Home & Garden

Recycle CFLs, Xmas Waste, Old TVs: Great Green Home and Green Living Links

jchait — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:30:19 -0500

Looking for some good green home reading? I’ve got some great links for you today. Check one or more of them out.

4 Easy Ways to Recycle CFLs

Got building issues? Learn How to Find a Certified Green Professional

I really hope you’re still not drowning in Christmas stuff, but if you are, read, Where and how to recycle Xmas waste.

How to reuse or recycle tea light candle containers?

Modern-Twist Eco Placemats

What should you put in the sink? Find out in, To Drain, or Not To Drain.

Sharp Introduces New TV Recycling Program!

I’d be surprised if you haven’t seen this, but The Seven Most Un-TreeHugger Products of 2008 is awesome, so if you are one of those 2% of green heads who doesn’t read Treehugger, here ya go.

Green cooking with kids - six tips for teaching eco-skills in the kitchen

What have you read that’s good and green this week?

Home Stove and Oven Energy Savings

jchait — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:14:16 -0500

These pots above could use some lids to save energy!

If you’re looking to save energy at home, taking steps in the kitchen is smart, especially when it comes to your stove and oven use.

Some handy energy saving tips:

Keep it clean. Dirt and grime can interfere with proper cooking time and energy use. Clean inside your oven, the stove top reflector pans (or glass), and the fan regularly.

Quit peeking. Looking inside the oven won’t make that cake rise any faster. It will waste energy though each time you open the door. Use the light instead and look in the oven window.

Use pots and pans that fit the burner size. The worst energy waste here is a tiny pot on a big burner.

Consider an alternative. Both toaster ovens and microwaves use less energy than your oven. Can you use one of these options instead?

Turn it off early. You can easily turn your oven off about ten minutes early, and still have your food cook through. Just leave your dish inside the oven with the door closed for the last ten minutes. You can also do this with some stove top foods, like pasta. Allow the water to boil, but turn off the burner before your noodles are all the way cooked. Place a lid on the pot to keep heat inside.

Thaw before cooking. Thaw foods in the fridge before you cook them. Frozen foods take longer than thawed to cook.

Check your oven door seal. A broken or loose seal allows heat to escape. Dirt can also affect how your oven door seal works, so keep it clean as well.

Preheating is a waste. Most food items don’t really need to be put in a preheated oven. Some baked goods do, sure, but not stuff like frozen tator tots for the kiddos.

Used Home Furnishings and Decor - Choose Useful and Green Used Home Goods

jchait — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:00:45 -0500

In a previous post, How To Choose Green Used Home Goods, we looked at what to avoid when shopping for household goods at a thrift store, antique shop, or other used goods place.

Here are some ideas about making used products work for your home:

Basic rules…

Think useful over decoration, or you’ll end up collecting a bunch of junk you don’t need.
Think about how the object might look with minor adjustments - i.e new fabric on a stool, new paint on a frame, or an old tweed blazer made into pillow cases.
Think outside the box. Re-purpose an item. Almost everything has more than one use.

Old jewelry can be used to spiffy up a picture frame.

Cool recycled wooden crates can be made into shelving or even a small table.

Reclaimed house items, like doorknobs, non-rusty fixtures, and drawer pulls can be used as coat or towel hangers on your wall.

Clear and colored glass vases or bottles can be used as a window cover - i.e. line them up (like in the picture above). You get privacy, but without a curtain. Plus the light shining through is cool.

Old buckets, bathtubs, sinks, boots, carts, and more can be used for interesting container gardens.

You can make wind chimes from old silverware, jewels, and small tin toys.

Old dishes can be broken up and used for a new mosaic table top.

Books that can help you make the most of used goods:

Abode a la Mode: 44 Projects for Hip Home Decor

Decorating with Great Finds(82 ways to use finds from antique stores, garage sales, & attics)

Garage Sale Decorator’s Bible: How to Find Treasures, Fix Them & Furnish Your Home

Junk Beautiful: Room by Room Makeovers with Junkmarket Style

What have you re-purposed for your home?

Is There an Energy Tree in Your Future?

jchait — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:10:48 -0500

I recently saw this kooky little creation - The Energy Tree. While it’s odd for sure, it’s a pretty cool idea.

The Energy Tree was a project developed for Microsoft’s StartSomthing PC Competition by Ben Arent, a UK Product & Interaction Designer. His portfolio is pretty neat, with many cool designs to see but this project might be the most useful dream product for green home dwellers.

Basically Arent designed the Energy tree as an “All in one device to view energy use in the home, and improve the overall energy life-cycle.” The Energy Tree, in theory, monitors power consumption and recycling use. A product like this would serve to help humans become more aware of their energy use at home, or I suppose in an office setting.

The Energy Tree has a user interface for displaying information about energy consumption. According to Arent, “The Energy Tree will grow a real tree… if you are energy efficient, but if you waste energy it will start to get a disease and or die.”

For folks saying - “This concept is crazy, it will never work!” Arent answers some questions here.

So, if something like this was on the market, would you be interested? I think it’s pretty cool. I like the whole tree metaphor. It’s a nice visual for energy use.

Used Home Furnishings and Decor - How To Choose Green Used Home Goods

jchait — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:51:50 -0500

Buying used, from a thrift store, antique shop, or flea market is one great way to keep it green. You’re giving old products a new life, avoiding production of new products, and getting some cool unique finds to boot. That said, you do need to be smart about which used products you choose for your home. Buying the wrong used item isn’t green, it’s a waste of time and money.

Used products to avoid:

Avoid impulse buys: Like any purchase, you need to ask some fundamental green purchasing questions before you buy. Make sure you’re getting something you’ll actually use.

Avoid broken stuff: Some broken items are ok. If you’re sure you can fix it (really sure) go ahead and buy. If something is going to take massive repairs to get it halfway presentable or working, don’t bother.

Avoid multiple projects: A project is not so broken you can’t fix it, say a shelf that needs refinished, but having too many projects on hand pretty much ensures that none of them will get done. One project at a time is smart.

Avoid non-green kitchen supplies and dishes: If it’s not energy efficient or a smart green tableware choice avoid it.

Avoid safety hazards: Old furnishings may have lead based paints - fine if you’ll refinish it, but not ok as is. Same for thrift toys and especially baby furniture. Make sure everything works and won’t harm anyone.

Avoid large textiles: In most cases used textiles aren’t a great green deal. Most won’t be made of eco-friendly materials, most are super hard to properly clean, and with something like an old pillow, it’s almost impossible to sanitize.

Later we’ll look at some good used home product decisions.

12 Green Living Tips for the Whole House

jchait — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:12:52 -0500

Some green living tips are fairly room specific. Other green living tips, once enacted benefit your entire household. Some all-over green home tips include…

Use plant-based, natural, organic, and biodegradable soaps, detergents, and cleaners. You can make your own products, or look for these aspects on green cleaner labels.
Green clean the air in your home.
Make it a goal to use cloth everything - cleaning cloths, napkins, and if you’re up for it, cloth diapers.
Go one step further with the above tip and purchase only organic textiles.
If all cloth is too big a step, purchase recycled, unbleached paper products.
Use LED lighting where you can and install energy saving bulbs in other light fixtures.
Reuse items in your home instead of tossing them.
Buy sustainable furniture when you can.
Scale down and buy and own less stuff; which might even free you up to live in a smaller house.
When remodeling, remodel green.
Paint your rooms with earth-friendly paints.
Turn all the thermostats in the house down a few degrees.

What other green tips can you think of that benefit your entire house?

How to Tell if a Product Is Really a Smart Green Choice: Green Resources at Your Fingertips

jchait — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:28:54 -0500

In the last post, Green Product Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Buy I said I’d gather some resources that can help you answer some of the questions offered. Here you go…

Now keep in mind that some of the questions only you can answer, but in some cases, you find info about a company or product that can help you to make a green purchasing decision.

Does the product have a long shelf life?: To learn more about product reliability and life expectancy, try looking at the following…

Consumer Reports
Consumer Search
Find consumer input For example, Amazon.com, LUSH, Epinions, and other companies and websites offer places where consumers can post opinions, suggestions, and reviews.

Is the company who made it / sells it a good green and ethical company?:

Household Product Database
National Green Pages - to find a greener alternative for almost anything.
100% Fair Trade companies
2008 World’s Most Ethical Companies

Can I recycle the item and or packaging?:

Could I get it from a local company: Check your local yellow pages or do an online search but use your area as a search perimeter.

How toxic is this product?:

For beauty product safety visit Skin Deep.
Toxic Product List
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Washington Toxics Coalition

Is it tested on animals?: Visit Caring Consumer to see companies that do and do not test on animals.

If you do a little research before you buy a product, you can make sure that you’re getting the least toxic, and most eco-friendly product for your dollar.

Green Product Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Buy

jchait — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:18:51 -0500

With New Year’s right here upon us, it’s time to make some green goals. If you haven’t gotten your own goals squared away yet, then you may want to consider a nice big green purchasing goal.

Having a green shopping goal is smart, and covers a lot of ground. By flexing your green buying power you can accomplish energy saving, conserve resources, cut down on pollution, support local economy, support green businesses, and lower your footprint.

When shopping for home products, groceries, or anything, you can ask yourself the following questions. If you answer truthfully, you’ll be able to make greener shopping choices the whole year…

Do I need it?
If it’s a pure want item (i.e. unnecessary for survival) ask yourself, “Why do I want this”
Does the product have a long shelf life?
Is the company who made it / sells it a good green and ethical company?
Is there a more eco-friendly alternative? For example, an organic blanket over conventional cotton.
Can I recycle the item and or packaging?
Is the item a good value?
Could I get it from a local company - rather than buy something that had to be shipped long distances?
How toxic is this product?
How will owning this product improve my life? AND yes, you’re allowed to say “Add fun” - sometimes that’s enough.
Do I already have something at home that would work? I.e if you have a basic griddle pan, you don’t also need a big pancake griddle. If you have three cookie sheets, why would you need six?
Is it tested on animals?
Will this cost me too much to maintain?
Is this product worth my time? I.e if you have to work for money, then your time is money. Is the product worth what that time cost you?
Can I borrow one?
When I’m done with it what will I do with it - recycle it, donate it, turn it into something new?
Do I need it?

First of all you’ll notice that “Do I need it” is the first and last question you should ask yourself. Often, people don’t need the items they buy. We live in a super commercial society, and many purchases reflect that issue rather than reflect actual need.

Secondly, you don’t need to ask yourself all the questions for each and every purchase. I use about five of them regularly. You have to find the questions that work best for you.

Lastly, soon I’ll post some resources that can help you find the answer to many of the questions posted above.

Do you have any green shopping goals?

Green Food Storage Options

jchait — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:00:11 -0500

This morning we looked at what kind of food storage is the best green choice. Now, as promised, I’ve rounded up some green food storage options for you.

To-Go Ware Food Tin

Anchor Hocking Bake n’ Keep Glass Food Storage Containers

Stainless Steel Food Storage Container

Stainless-Steel Third Pan

Japanese Bento Box made of Cedar and Coated with Urushi - not microwave or dishwasher safe, but they are perfectly safe for food storage.

Green Kitchen: Eco-Friendly Food Storage Containers

jchait — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 13:34:51 -0500

This week we started looking at earth friendly kitchenware options. So far we talked about Eco-Friendly Pots and Pans and Eco-Friendly Basic Dishes. Today we’re going to take a peek at what makes a food container eco-friendly.

Food storage containers are fairly green in of themselves because they massively cut down on things like foil and plastic wrap use. Food storage containers; even super cheap, not so cool containers tend to last a long time. That said, there are some greener options than the traditional old school plastic containers most of us grew up with.

Of course you want to avoid containers made of PVC (3), polycarbonate (7), or polystyrene (6). It’s nice when you have a recyclable food container you know. Not to mention you don’t want chemicals leaching into your food. For example, plastic #7 has been shown to leach Bisphenol A (BPA), which in turn has been shown to disrupt hormones. Plastics made from petroleum and natural gas release their chemicals when overheated or melted; which can accidentally happen in a microwave. There are far better choices than plastic anyhow. If you do decide to go with some plastic containers, choose ones with the recycling symbols 1, 2, 4, or 5 and avoid heating them in the microwave (NEVER in the oven).

Best food storage options:

Glass and stainless steel are good food container choices. If you’re going to microwave an item make sure you use glass or lead-free microwave safe ceramic containers. If your glass container comes with a plastic lid, don’t microwave food with the lid on.

Later I’ll post some good green food container choices.