LIVE GREEN - SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT AND MONEY

Buy Fewer and Smaller Things

2010-06-20T08:15:00.000-07:00

This one is easy for me because big stuff doesn't float my boat. However, I know that society puts pressure on us to buy big stuff and the thought is that the more stuff we have and the bigger it is the more successful we must be.

Here is another way to think of it; the more stuff you have the more work it is to maintain. Try simplifying and buying less. When you do buy, buy smaller. Consider a smaller home when you are ready to move. How much of your current house do you rarely use? For example, do you need a large bedroom if you only sleep in it?

Buy a smaller vehicle or consider having your second vehicle being a city only vehicle - something small and energy efficient. Maybe even try a scooter or motorcycle for city driving.

How many shoes or shirts do you really need? Do you really need to replace your furniture?

less stuff = less costs = more money = less work!

Soap and Garbage

2010-06-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

A simple way to reduce the trash you create and the yuck you put down the sink is to use bar soap not soap in a bottle. With bar soap you will use less at a time, so less goes down the sink unused. Plus, you won't have the bottle to throw in the recycling all the time so no waste is generated. The extra bonus is that it is much cheaper than bottled soap.

Save electricity and money in your kitchen

2010-06-02T08:05:00.000-07:00

There are several quick and easy ways to save electricity and money in your kitchen including:

Stove:

Use flat bottom pots and pans that fully cover the burner
turn the heat off before cooking is complete
use your microwave and toaster oven rather than the oven (this also keeps the house cool)
use a crock pot to precook or cook your food (you can also do this outside so that it doesn't heat the house in the summer)

Dishwasher

rinse your dishes with grey water (reused water - I keep a bowl in the sink to capture water when I wash my hands or vegies and use that water to rinse my dishes). This saves water during rinsing and also means you have cleaner dishes in the dishwasher so don't need as much soap and as long a wash cycle
make sure the dishwasher is full before you press start
be very nice and start the dishwasher during non peak hours - don't run it in the morning or during dinner time
open the dishwasher to let the dishes air dry instead of using power to heat dry (this also adds humidity to the house)

Save Water Outside

2010-06-02T07:58:00.000-07:00

With summer gardening here, make sure your outside water system is running efficiently. If you use an automatic sprinkler system, have it tested. In Colorado you can get a free test at www.conservationcenter.org.

Consider installing a quick and easy drip or soaker system to water your garden.

Check your hose connections at the house and make sure there are no leaks. If you use a handheld device it might need new washers or even replacing. Make the change now and reap the benefits all summer.

Try planting some plants in pots instead of the ground. This is a very efficient use of water (especially if you buy a self watering pot) and many plants (such as tomatoes and herbs) thrive in pots.

Also, mulch mulch mulch your garden and cover your soaker hose so that you need less water, have fewer weeds, and the water does not evaporate so quickly.

Turn your water sprinkler system off if you don't need it. For example, if it is cool or raining you don't need as much water.

Only water twice a week and have your sprinkler rotate through three times in short bursts instead of long watering cycles.

Only water your lawn before 10:00 am or after 9 pm to avoid evaporation.

Spring Yard Clean Up

2010-04-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

As thoughts to turn to spring and gardens we all imagine how magazine ready our gardens will look this year. Hope reigns eternal (I have a high gardening hope to reality ratio which keeps me very optimistic year after year!)

As you start your clean up, don't throw out your yard waste! This week in Thornton we have our free bulk pick up and I am astounded by the number of leaf bags and tree limbs I see out there - none of that is trash. Not only can it be composted, thus saving our landfills from piling up, but they are also too wonderful to toss. Leaf mulch makes some of the best compost.

The easiest way to compost leaves is to leave them on your grass (or put them there if they are in garden areas - I use a leaf blower to move them) and run your lawn mower over them. As soon as it is warm they will quickly compost (composting is a heat process). Once the grass starts growing they will disappear. For leaves not near grass I use a leaf vacuum that has a mulcher. It is easy to use and I can even use it over bark mulch. I simply suck up the leaves, which are mulched in the process, then dump them in my garden to compost. They are very rich in nutrients. So, save plastic garden bags, landfills (leaves and garden waste make up about 20$% of our landfills!), and fertilize your yard all in one easy step!

For garden limbs, many communities offer residents a fabulous service where you can drop off your tree limbs, etc for free and then pick up the mulched results for free.

Mulch can be used as compost or to keep your garden roots cool and moist during the hot dry summer. Save money on buying mulch from the stores and save our landfills!

Happy composting and happy gardening!

Save Water & Energy With Your Dishwasher

2010-04-01T08:18:00.000-07:00

As previously discussed, washing dishes with a dishwasher uses about 1/10th the water that washing by hands uses.

A few very easy habits can optimize your dishwasher usage, save money, and help the environment:
1. Rinse dishes with grey water before loading them in the dishwasher
2. Fill the dishwasher before starting it - just a few more dishes each time can save several washes each year (saving water, power, and dishwashing detergent)
3. Open the door to let them air dry instead of using power to heat dry.

And, as always, compost - compost - compost!

Eat Locally - Really Really Locally

2010-03-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

The farther our food travels to get to us, the worse it is for the environment. Read "Buy Local, Buy Fresh, Buy Beer" for more information on this.

The most local, least environmentally damaging food is that which you grow in your yard. Although it is too early in most North American climates to start planting, you can start preparing.

There are 2 major things that you can do right now to get ready for gardening season:
1. prepare your soil
2. create a water source

Without good soil it is impossible to have a productive garden. The best and cheapest way to get fabulous soil is to compost. It is almost effortless and it is cheap. You not only save on garbage pick up costs, but you also avoid buying soil (which also uses plastic bags). I am a lazy composter and just dig mine directly into my garden. Most things are gone within a month. Some things, like peanut shells and eggs shells take longer. (Peanut shells can be used as mulch instead if you don't want them in your soil. Egg shells take a long time but are a great nutrient, especially for tomato plants.)

To get a good balance between green and brown items in your compost, add leaves, grass, or mulched tree limbs. Many cities offer free or cheap mulch which can be added to your compost. I picked up 10 garden bags of free mulch last month. Check out the website of your local municapality or call them to find out about their program. For the City of Thornton, Colorado you can find the information for how to donate your garden wastes and pick up free mulch here.

Please send me links to your city's mulch program and I will post them.

The second thing that you can start on now is creating a water source. Having a garden is water intensive. If you are using household water not only is it expensive, but you are unneccasarily using treated water. Better than this is to build a rainbarrel. I just installed my first two and they filled up very quickly. I purchased previously used barrels from Pepsi as the main barrel. This was not only very cheap ($10 each) but reused plastic, so I wasn't creating more plastic.

Finally, start preparing now for your garden by reading "The Dirt Cheap Green Thumb" so that you can avoid the $64 tomato problem!

Happy Gardening and don't forget to compost!!

Being Green While Travelling

2010-03-29T15:07:00.000-07:00

I was in Las Vegas last weekend for my daughter's soccer tournament. Although we didn't stay on the strip, what adult can resist at least one walk through sin central?

As a pro-environmental person who carefully watches everything that goes in my trash, it is frustrating to see that the number of "girls, girls, girls" flyers handed out hourly on the strip (and then left on the street) produces more trash than I produce in a year.

While there isn't anything I can do about that, I can still be green as possible when travelling. When I stay in hotels I don't like my towels changed daily. In fact, I can go several days without new towels. Many hotels offer a policy now where they will only change the towels you leave in the bathtub. However, my experience over the years is that it is impossible to stop maid service from replacing all used towels. My trick now is to leave the "do not disturb" sign up 24 x 7. I don't get maid service, but I don't need it. I am tidy enough and don't need my room vacuumed and cleaned every day. If I want more soap, I just grab it off the maid's trolley.

Another travel trick is to carry an empty water bottle with me that I can quickly fill and reuse instead of buying water and wasting water bottles on my trips.

So, happy travels while staying green!

Growing a Bird Garden

2010-02-21T10:55:00.001-08:00

Although most of us still have snow on the ground and no immediate respite on the horizon, it is a good time to think about your yard and garden. Grass is generally a poor use of yard space and very demanding on the environment. We tend to water, fertilize, and cut (using electricity/gas as well as creating noise pollution) our grass very regularly. Most people spend hours more caring for their grass than they do ever enjoying it. Why not convert some of your grass area either into a vegetable garden or a bird garden?

MyBirdScape offers a quick and easy seed package to take the first easy steps towards creating a bird garden. It is easy to attract birds, provide them with more nutritious food, and have a beautiful landscape!

If you choose to convert some yard space into a bird garden sanctuary, you can even work towards having it certified as a wildlife habitat - how cool is that!

Save Water, Energy, and Money When Washing Clothes

2010-01-26T16:01:00.000-08:00

Approximately 14% of our household water is used to wash clothes. To save water, time, and money, follow a few simple rules:

Try a shorter wash - the newer washing machines and detergent are so much more efficient than what most of us grew up. Most of us grew up with inefficient washers and expect that our current washer works the same. Old habits are hard to break! Try a shorter wash and see how it works!

Only wash full loads

When your washing machine dies, buy a new front loader - they are far more efficient

When washing clothes about 90% of the energy used is to heat the water. Reduce this by washing with cold water. Again, the washing machines and detergent are so improved over the last few years that warm/hot water is almost never needed anymore.

Finally, hang your clothes to dry. In dry climates, especially in winter, this doubles as a way to keep the air a bit more humid.

Reduce Your Heat Bill and Save Energy

2010-01-24T19:17:00.000-08:00

With the coldest winter months upon us, now is the time to focus on reducing your heat bill and saving the amount of energy you use. Your heating bill can be one of your highest budget expenses this time of the year, or it can be very low.

The easiest way to reduce the heat you use is to use a programmable thermostat. If you don't already have a programmable thermostat, get one! If you have one, maximize its use. Programmable thermostats can help you lower your heat during the day when no one is at home and lower it over night, and still have the heat turned on before you need it. Also, if you are changing your schedule and will be out for several hours, turn the heat low again and have it set to come back on before you get home.

In our family we have two kids who do lots of sports so we are always out and about. Every day I reset the thermostat to suit the schedule for that day. Since we are often out for several hours there is no need having the heat running then.

Other ways to keep energy costs low:
- keep the blinds closed as much as possible, providing extra insulation around windows
- seal off leaking areas around doors, windows, etc.
- provide insulation behind exterior wall plug-ins and light switches
- keep the thermostat down a bit lower than you usually do - try it just one degree lower during the day and two degrees at night
- wear your slippers and a sweater to stay warm
- clean your furnace filter so that it operates optimally

Stay warm and save energy!

Saving Water in the Shower

2010-01-19T08:10:00.000-08:00

On average, with a regular showerhead, we use 7-10 gallons/water for each minute we are in the shower. The average shower is 12-15 minutes. If you shower for 15 minutes using 10 gallons/water per minute that is 150 gallons of water - yikes! That is even more than a bath which uses 30-50 gallons of water (a whirlpool tub uses about 80 gallons of water). This is just the water usage - heating the water is a huge cost and energy drain as well.

Taking a bath, however, is not the answer. Instead, there are quick, easy and cost-saving changes you can make today to reduce your water used in the shower.

First, install a water saving shower head that uses 2-4 gallons of water/minute. These are not like they were 10 years ago, but now offer a very nice shower experience. This is a change that is so cheap and easy you should make it today. In Colorado, Excel Energy offers free showerheads to anyone who wants them, so take advantage!

Second, take a shorter shower. Bring your shower time down to 5-7 minutes. This can be done just by being more aware of your shower time - to do this, try the shower coach. Other tricks are not to shave in the shower. When I shave my legs I do it before I shower and use the water that I ran to heat up the shower. Also, save a lot of shower time by not washing your hair every time - this not only saves water but makes your hair healthier by allowing the natural oils to condition your hair. Wash your hair every 2-3 days, not every day.

Take a "captains" shower - only run the water when you need it. Buy a showerhead that has an easy off/on switch and then run the water, for example, to wet your hair, but stop it when you are sudsing. Very easy to do and probably reduces the water use by about 1/2 to 2/3.

Potty Talk

2010-01-19T07:55:00.000-08:00

75% of the water we use in the house we use in the bathroom. Of that, 25% is used by your toilet!

A regular toilet uses about 3-5 gallons/flush whereas a low flo toilet uses 1-2 gallons. So, when you need a new toilet, buy an ultra low flush (6 L/flush) and save about 70% of your toilet water, and about 30% of your indoor water.

While your old toilet is still going strong there are several things you can do to reduce the water you use starting today and not spending much or anything at all:

1. Don't flush every time

2. Use "grey" (previously used) water to flush - we save the cold water that runs in the shower while waiting for the hot water by just having the cold water run into a bucket and using that to flush

3. Check for toilet leaks - very easy to do, just put a couple of drops of food coloring in your tank and check after 30 minutes to see if that water has run into the bowl. If yes, a quick and inexpensive fix should be done

4. Add a toilet tank bank or filled plastic water bottle to your tank to reduce the flow.

These fast changes can be made today so you can start saving money and the environment with almost no effort or investment!

Grey Water and Plants

2010-01-18T10:07:00.000-08:00

I love plants in the house - they keep the air humid (important in Colorado) and clean, not to mention they cheer up the winter months.

However, the bigger the plants, the more water they require and I am one of the people who think that water is far more valuable to our planet than oil or gold, and so needs to be conserved.

There are two ways I water my indoor plants using
"grey" (reused) water instead of clean tap water:

1. Between sports and life, my family is always filling up water bottles but never emptying them. I dump the leftover water into my plants.

2. When running the shower none of us like to jump in when it is cold. We keep a bucket in the shower that we use to collect the cold water that runs before the warm water. I use that water to water plants or flush toilets.

Give this a try or let me know your ideas for conserving water for your plants!

Grey Water and Dishwashing

2010-01-18T09:54:00.000-08:00

Using an EnergyStar dishwasher is more water efficient than washing dishes by hand.

This is good news for me as I think I could do without almost any appliance but not my dishwasher. Anytime my dishwasher breaks down my husband knows that fixing it quickly is Task A1. When we were first married we did not have a dishwasher and most of our arguments revolved around washing dishes. Just when we could finally afford a dishwasher the very bad news came out that using a dishwasher was a wasteful use of energy and water. I never gave up my dishwasher, but always felt guilty about it.

Recently, however, with the advent of EnergyStar dishwashers, I can lay my guilt to rest. An EnergyStar dishwasher typically uses 4 gallons of water per cycle compared to 6 gallons used by a regular dishwasher. An EnergyStar dishwasher saves an estimated 5,000 gallons of water each year compared to hand washing - woohoo! Of course, saving water means saving money - about $40/year.

In fact, the most water used by any dishwasher is the approximately 20 gallons used to prerinse your dishes. While I do not recommend stopping the prerinse - there are ways to do that without using any water:
1. Use a spatula instead of water - there is always a dirty spatula in my dishwasher that I can reuse for this job.
OR
2. Use "grey" water. Grey water is water you have already used for another purpose, but saved for a second use that doesn't require such clean water. In my kitchen sink I keep a bowl that collects water when we wash our hands, etc. Then I use this water and a dishwashing brush to rinse my dishes. Even if I am washing pots and pans, etc. I still collect that water to reuse to rinse dishes.

It is very easy to save that 20 gallons/day on rinsing dishes simply by making very small changes to your habits.

Rainwater Collection Now Legal in Colorado

2009-12-10T09:16:00.000-08:00

Rainwater collection (e.g.: using rain barrels) has been illegal in Colorado since laws have been here. People who collected rain flowing from their roofs were lawbreakers. Now, however, Colorado lawmakers have made it legal to collect your rainwater and use it for watering your garden.

Use untreated rainwater to water your garden makes good sense. There is no benefit in having chlorinated, cleansed water for our plants - in fact, they like it au natural!

So, this Christmas, I have added the very glamorous item of "rain barrel" to my wish list.

You can buy rain barrels or you can make your own. Read rain barrel making instructions or watch a video courtesy of Lowe's.

Lowe's also sells some rain barrels online, with free shipping:

48 gallon high and narrow
50 gallon low and wide

Some other places to get rain barrels online:

Eagle Peak containers
Gardener's Supply company (nice looking selection, but more pricey)
Great prices at Baytec
Great selection at Woodland direct

Other simple, inexpensive rain barrel ideas include:

Buy a garbage bin and place it under your spout. No easy to use spout, but you can just put a pail in and collect the water.
Try to locate a soft drink bottler in your area. They have big plastic drums for sale here, after they empty the syrup.
Use old wine or whiskey barrels
Try Craig's list for old barrels

For winter, I just have some ice cream buckets under some downspouts. As they fill, usually from snow melt, I dump them on my trees. My husband thinks I have gone overboard, but last winter several trees and bushes suffered from the dry winter. This keeps my trees watered over the winter without having to turn on the outdoor water or use up more water. Every time I am outside I just dump the water, very easy!

Buying a rain barrel not only saves the environment, but quickly saves you money on your water bill!

Avoid Bagging Leaves - Create Mulch Instead

2009-09-25T11:43:00.001-07:00

No one likes bagging leaves. It is a lot of work to collect the leaves and then put them into bags. The bags are expensive and the increase in garbage is huge.

Instead of bagging leaves, buy a leaf mulcher - they are the best! It is like a vacuum cleaner that mulches up the trash. A leaf mulcher sucks up the leaves, mulches them, and dumps them into a reusble bag. After you have mulched them, you can take the bag and empty it directly into your garden. Leaf mulchers are so great that I can run mine over my existing bark mulch at top speed and it only picks up the leaves. Love it!

You save the environment by not buying more plastic bags (plastic is evil) and not creating garbage. You also don't need to go buy bagged mulch at the garden store.

You save money on plastic bags and mulch.

Also, it is much less time consuming that trying to manouever leaves into bags.

For leaves that fall on the grass, just take your lawn mower over them, mulch them up as you go, and leave them on the grass just as you would do with your grass clippings.

Plus, I have to confess it's fun to do my leaves. I love my power tools and this qualifies!

Things to Do Without: Plastic Bags

2009-09-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

Lose the habit of buying plastic bags to store food in. Try using reusable containers or reusing and washing plastic already in your house instead. We already have so much plastic coming into our homes, simply resuse those bags. Rinse them out quick, dry them, then store them. Some sources of plastic bags at home include: bread bags, tortilla bags, and cereal box inserts. Plastic is such a large part of our garbage - think of how you can avoid it before buying it and consider how you can resuse it before throwing it out!

Did you know: Factories around the world made 4-5 trillion plastic bags 2002. Even weighing a few ounces each, that is a lot of trash.

Fun thing to do: about a million plastic bags are consumed /minute. Check out this counter to see where we are so far this year.

Did you know: Prior to 1957 we had no plastic bags in our homes for sandwiches, fruit, etc. If we could do it then, we can eliminate it now!

And always remember to compost!

Things to do Without: Bottled Water

2009-09-14T08:11:00.000-07:00

Bottled water is not safer, cleaner, or healthier. It is costly in terms of money and trash.

Unlike tap water, most bottled water sold in the US does not have to meet any FDA regulations. Things that are found in bottled water include arsenic and synethetic organic carcinogens.

Bottled water is nothing more than a great marketing strategy having people pay a lot of money (as much as you pay for gas) for something that is essentially free from the tap.

Your tap water is safe. It is highly monitored by both the EPA and the FDA and allows for no E. coli or fecal coliform bacteria; bottled water does not have this regulation. If you have the stomach, read this recent report on what is in your bottled water.

In the United States alone over 40 BILLION bottles of water are purchased every year and 80% of those are never recycled. To make those 40 Billion bottles requires 47 million gallons of oil. Quitting our water habit would be like taking 100,000 cars off the road every single year. For each bottle of water that we drink, five times that amount is required to create the bottles. That water is released back into the environment as dirty water containing nickel, ethylene oxide, and benzene.

Pledge today to cut back or stop using bottled water.

Composting is Easy

2009-09-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

Did you know: 28% of what we put in landfills can be composted. This includes food scraps, yard trimmings, and wet/soiled paper. Most of this you can easily compost and create better soil, while reusing the water from the composted products also.

Just because it is winter, don't be afraid to continue with your composting. Regular outdoor composting means that your products freeze and thaw (depending on your climate) through the winter, helping them breakdown. If you are in too cold a climate winter might be the time to try indoor worm composting.

If you have any leaves left from fall, buy a leaf mulcher (very cheap - maybe $35), suck them up, and lay them on your garden or grass areas so that they mulch. Leaves should never be thrown in the garbage!

To start composting today, leave a bucket in your kitchen to grab kitchen compostables (fruit and vegetable leftovers, flowers, hair trimmings, egg shells, etc). When it is full take it outside and put it in your composter, dig it in your garden (my favorite method), or start a compost pile (my second favorite method).

However you do it, start composting today!

Things to Do Without: Magazines

2009-09-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

Instead of picking up magazines at the grocery store or having them mailed to you every week, go to the library and get as many as you want at no cost. Save money and the environment. If you absolutely can not break your magazine habit, make sure you share your magazines with a friend or leave them at the hospital, hair salon, or doctor's office next time you are there.

Fun thing to do: Check how much trash magazines create.

Also, always remember to compost! It is easy and makes a big difference.

Things to do Without: Paper Towels

2009-09-10T08:48:00.001-07:00

Make a committment to quit using paper towels - they don't do anything that a normal dish towel can't do. They only thing extra they do is create more garbage and cost more money. Buy some nice cloth napkins for your family to use with meals/snacks and you are set!

Fun thing to do: Use the paper towel waste calculator to find out how much garbage paper towels create.

Also, always remember to compost!

Walk or Bike or Take a Bus Once a Week

2009-09-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

Just once this week, walk or bike somewhere that you would normally drive. Maybe to the local library or to the grocery store to pick up something. Walk your kids to school instead of driving them. You might even like it!

Destress your daily commute - take the bus. You can read a book, check email or pay bills on your laptop, nap, or knit a sweater! Low stress, low cost, and low exhaust!

Imagine if everyone drove just 10 minutes less a week, and then 10 minutes less a day!

Five EZ Changes You Can Make This Week

2009-08-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

The changes we make need to be a group effort. If everyone makes small changes over time, change will happen. Here are some quick easy changes you can make starting this week:

Take one grocery bag with you to the grocery store. If you don't have reusable bags, take a bag from last week's groceries. Next week, take two (and always keep one in your purse/car for easy use). Most of all, remember to use it!

Take one captain's shower - turn the water off when you are sudsing up and turn it back on to rinse off.

Change one lightbulb to a power friendly bulb.

Compost, just for one day and see how easy it is. Collect your compostables in a container, then take them to your garden and dig them straight into the earth.

Change one bill to online only - avoid all paper.

It's easy being green!

Now, ask one friend to make these five easy changes this week!

Less Green in the Trash!

2009-07-09T06:36:00.000-07:00

One way to reduce trash is to throw away less produce. How often do you toss away fruits and vegetables because they have spoiled? Try to reduce that by using up what you have before buying more. Not only does wasted produce cost you money and increase the landfill, but that produce used a lot of energy to get to your table! By buying only what we use, we save our pocketbooks, the landfill, and energy costs to bring us the food.

Some simple ideas to use up produce that is going bad:

fruits - flash freeze them then use them in smoothies - this is especially great for things such as berries, grapes, or stone fruits (peaches, nectarines, etc.)

pears and oranges: if they aren't nice enough to eat, use them right away in a smoothie

Smoothies: If you don't want a smoothie right now, and can't pawn it off on family members, make it into popsicles for a perfect afternoon treat!

bananas - freeze them and use them later in banana bread

apples: make apple brown betty or apple crisp. Make apple muffins.

vegetables - freeze and use them later to make homemade broth (when you have enough frozen vegies, dump them all into your crockpot, cover with water, simmer for several hours, then strain. Use right away or freeze in single server portions to use later). I use almost all vegetables, but things like onions, carrots, and parsely (stalks) are ideal. (I wouldn't put leaf vegetables in here.)

If all else fails, compost!

Paper and Postage Stamps

2009-06-27T09:06:00.001-07:00

Paper accounts for approximately 35-40% of landfill contents. Try tio be aware of how much paper you create. While recycling is a good option for paper, it is better to refuse.

An easy place to begin is by reducing the paper in your mailbox. Start by switching one bill to paperless; get email statements and pay electronically. This saves paper and saves you money on postage stamps.

How about all those catalogues you get in the mail? You probably get a copy of them emailed to you. Phone the stores and cancel them.

Do you read the newspaper you receive? If not, consider cancelling it and just buying it when you read it.

Magazines

When you are done with your magazines, share with a neighbour. Better yet, drop them off at the hairdresser's or doctor's office next time you are there.

Reducing paper is a collective effort, so tell a friend!

And Always Remember to Compost!

Buy Local, Buy Fresh, Buy Beer

2009-06-23T09:39:00.000-07:00

Have you ever considered how far our food travels to get on our plates? The environmentally price of having fresh brocolli all year long is huge. (On average, brocolli covers over 2,000 miles to get to your table.) The environmental cost of the gas alone to transport our food is huge.

Try to buy local food (maybe from a farmer's market). You will get food that is in season and fresher. As an added bonus, you will support your local economy (instead of the huge multinational corporations that get rich from our year round fresh brocolli), and you will save a lot on gas.

One baby step to take is alcohol. I like my Corona beer in the summer. However, it is brought all the way to me from Mexico. I resolve to only buy locally produced beer. I can have my Corona's when I go to Mexico. While in Colorado I will drink Coors, Bud, or (more likely) some of the local micro beers such as Fat Tire. I have to admit, this won't be a hard sacrifice! It is really about changing my mind set from liking one thing to liking something at least as good.

Share your favorite local beer in the comments section!

Turn Your Thermostat Up in the Summer

2009-06-20T07:24:00.000-07:00

In the summer raise your thermostat to 75 degrees F before the air conditioning kicks in. Also, wake up early and open the windows to cool the house a few more degrees, then shut the windows and draw the curtains to prevent the house from heating up.

In dry climates, an environmental option to air conditioners is water evaporators/swamp coolers. This keeps the house humid and cool. I like the air from these a lot more than I do from air conditioners.

Better yet, avoid cooling systems all together and use a fan!

Save Water - Pledge to Save 10 Gallons a Day

2009-06-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

Saving water is really easy for most people. Just start paying attention to how you use water - you will probably be surprised how much water you waste. Challenge yourself to save 10/gallons a day with almost no effort. Here are some suggestions:

1. Run the water slower when washing hands, showering, brushing teeth, rinsing dishes, etc.

2. Don't wash your hair every day. It is healthier for your hair to be washed every 2-3 days so that the oils from your scalp can condition it.

3. If you don't have low flow toilets, add a plastic bottle filled with rocks and water to your tank

4. Landscape with plants for your climate that do not require additional water

5. Don't shave your legs in the shower ladies, do it before you get in

6. When you are running your water waiting for it to warm up, run it into a bucket that you can use to flush the toilet

7. When home alone, you really do not need to flush every time

8. Turn off the sprinkler system when it isn't needed

9. Make sure you don't have water from your sprinkler running down the sidewalk

10. Place mulch around garden plants. For mulch you can use grass clippings, leaves, or plant trimmings. Mulch slows evaporation and keeps the roots cool.

Please feel free to add your water saving ideas to the comments section!

Reduce Grass

2009-06-18T07:24:00.000-07:00

Reduce the amount of grass you have. Grass is not a natural use of space and requires watering, fertilizing, and lawn mowing (noise pollution).

Replace your grass with a vegetable garden or with sutainable landscaping (xeriscaping). Start by removing the turf and spend some time improving the soil by composting. Some resources for what to plant are:

A few interesting books on growing more vegetables instead of grass are:

Edible Estates
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Barbara Kingsolver)

If you must have grass, plant slow-growing, drought-resistant varieties. Learn more at

Remember to leave the grass clippings on the grass.

If you have a sprinkler system, get a audit on it. In Colorado you can schedule one through the Center for Resource Conservation. I recently had one and they gave me several hints to help increase the efficiency of our system.

toilet leaks

2009-06-17T16:17:00.000-07:00

Take a few minutes today to make sure your toilet isn't leaking.

Place a few drops of food color in your toilet tank and wait 30 minutes. If the toilet bowl has colored water, you have a leak. Leaking toilets can waste up to 200 gallons of extra water/day! It is usually a quick, easy, and inexpensive fix. If you have a leak, check the tank's flapper valve - try adjusting it. If that doesn't work, buy a new one. Then test your water again.

Grass Clippings

2009-06-16T07:34:00.000-07:00

Approximately half of all US states ban bagged grass. In the summer months, city trash collection increases up to 40% because of bagged grass clippings and other yard waste. Grass clippings are better left on the grass, provide nutrients, save us time bagging, save us money on bags, and are the easiest way to compost.

Never ever (EVER) bag your grass clippings! They should always be left on the grass to compost. This provides nutrients for the soil and keeps the roots cool and moist. It saves you money on garbage bags and time on bagging. If you prefer, you can dump your grass clippings over your garden; it makes a nice mulch to hold the moisture in the soil. Most lawn mowers clip the grass so fine that you won't even notice it on your lawn.

Grass clippings also contain so many natural nutrients, that you won't need to spend the time and money on artificial fertilizers. Most people over-fertilize their lawns, adding to contaminated run-off water. Also, grass clippings are approximately 85% water, saving your sprinkler system some work!

Composting is one of the easiest way to reduce trash, and leaving grass clippings on the ground is the easiest composting of all!

Shopping Bags

2009-06-11T08:41:00.000-07:00

Plastic is one of the worst trash creations ever. It does not decompose nicely and we use huge quantities of it. I compost and recycle, and have noticed that most of my garbage is composed of platic packaging.

The problem with plastic is so serious that the United Nations has called for a complete worldwide ban on plastic grocery bags. "Single-use plastic bags which choke marine life should be banned or phased out rapidly everywhere," said Achim Steiner, head of the U.N. Environment Program. "There is simply zero justification for manufacturing them any more, anywhere." Although some people think recycling is a cure, and recycling plastic bags is on the rise, in the US alone it is estimated that 90 BILLION BAGS a year are not recycled.

An easy way to address this is to decrease the amount of plastic you bring home from the grocery store every week. I have two methods:

1. Use cloth bags at check-out

2. Instead of using plastic for my produce, I started collecting and reusing the mesh bags you get when you guy 5-10 lb packages of onions, potatoes, lemons, etc. Run a ribbon through the mesh around the top to use as a tie, then use these at the store. This is a 1 minute project - give it a try!

Garburators and the Environment

2009-06-10T18:27:00.000-07:00

Garburators increase the fat we put down our drains by about 20 percent. This clogs up our home and city sewer lines. Unclogging them requires costly chemicals and plumber services. Try to minimize what you put down your sink by using a sink strainer. Clean that out regularily and dump the contents into your compost. You will save yourself money on chemicals and plumbers as well as save the environment from chemicals!

Rainwater Harvesting: Rainbarrels

2009-04-27T13:22:00.000-07:00

Water is tomorrow's oil. We are running low on water and can easily save water.

One way to save water is to harvest rainwater.
Rainwater harvesting is finding any way to save rainwater for a dry day. This is especially useful if you live in an arrid zone. One way is to use a rainbarrel.

Place rainbarrels in an unnoticed area, or hide with vines and bushes.

If you are handy, you can make your own rainbarrell. Find instructions on Youtube.

Unplug Chargers

2009-04-27T13:04:00.000-07:00

Be sure to only leave your cell phone, laptop, etc. plugged in long enough to charge it. As soon as it is charged, unplug it from the wall. Do not leave chargers that are not charging plugged in or it will continue to draw power.

When you get a new cell phone - recycle the old one, don't throw it out! Old cell phones leak toxic waste into our water and land.

Bottled Water - NEVER!

2009-04-22T15:40:00.000-07:00

Vow to never buy bottled water again. Get your water from the tap - the same place most bottled water originates!

Bottled water creates approximately 1.5 million tons of plastic trash each year. That plastic uses up to 47 million gallons of oil each year to produce. Most bottles are not even recycled, with over 80 percent of plastic bottles thrown away. Plastic takes about 1000 years to deteriorate.

Bottled water is expensive, produces a hideous amount of waste, and is not safer or cleaner. In fact, tap water has higher standards than bottled water.

So, pledge today to never buy bottled water and sign the petition.

Hang Your Clothes to Dry

2009-04-06T15:21:00.000-07:00

Your clothes dryer uses 5-10% of your house electricity, plus wears your clothes out.

Lose the dryer - hang your clothes to dry. Besides saving electricity and extending the life of your dryer (saving the environment by not needing to replace it) this saves your clothes from coming out of the dryer wrinkled and needing ironing. Get a clothes hangar for indoors, hang a clothes line outdoors. Easier yet, hang any clothes that will end up on hangers directly on to the hangers. They dry and you don't need to move them from the clothes line to the hanger - easy! Reduces your work, your energy used, and saves the environment!

Turn the Thermostat Down in the Winter

2009-04-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

Put on a sweater and slippers and then turn your room temperature down a degree or two. I used to feel uncomfortable with the house below 72 degrees F, now I rarely like it above 67 degrees F - it's just what we are used to.

Buy a programmable thermostat and have the temperature drop automatically at night but warm up before you wake up. You can also set it to turn way down when you leave the house during the day.

On top of that, if you are running out for a few hours, turn the heat off or reset the thermostat to go off for that period of time and turn back on before you get home.

Digital thermostats are not expensive or difficult to purchase. Buy one today - it will quickly pay for itself. And, don't forget to turn the room temperature down.

Small change to make today: Save money with your water heater temperature

2009-03-30T13:26:00.000-07:00

25% of your energy bill and usage is probably attributable to your water heater.

Lower this by turning the temperature on your water heater down! Almost all homes have it turned up far too high. Try just adjusting it by one notch at a time, until you find a balance of having enough hot water, but not more than you need. Our biggest appliance cost us the most money and waste the most energy, so by making adjustments to them you save the most for the least effort. By turning your water heater down just 10 degrees you will probably save 3-5% off of your energy bill, plus you are saving the environment!
When you go on vacation, turn the water heater to the minimum.

Energy Efficient Clothes Washer

2009-03-26T08:56:00.000-07:00

If you need to buy a new clothes washer, spend a little bit more now to buy an energy efficient clothes washer which will save you money over time.

An energy efficient clothes washer reduces your energy bill, water bill, and you will spend less on detergent.

Save Water
An energy efficient washing machine saves about 18 gallons of water (equivelant to a single shower) on each load.

Save Energy
"If your washer is more than 10 years old, you’re paying about $145 more each year on your utility bill than you would if you owned a new ENERGY STAR qualified model."

Save Detergent
Because of the efficent way the HE washers work, you need far less detergent - just about 2 T/load. That means less waste in our oceans and streams, and you spend less money on detergent.

Save your Clothes
HE washers don't use agitors that twist and pull your clothes.

Saving Electricity and Money with Compact Fluorescent Lights

2009-03-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

According to the US Government, "If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars." Plus, you save about $30/bulb over the light bulbs lifetime. I replaced all the lightbulbs in my house and my bill went down immediately.

The lights look different than traditional ones - instead of the bulb style, they are spiral.

You can buy the bulbs at any store that sells regular bulbs. I buy mine at King Soopers for about $1 each. If you buy just one bulb each time you go to the store, and replace the old bulb as soon as you get home, you can convert your house for no noticable cost in just a month or two.

Another great thing about the compact fluorescent bulbs is that they don't generate heat, so in the summer your house will stay cooler with less energy on your part.

If you aren't sure which bulbs to buy, the US Department of Energy and the EPA have combined and created a guide to help you pick the right bulbs for your needs.

Worm Composting

2009-03-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

Worm composts are great for colder climates as you can compost indoors (even in your kitchen) year round without creating an odor. It is also great for apartments or patio homes with no garden. This is a simple way to compost kitchen scraps.

Worm compost climate requirements: You can use worm composters indoors or outdoors, as long as you keep it in a temperature between 40-80 degrees F.

The best way to get worms is to purchase them alongwith your worm compost bin. You can also try the worm exchange (those with worms giving them to those who need worms) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/worm_exchange/

If you are handy and want to build your own worm composter (not very difficult), see http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/build-worm-compost-bin.html

Compost Bin Alternatives

2009-03-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

You can build or buy a wide variety of compost bins. These are used for outdoor use and can be used to compost a large amount of material, including yard clippings and kitchen waster (never put meat or dairy into a compost bin!).

The simplist way to create a compost bin is:

- Get a large plastic container (such as a garbage container or rubbermaid storage box that you no longer need). The bigger, the better. The only requirement is that it has a lid.

- Drill many holes in the plastic bin (to increase air circulation which will help speed the decompostion), space 1-2 inches apart. Holes should be on all sides, including bottom and lid.

- Place it wherever is convenient, your yard, garage, patio

- shake the bin or stir the pile every day or so.

- keep the contents moist, but not wet. (If too wet add dry leaves, shredded newspapers, empty unbleached paper rolls, etc.)

- after about six months, your compost will be ready to harvest. To harvest, just remove the composted materials and dig into your soil.

Learn how a variety of compost bins at any of the following

- http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/agguides/hort/G06957.htm

- http://www.backyardgardener.com/compost/index.html

What Not to Compost

2009-03-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

What not to compost can be the easiest way to know what to compost.

Things that you should not compost are

chemically treated wood
diseased plants
meat and bones (unless very experienced)
fatty foods and oils
pet and human wastes
dairy products
inorganic material (plastic, wood)
bleached paper

What can I compost?

2009-03-12T07:14:00.000-07:00

Essentially, you can compost anything that was once alive. Be careful about meat though (see below for more comments).

The most obvious things to compost are:

any fruit/vegtable peelings, etc. leftover

leaves

grass clippings (although I have a mulcher on my lawn mower and prefer to leave the grass clippings on the grass to help that soil)

plant clippings - keep your yard under control by taking small clippings every day and adding them to your compost.

Other things you can compost are:

hair

nail clippings

coffee and tea grounds

unbleached paper such as paper towels, toilet rolls, etc.

Some things that take a bit longer, but are definately compostable include:

egg shells (crush them up a bit with your hands before putting them into your compost bin)

nut shells

Meat is compostable, but if you are new to composting I could not recommend it. If you choose to compost meat, I would not compost it in a compost pile - only compost it if you are using the direct to garden method that I discussed yesterday. Also, it needs to be dug in immediately, not left sitting about and rotting. I would definately only compost meat by throwing in some conifer clippings with it as they are strong smelling and throw off the scent to any vermin that it might otherwise attract.

Easy Garden Composting Creates Great Soil at no Cost

2009-03-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

According to the EPA, each American generate an average of 4.62 pounds of trash a day. As a nation we create 254 million tons of trash a year. Yard trimmings and food scraps, which are compostable, make up 1/4 of all our trash.

Composting decreases our garbage and makes our soil more nutritious, helping us to grow healthier plants, generating more oxygen and cleaner air!

Composting also saves you money. There is an old saying, "plant a 50 cent plant in a 5 dollar hole." Composting will give you great soil without spending money.

There are many ways to compost; my favorite method is straight into the garden. It takes about five minutes. Here are the steps:

Collect compost in a container in the kitchen. I use an ice cream bucket.

Take the kitchen compost into the garden, dig a hole about 6" deep, throw in the compost

Take a shovel and break up the compost while mixing it with the soil

Optional: throw on some yard compost (leaves, grass, small branches)Throw the dug up soil back on, rinse tbe ice cream bucket out with water and throw that on top of the soil, and I am done.

In a week or two the garbage will be fully composted and you will have great soil and soon a great garden.

I hope you will give composting a try - it is incredibly easy and you will be shocked by how much less garbage you produce.

TIPS AND TRICKS

Frequency
I am a bit lazy and I also don't like to get cold. I live in Colorado where the temperature is very moderate and there are not a lot of vermin around. In the winter, I have 4-5 buckets of compost that I build up before I dig it in. As I fill one pail up, I put it outside on a table where it is not easily accessible to any local animals. The compost waits there until I am less lazy and it is warm enough for me to go out and dig it in. In the meantime, the compost freezes at night, then thaws in the sun all week, so it starts breaking down nicely before I even dig it in.

Water
If I am running water in the kitchen sink to wash my hands, etc., I put the compost pail under the tap and capture the water in with the compost.

Animals
Every now and then either my dog or the neighbourhood racoon dig up my compost. To stop them, I have done two things: First, I add a couple of small conifer branches in with the compost - this changes the scent so that it is less appealing. Second, I pick up any doggy poop around the yard and throw it in or on top of the compost - no animal likes that!