bags you have stored throughout your home, but it reduces the amount of plastic that lays dormient for years in a landfill as well as reduces the impact they have on marine ecosystems. Reusable grocery bags are inexpensive and they are more sturdy than plastic bags.

Clean Water

An easy and inexpensive solution to buying bottled water is to invest in a recycled container and an inexpensive water purifier. It will save you money, allow you to drink fresh water whenever you want and reduce the amount of plastic being thrown in local landfills.

Cleaning Products

Most household cleaning products contain a vast array of harmful chemicals. Each time you use these products, chemicals are being released into your home as well as into the environment. Try using homemade cleaners, such as vinegar, baking soda and/or lemon. These products are much less expensive than store bought cleaners and they clean better. For example, using lemon juice on the stove surface will dissolve built-up grease and remove cooking odors.

Energy Use

If you are fed up with paying outrageous utility bills each month, there are several things you can do that will not only conserve the use of energy for future generations, but lower your utility costs. For example, by changing all of the light bulbs in your home to LED bulbs and unplugging electronics when not in use, you could save several hundred dollars each year in utility costs.

Transportation

It is convenient to get in the car and drive to work, school and shopping. However, each time you drive, the fumes from the car are being released into the environment and damaging the ozone layer. Not to mention the cost of gas and maintenance for the car. By using public transportation just one time a week, you will be doing your part to reduce your carbon footprint and you will save a few hundred dollars each year on gas and maintenance.

It is virtually impossible to completely change your lifestyle overnight and you are not expected to do so. However, by making a few small changes in daily living habits, you will make a huge impact on an array of environmental problems. Simple things often make the biggest difference, such as practicing the 3’Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle) and using organic household cleaners.

~Rene W.

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Eco Tips Uncategorized

Go Green in the Kitchen

The kitchen may be one of the busiest rooms in your entire house, and it’s no surprise that kitchen appliances use a large portion of a home’s energy. Additionally, due to dishwashers and sinks, much of a family’s water usage happens in the kitchen. Use these tips to conserve energy in your kitchen every day. Not only will you be helping to save the planet, but you will also be saving yourself some money. There’s no reason not to use these five tips to go green in your kitchen.

1. Washing dishes.

If you wash dishes by hand, don’t run the water constantly. Instead, fill one side of the sink with soapy water for washing, and fill the other side with clean water for rinsing to save water. However, most newer models of dishwashers are much more efficient than washing dishes by hand, and you won’t need to pre-rinse the dishes. However, you should only run the dishwasher when it is completely full to save on electricity and water.

2. Check fridge and freezer seals.

If the seals on the doors of your refrigerator and freezer are leaky, you could be losing money every month as cool air escapes from the fridge. Put a dollar bill in the door so that it is half in and half out. If you can pull the bill from the door easily, you should replace the seal or give it a good cleaning.

3. Use small appliances.

Instead of heating the oven every time you want to cook, try using a slow cooker. This will not only use less power, but it also helps you to avoid heating up your house in the summer. You should also consider using small appliances, like electric teapots, toasters, and rice cookers, instead of your stove if you can.

4. Fix the sink.

If your sink drips, you could be wasting gallons of water every day. A new washer only costs a few cents, but it could save you many times that on your water bill each month.

5. Install a water filter in the sink.

If you are used to using bottled water, try installing a water filter on your kitchen faucet. You can fill a water bottle and still have the convenience of portable water. However, you won’t have the expense of buying water bottles, and you won’t be generating trash. Alternately, you can use a water-filtering pitcher.

The kitchen is the heart of the home, so express your heart for the earth by utilizing these green kitchen tips.

~April F.