Living Green

Light Bulb Moment (and not a good one)

Pat — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:33:24 GMT

http://www.hsibaltimore.com/ealerts/ea200802/ea20080227a.html

Health Sciences Institute has something to say about the forced removal of incandescent light bulbs.

Do you use gray water?

Joyous — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 04:14:35 GMT

I hope to start using gray water regularly, but right now I've got too many other projects going on. Recently I was able to use some, though, and I was inordinately proud of myself. I remembered to save the water my beans had been soaking in overnight by putting a large bowl underneath the colander before I drained the beans. I figured there was nothing but "bean extract" in the water, so I used them to water my very late lettuce crop. Made me happy.

Do you use gray water? How do you save it? What do you use it for?

Reusing Packaging

KateHC — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 09:00:31 GMT

I was just thinking about this; I love getting 35 lb buckets of cat litter because the buckets are so utterly useful! (I hate carrying them to the car, and then into the house, but oh, well.). We chop up cardboard boxes to start the fire in the woodstove. I also reuse grocery bags to use as trash liners in small cans... but what other ways can you reuse packaging? All kinds, not just bags and boxes?

(I want to try making tin-can lanterns this summer, too!)

A question for those who have made cloth napkins

timzagain — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 05:56:36 GMT

What's the best fabric for making cloth napkins. Years ago, I found a piece of damask and made some lovely napkins from it. I'm looking for something that will stand up to regular everyday use. I'm thinking linen or maybe plain sheeting fabric which will give me a lot more napkins for the same outlay of cash. However, I would greatly appreciate some suggestions. There's nothing suitable in my fabric stash, so I will have to buy fabric.

Alternatively, I will go to the nearby warehouse club and buy a package of the cloth napkins that are intended for restaurant use.

Coal? Clean?

haverwench — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 03:54:18 GMT

I just got around to reading this past Sunday's Dollar Stretcher, and in the article on coal stoves, I happened on this sentence: "Coal is clean burning and plentiful, with prices lower than other fuel sources."

OK, I'm willing to grant that coal is (for the time being) plentiful and cheap. But where on earth did she get "clean burning"? Compared to what? Coal is widely regarded as the dirtiest fuel source out there--producing not just CO2 (burning anything does that) but also nitrous oxides, sufur dioxide, carbon monoxide, mercury, VOCs (which form ozone, the major component of smog), and soot. So in what sense is it "clean"?

The article quickly moved on from the why of burning coal to the how, so it never provided any information to back up that statement. So I have no idea on what she's basing her view that coal is a clean source of heat. Did anyone out there get it? If so, can someone explain it to me?

Toronto Canada bans free plastic bags June 2009

onequarterdal — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:02:49 GMT

http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1340543

I carry fabric bags in my car, but its still not quite intuitive to take them into the store. More and more however, retailers in my part of the province are asking "Do you need a bag?" when its a small one item purchase. I'm curious to see if more cities in the province of Ontario follow suit in 2009/2010.

How about in your own community?

Dot

leaky fridge/headache

zohnerfarms — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:18:00 GMT

Our old fridge was apparently leaking the refrigerant & it made me sick - I had come home after working & gone to sleep upstairs in our split level, not realizing the odd odor was the lighter-than-air refrigerant. I had to get up at noon & had a whopping headache when I did. Took a couple of aspirin & went back to bed & woke up to the alarm at 2:30. By the time I got up the headache was severe & my vision looked wavy, like when you look across a hot parking lot in 90+ degree heat. I ended up calling in sick to work, but when DH came home, he recognized it for a leak & after an hour outside of the house, the headache was backing off & I was feeling better.

DH & I decided to replace it with an energy star fridge from Sears, same size & type. Since the headache day, we have kept the windows open regardless of the weather. The fridge was just delivered today. I will sleep better tonight than I have for a week, & I am pleased to have the energy star appliance.

Slow Drains

Luvd_Lioness — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:30:54 GMT

I am wondering if anyone knows of a frugal-enzymatic type cleaner?

The issue is my shower drain. It's slow, not fully clogged. I have done treatments of baking soda and vinegar with no avail. I have the drain "strainer" off even. I am wondering if there is another way of dealing with all the gunk that is built up in the drain. Also not willing to do the wire coat hanger dealy since I kind of need to use my hands/arms afterwards. (due to the ackwardness, I know it would trigger my fibromyalgia)

If you know of something that would be in most houses that would work versus going out and buying something that would be ideal... since most things out there are toxic, and I'm thinking Green.

TIA!!

I only used 1ccf of gas this month!

missapril_piano — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:33:42 GMT

I'm really excited! We have a household of 2. Right now, the only thing running gas is the water heater.

We take reasonable showers & rarely use the bath. We run the dishwasher 1x a week. We wash our clothes on cold.

Comparably, when I had different roommates w/ a household of 3, our bill was upwards of $100 (guessing over 50ccf of gas used)--same house. There were always fights about the gas bill as one of them took the longest showers of anyone I have ever known--so much so that we would run out of hot water. Even though dbf & I take consequetive showers often---we have never come close to running out of hot water!

I feel very vindacated by this bill & I'm happy that our efforts are paying off! The bill was $11.62 & $10of that was a "customer charge".

Trash Challenge

Kim_150 — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 04:18:47 GMT

I decided I'm going to challenge myself to produce less garbage. I want to see how long I can go before my trash can fills up and I have to take it out... I put a new bag in on Sunday, and today is Friday, so that's 6 days so far.

Part of this is re-thinking what I throw away. Today I was about to toss a plastic bag some socks came in, but realized it could come in handy- it has a zipper top and is pretty sturdy, so I could use it for carrying lunches to work or catching kitchen scraps. I'm not doing this to encourage hoarding, but just to take a second look at what I might be wasting. I really hate waste.

I'm not counting kitchen scraps as part of my challenge- I live in an apartment and can't compost. So kitchen scraps are either used for broth and then thrown away, or they go down the garbage disposal, or I collect them in a re-used plastic bag in the refrigerator (so they don't stink up the trash can).

Does anyone want to join me?

Old-fashioned letter writing: dipping pens and home-made ink

Gran — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 13:11:10 GMT

I've heard over the years that buying even the least expensive ballpoint pens will add up to spending more money than using ink and a fountain pen or a dipping pen. I decided that I could, at least, write my personal letters with a dipping pen and ink. (My fountain pens need repair.) I priced the ink for dipping pens. It's more expensive than fountain pen ink. Dipping pen ink needs to be thicker, and so it's found in art supply shops and the Calligraphy sections at hobby stores. I'd read a couple of places that liquid bluing was used widely as ink for personal letter writing during the Depression, and the Civil War. I've been using Mrs. Stewart's right out of the bottle, and also have added some carbon black. Next time I have a coupon, I'll get some gum arabic and put a few drops of that into the recipe. I have not yet tested for sunlight or water fading. I'm guessing that the gum arabic will help keep the color and the ink on the paper. So far, I have found the bluing to flow smoothly, with no drips or blobs. I'm using Leonardt writing nibs and standard typing paper. Anyone else have experience with bluing as ink? Or with other easy-to-come-up with inks? I don't plan to make historical inks as they are time consuming and to me, too labor intensive. I don't need historical authenticity. A bottle of Mrs. Stewart's is eight ounces and costs four dollars. A one-ounce bottle of Calligraphy ink can cost $4.00. I use the tiny jam jars from hotels, which I've collected from various sources, and small condiment jars. The tiny jam jars are my favorites. I may try some strong black tea. But, that'll wait till I buy some very inexpensive tea, and the gum arabic.

free drawing for solar backpack

littlepitcher — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:38:49 GMT

Planet Green is raffling off a solar backpack--one of those $500 critters which will charge a laptop. If I can't win it, I want one of you all to have it. It's on their website.

Wild food

Pat — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 20:07:19 GMT

It's spring again! (So they say) Anyway, it's time to start looking for wild food in your back yard or local area. For Easter, I made a salad of lettuce, chopped turnip with the bit of greens that was growing from it, tender dandelion leaves, wild salsify leaves and some chives. It was very good, but now I'm hungry for more wild food. We used to gather dock early in the spring and that was our first "greens" dish in the spring, but it doesn't grow in my backyard. Neighbors would probably complain if it did.

Do you eat wild food? What kind and where do you find it?

washing greens

littlepitcher — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:44:04 GMT

The flowerbed lettuce is ready, and I am appalled at the amount of water I waste washing it and collards in season. What is the most efficient way to get the dust and grit off my greens, without using all of this water? I dare not take a hose out there--the tenants will have all of their relatives sneaking in at night to wash cars, so I can't even reveal the location of the hose bib and the mini-garden goes unwatered. Health department rules mean I can't keep recycled water around.

Clayton iHouse

Brandy — Thu, 07 May 2009 11:46:29 GMT

Many of us may know Clayton Homes as manufactured housing. The new Clayton iHouse is a far leap from the trailer parks of the past.

" Clayton's "i-house" was conceived as a moderately priced "plug and play" dwelling for environmentally conscious homebuyers." says a Yahoo news article on this innovative new housing option.

Do you think this house will be the answer to affordable eco homes?

recyclenow.com - another resource

onequarterdal — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:29:47 GMT

An interesting resource

http://www.recyclenow.com

We pay per bag, so I need to reduce the weekly waste, while not attractin any critters

163 things you can compost

onequarterdal — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:58:12 GMT

http://www.plantea.com/compost-materials.htm

163 things you can compost, interesting! I learned a ton of new ones.

Vampire Costs

Luvd_Lioness — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:02:18 GMT

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/the_conscious_consumer/75/vampire-power-costs.html

I saw this article and thought I would share. I am going to be changing some of the things that I leave on! (I'm guilty of the multi-function printer and the digital cable boxes especially).

Resoling

haverwench — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:11:52 GMT

I took my Teva sandals to the local shoe shop to see if they could be resoled. They told me it would cost $40. I only paid $20 for these when they were new (they were on sale), so it doesn't seem terribly frugal to pay twice that amount for new soles, yet I hate to just throw them out and buy new ones. Does any one know any way of resoling shoes or sandals at home that would cost less? I'd be willing to pay as much as $20 (the cost of new ones) to restore this pair to good condition, since it would still be saving resources, even if it doesn't save money.

Snow, am I crazy to do this?

LWolfT — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 02:37:29 GMT

I just had an idea for cutting our water usage. We have snow piled 10-inches high in our yard right now ... I'm thinking that maybe I could bring in a couple buckets of snow and let them melt, then use that water for such things as flushing the toilet. I don't want to bring in lots, since it would be messy and I have no place to put big tubs of snow anyway.

We already do this with the water from the dehumidifier, so it's not that big a stretch. And even if I only got enough for 1 use a day .. well, that's still a few gallons less.

DH will probably wonder if I've gone round the bend. What do you think? Anything I'm missing here?

Reusable sandwich bag/wrap

Joyous — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:04:56 GMT

http://www.reusablebags.com/store/wrapnmat-p-2.html#

Has anyone used this or a similar sandwich wrap before? It's intended to replace sandwich baggies. I was wondering about making one, but I'm not sure about really thick sandwiches or ones with ingredients that might run. I guess one could be made with wipe-down-able plastic, like a picnic tablecloth?

Sanitation 101, or, the role of the toilet lid cover

Deborahmichelle — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 23:06:27 GMT

Dear All, Do you know that by putting the toilet lid cover down before flushing, you are elliminating one of the chief forms of bacterial transmission in your home? Yours in Him, Deb

Interesting Blog: 365 Days of Trash

Kim_150 — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 04:51:49 GMT

This is a really fascinating read... this man is spending a year not throwing anything away, and keeping track of his garbage. Everything gets recycled or composted, and in the end he's only got 32 pounds of garbage to throw away. http://365daysoftrash.blogspot.com

Dave Chameides poses with his trash for 2008, in the basement of his home in Los Angeles, California(AFP/Robyn … LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Dave Chameides has spent almost an entire year living a life full of utter garbage, and hoping he can inspire other Americans to do the same.

The Los Angeles-based cameraman has lived in his comfortable Hollywood home without throwing away a single piece of trash, from wine bottles to chewing gum and pizza boxes.

Instead the 39-year-old Chameides -- nicknamed "Sustainable Dave" -- recycles his garbage or else stores it in his basement. He says he wants to show that it is possible to dramatically reduce his family's consumption habits.

And he can show astounding results. Rather than the 1,600 pounds of trash the average American family produces each year, Chameides, his wife and two daughters have amassed only 32 pounds over the last 12 months.

"If I were the average American, this entire basement would be filled with plastic water bottles," said Chameides, who chronicles his campaign with an Internet blog (http://365daysoftrash.blogspot.com).

Chameides has shunned bottled water in favor of filtered tap water -- except when on holiday in Mexico, but even those water bottles were brought back to his home, compacted and stored with other trash.

His war on packaging also extends to the family groceries. Rice and pulses are bought by the kilo and placed in containers, while fresh fruit and vegetables are purchased at a weekly neighborhood farmers' market.

In fact, groceries was one of the easiest areas to eliminate packaging, Chameides said.

"The food is not so bad, but with DVDs, kids toys and so on, it's packaging you don't want, and it's frustrating," he told AFP. "What you don't realize is that you're paying for it, and pay for it again to dispose of it."

"So I buy rice and beans in bulk, there's no packaging. I pay less, it just makes sense. People need to wake up and say, this is not OK."

Ironically, even Chameides's rubbish will not go to waste. In January, his refuse will be sent to the Trash Museum of Connecticut to be exhibited.

Meanwhile, organic waste, such as banana skins and egg shells, is minced up by worms and used as compost. "Any kind of organic food and paper, except meat and fish. It's a really amazingly efficient system," Chameides enthuses.

His southern California home is fitted with solar panels while his car runs on used cooking oil. However, he insists that even if you don't follow his example to the letter, "sustainable living" can be achieved without huge sacrifices to your quality of life.

"I'm eating fresher food, I'm saving money, helping the local economy, supporting farmers instead of corporations. For me that's worth it. It's just thinking about doing the right thing," he says.

"It's just little steps. I'm not living in a cave. People think that the US quality of life should be living in a house with lights on all the time. We live a pretty decent life, by many people's standards we live a phenomenal life."

Even wrapping paper for Christmas gifts presents an opportunity to recycle.

"If we wrap something, it would be either in comics or something useful, reusable," he says.

Paper recycling

Pat — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:54:48 GMT

I have oodles and gobs of scratch paper - some from printing goof ups and some from junk mail and other sources, so I have enough note paper to last a life time. I made a little box that holds 1/4 of regular sheets of paper and when I get a minute or two and am running low, I tear this scratch paper into pieces to fit it.

I'm trying to think of other things I can use it for, besides the obvious. I printed out some gift tags on the back side of a few, but don't need any more of those. I will make some envelopes, since I'm running low. What else can I do?

Where did the post about "family cloth " go ?

heatherd — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:50:13 GMT

Just wondering why it was deleted ?