Oh Say Can You See?

Okay, so maybe the title is a bit cheesy, but recently I've been turned onto something that maybe many of you already know about:  Getting your glasses on line-- on the cheap!  As many of us know, eye wear can be expensive, and can really add up if you have kids who have or need glasses.

If you've had a recent eye exam and have a prescription in hand, you can save yourself boatloads of money by getting your spectacles on line and avoid the 500% markup on something that has no business costing so much.

Behold the Power of Borax!

Being the eco-stepper that I am, I am always looking for all natural, non-toxic and inexpensive ways to clean my house, do laundry, freshen the air and all that goes with housework.  Since I have tried Borax in my homemade laundry soap and dishwasher powder, I am learning that it's actually quite the handy product to have on hand.  Wikipedia explains the many uses of Borax, far beyond those most would consider for every day household chores.  To pare it down a bit, here are some interesting uses for Borax:

Telecommuting Saves $10K Per Employee Yearly | Business | GreenBiz.com

Telecommuting Saves $10K Per Employee Yearly | Business | GreenBiz.com

SAN DIEGO, CA — Businesses that let 100 employees work half of their time from home can save more than $1 million a year according to Telework Research Network's (TRN) latest study of telework programs and their benefits.
TRN looked at more than 250 case studies, research papers and other documents on telework (also called telecommuting and workshifting), and combined that with interviews with companies, researchers and more to figure out how telecommuting benefits employers, employees, the environment and communities.

Let It All Hang Out: Why Line Drying is Better

In my part of the world, it is now officially summer.  And summer usually means sun-filled, warm days.  Those days are p-e-r-f-e-c-t for line drying your clothes.   Instead of firing up the dryer, why not harness the power of the sun and fresh air to dry your clothes?   While it may sound like a major inconvenience, I can attest that it really isn't.  Whenever possible, I hang our family's (clean) laundry out to dry.  Sure, I have a dryer like most modern households, and I use it (as little as possible), so I won't pretend like I don't.  It's kind of a philosophical thing with me, but I won't bore you with that.  Back to hanging up the clothes... It doesn't really take that long to hang them up, and if you do it right, there is no need for ironing (score!!) when you take them down and / or fold them!  So here are some reasons why line drying is better:

Lighten Up by Going Green

My last posts were pretty serious, and with good reason.  So I am going to lighten it up a bit for this installment.  After all, it’s March, the beginning of Spring, and we’re supposed to be thinking green.  We celebrate all things Irish, blossoms arrive on tree branches and grass begins to poke through the melting snow.  With that said, what are you doing to bring more green into your life?  What little changes could you make, or eco-steps could you take to make our world a greener place? 

On My Soapbox -- Fight Club Re-Run with a Twist

Faceoff:  Soap vs. Laundry Detergent  

Are we that much dirtier than we were 50-60 years ago?  (Keep those thoughts clean, I'm talking laundry here!)   And, do we really require industrial-strength, petroleum-based detergents and fabric softeners to get the grime out of our clothes?  Given that we've entered into the 21st century and much of our work is hardly strenuous, I would argue that most of us stay pretty clean on a day-to-day basis.  And, that relatively plain old soap and water can get our clothes clean just fine.

Newspaper Deodorizers & Cereal Bag Placemats

What?  I'll admit up front that I did not come up with these ideas.  But, they are definitely good uses (and nearly free) for things you already have.

New Uses for Old Newspaper:  Did you know that newspaper can be used to neutralize odors in the refrigerator?  It can also be used as a shoe deodorizer!  Simply ball up two sheets of newspaper and insert one into each stinky shoe and overnight it will remove the odor!  It also works for drying out shoes.  When finished deodorizing, toss the paper in your recycle bin.

Reuse Your Cereal Liners:  Don't throw away the waxed liners inside the cereal box.  They are heavy duty and can be used for so many things. (Who'd a thunk it?)

• They make excellent freezer bags when you twist the top of the bag and secure with a twist tie (that you save from your bread bags, right??).
• Use in the microwave over a plate of food to keep it from spattering. 
• Open up the bag (they come apart pretty easily) and spread out to keep your workspace clean. Works really good for children's messes with play-dough or paints.

Looking Good on the Cheap

We all want to look good.  It's part of human nature.  I dare say that what we don't want is to spend a lot of money to look our best.  And the good news is, we don't have to!  With the economic downturn of the past year, second-hand stores, consignment shops, and stores like the Good Will and The Salvation Army have come back into popularity and for good reason.  You can really find some tremendous deals on stylish, gently used clothing while helping people, saving money and being kinder to the planet.  If you haven't already seen The Story of Stuff, check it out and you'll see why shopping just a little differently is much nicer to Mother Nature.  You can look good and feel good too!

It's a Wrap!

It is no secret that we generate a lot of garbage.  In fact, the EPA estimates that the average American throws away 4.5 lbs of garbage per day.  And, it gets even worse during the holidays.  It is estimated that 25 million tons more waste is created during the holidays than over a typical 10-week period.  That's roughly 1 million extra tons of waste per week!  EEK!

In the spirit of taking small, eco-steps to help the environment, here are a few things you can do to help reduce that very large and ugly figure, get creative, and save yourself some time and money in the process.

Let There Be Light-- Compact Fluorescent (CFL) Light, That Is!

Believe it or not, the light bulb is 131 years old!  In those 131 years, we have gone from horse and buggy to rocket trips to space and back.  The world's population has grown from less than 2 billion people to just under 7 billion-- and is still growing!  That's a lot of households, a lot of light bulbs (for those with electricity) and a lot of energy to power those light bulbs! 

Since the US consumes a large majority of the world's energy, it seems only fitting and fair that we should also be a leader in conservation and environmental stewardship.  How to do your part?  You can start by changing your light bulbs.

Fight Club - Make Your Own Laundry Soap

Yes, you can make your own laundry soap.  The formula is a bit different from the one in the movie, "Fight Club," and if you've seen it, you'll be glad that it is.  If you haven't, well, it's not for kids, but a good movie if you like Ed Norton and Brad Pitt.  I've been told it's a must-see for "intellectual hippies."

But I digress.  Back to the soap.  It's cheap, it's way easy, and it really works to get clothes clean.   I can't take credit for this recipe.  Credit goes to my cousin, Gen, who shared it with me.

Hey! Did Ya Know?

Interesting Factoids for a Tuesday:
 
The average American meal travels 2500 miles before it hits your table!
Try selecting locally grown food whenever possible.  

 
The average American throws out 4.5 lbs of garbage every day!
Reuse, Reuse, Reuse.  Then Recycle, Recycle, Recycle.

Americans consume more than 2.5 million bottles of water every hour, and only around 10% are recycled.
Tap water costs about $0.0015 per gallon vs. $2 for a 16-oz bottle at the convenience store!  ($16 per gallon!!)  Save yourself some money and do the planet some good by buying a good reusable and refillable drink container.
 
The average American is exposed to about 3000 advertising messages a day.
Think about that for a moment... (you just missed out on 2-5 ads while doing that...)

Children ages 8-12 see the most food ads on TV — an average of 21 a day, or 7,600 a year.
Many of those ads are not for healthy, nutritious foods.  Why are our kids unhealthier than ever?  Hmmm.....

Re-Run: Small Eco-Steps to Live Better, Preserve the Planet, Save Money and Be Happier

We hear it everyday: Reduce our carbon footprint, eat less meat, turn down the thermostat, put on a sweater, recycle, stop drinking bottled water. If we don't want to literally melt the Earth, we have to do all of these things, plus keep up with our jobs, our daily lives, running the kids here and there-- combining as many trips as possible to avoid emitting CO2. It can be overwhelming to mentally juggle all we already had on our daily plates, let alone throw some more "helpful" ideas to save our planet.

But does it need to be that hard? Well, in a nutshell, no. It does not. Let's face it, no matter where we fall on the "green" spectrum, there is always room for improvement! And that's where this Blog comes in. The objective here is to help people help themselves, help the planet and maybe get a little happier in doing so. So, here is a list of 10 small "eco" steps you can take to do your part for the environment. It's not long, and you can probably pick just one, maybe even two things for starters. But, if you're feeling bold, do them all. It can only help.