Buy Fewer and Smaller Things

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!!