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Archive for GREEN

Cheap Home Made Cleaning Products

02/27/13 Andrea Comments (0)

cleaning products 2 Cheap Home Made Cleaning Products

 

Save money and time making your own homemade cleaning products.

If you are in the middle of doing some serious spring cleaning, and you realize that you have run out of cleaning products, don’t stop what you are doing to run out to the store to buy more chemicals to clean your house, all you have to do is look around your kitchen, and bathroom to find everything you need to make the best cleaning products for a sparkling household.

Vinegar, water, lemons, rubbing alcohol, baking soda, old spray bottle, and newspapers are all you need to create the ultimate cleaning products; you can also add a splash of your favorite aromatherapy oil to make your home smell even better.

To make a solution to clean the kitchen counter, cabinets, and bathroom toilet, sinks, and tiles, mix the vinegar with water, and squeeze a few drops of lemon and baking powder into the mixture and shake a few times and start spraying the area you want to clean.

Use baking soda to vacuum carpets, sofas, and to eliminate odors.

Once you finish cutting coupons out of your newspaper, don’t throw the paper away, use the rest of the newspaper to clean windows, glass surfaces, and glass showers.

The next time you run out of cleaning products, consider making your own, it’s cheaper, chemical free, and it cleans your home better than some store bought products.

 
Cheap Home Made Cleaning Products

 

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How to Save Money on your Energy Bill

05/12/11 Andrea Comments (2)

 

energy bill 2 300x199 How to Save Money on your Energy Bill

 

Since, winter  is just around the corner, now is the time to start thinking about what you can do to save money on your energy bill.

 

  • Contact your power company and ask them about what you can do to cut your energy bills in half. If your company has an energy saving program see if you can participate in it to save money.

 

  • Make sure the lights are turned off if you are not using a room in your house.

 

  • Try and buy appliances that have the energy star sticker, it means that it meets the energy standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

 

  • Fix that drip leaking from your faucet; it’s actually your money going down the drain.

 

  • Find ways to make your home more energy efficient by using solar panels, and fluorescent light bulbs.

 

  • Computers use phantom energy, so make sure to turn off your computer when not using it.

 

  • Regulate your thermostat and make sure that it’s not set too high. If you turn down your thermostat by just 2 degrees you can actually save a few dollars a month.

 

Just making a few changes can help you shave a few dollars off of your energy bills.

 

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How to Save Money on your Energy Bill
How to Save Money on your Energy Bill

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Categories : ENERGY SAVING, GREEN, SAVINGS SCOOP
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9 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

04/21/11 Andrea Comments (0)

 

earth day 2011 300x300 9 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

In honor of Earth Day 2011 here are 9 things you can do to help save the earth.

 

1. Walk around your community and pick up the trash. Make sure to wear gloves and have a bag to put the trash in.

 

2. Plant a tree, on April 23, 20011, Lowe’s is giving away one million trees to help celebrate earth day. Trees are something we see all the time but don’t think about; not only are trees beautiful, but they provide shade and the absorb CO2 and other types of pollution.

 

3. If you don’t recycle, now is the time to start. You can recycle everything from plastic bottles where you can get money back in some states, to old cell phones which you can donate to charities that collects them to reuse. Here are other things that you can recycle:

 

Bicycles

Cars

Clothes

Eye Glasses

Shoes

Refrigerators

 

4. If you live near a National Park then take the family to enjoy a hike, and see the beauty of the earth’s environment for free this week.

 

5. Go to an earth day event in your community and learn about what you can do to help protect your environment.

 

6. If you have something you can’t use then free cycle it so someone else can use what you don’t need anymore.

 

7. Use reusable bags instead of plastic bags for shopping.

 

8. Grow your own salad, it’s healthier, it helps to reduce stress, and it will save you money at the grocery store.

 

9. Go online to the EPA for an Earth Day take home kit to teach kids about their environment.

 

Don’t forget to take advantage of Earth Day freebies!

 

Just making a few changes can help make our earth a better place to live.

 

If you are interested in going green, saving energy, and more read these articles to get you started:

  • Tips for Going Green and Paper Free.
  • 4 Ways to Save Going Green at Home.
  • 5 Summer Energy Saving Ideas.
  • Tips for Saving Money While Going Green.

9 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

 

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9 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

 

 

 

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Categories : EDUCATION, FREE, GREEN

4 Ways to Save Going Green at Home

07/20/10 Andrea Comments (0)

4 ways to save gong green 300x237 4 Ways to Save Going Green at Home

  • Unplug- Your computer, blender, television, and other electronics when not in use because they drain phantom energy. You could save up to $100 a year on your electric bill.
  • BYOB- Bring your own reusable bag when you go shopping; many grocery stores give discounts from 5 to 10 cents for using your own reusable bag. You could save $25 to $30 a year.
  • Bottled H2O- Switch from bottled to filtered tap water and you can save almost $1,500 a year and save the environment at the same time.
  • Dial your way to Savings- In the winter every degree you turn your heat down you save almost 5 percent, so if you get cold at home get another blanket or put another sweater on to help keep you warm. In the summer time try using a ceiling fan so you don’t have to turn the ac on so high. You will definitely save a lot on your energy bills.

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Tips for Going Green and Paper Free

06/11/10 Andrea Comments (0)

20472923 300x248 Tips for Going Green and Paper Free

I get so much mail it’s seriously starting to clutter my home.  I get everything from bills, magazines, newspapers, to junk mail. I look around and all of this paper is starting to take over my space.

So, I figure that now is the perfect time to clear out the clutter and go green by going paper free:

  • Instead of printing every single article that interests me I will create a folder on my computer and save the information in a file, I will also save  information I like to my favorites online.  I will transfer important paperwork to a USB flash drive or CD/DVD to eliminate the need for paper.
  • Instead of buying the Sunday paper or picking up a free copy of the City Paper, I will read the news online.
  • I will opt in to receiving all of my bills online instead of by mail; If I pay online I will reduce the cost of envelops, stamps, and late fees.
  • Stop junk mail and catalogs that I don’t need from coming to my house by contacting Direct Marketing Association and getting off of their mailing list.
  • Shred documents that I don’t need anymore like bills I’ve already paid, and paperwork I’ve accumulated over the years.
  • I will take magazines and books that have been piling up at home to work; so that my coworkers can enjoy or I will donate to a local library or shelter.
  • To eliminate the extra paper that I get from holiday and birthday cards; I will request that my family and friends send greetings electronically, or if they don’t have access to a computer then they can use recycled paper?
  • If I follow some of these going green paper free tips; not only will I be clutter free from paper but I will also be saving a few trees along the way!

Comments are welcomed! If you have any other ideas for becoming paper free please let me know!

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5 Summer Energy Saving Ideas

06/02/10 Andrea Comments (2)

Summer Energy Saving Ideas 300x263 5 Summer Energy Saving Ideas

Summer is the time of year when the electric bills go up because everyone turns on their air conditioner to cool down; so here are five summer energy savings ideas to stay cool while saving money on your electric bills.

TURN OUT THE LIGHTS:

Something as simple as turning out the lights when you leave a room can save energy as well as a ton of money.

CLOSE YOUR BLINDS OR SHADES:

Close your blinds or shades during the day to reduce heat coming in from the windows during the hottest part of the day.

 

USE CEILING FANS:

Use ceiling fans to help cool people in a room, the movement of the air helps to make it feel four or more degrees cooler, however turn off the fan just like the lights when no one is in the room because you don’t want to waste energy on an empty room!

 

UNPLUG APPLIANCES AND ELECTRONICS:

Turning off your appliances and electronics is not enough to help save energy and money; you need to unplug them because these items still use a form of energy called “vampire energy” even when they are turned off.

KEEP THERMOSTAT LOW:

In order to save energy and money keep the thermostat between seventy-six and seventy-eight degrees. You can also use a ceiling fan to make the room feel cooler.

If you practice just a few of these summer energy saving tips your electric bill will be lower during these hot summer months!

Feel free to comment about energy saving ideas that works for you!

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HAPPY EARTH DAY | Savings Scoop

04/22/10 Andrea Comments (0)

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Happy Earth Day 300x300 HAPPY EARTH DAY | Savings Scoop

Today is the 40th anniversary of EARTH DAY…

EARTH DAY: Is a day set aside to recognize our PLANET EARTH’S environment…and awareness of the issues that threaten it. Earth Day was Created in 1970 by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson who proposed a bill to designate April 22, as Earth Day!  To be a participant lets all join together to prevent the disasters that could be forth coming if we don’t clean up our environment…

There are several easy things you can do to celebrate Earth Day.

  • Recycle glass, cans, and paper.
  • Turn down your heat or AC.
  • Change your light bulbs to compact fluorescent light bulbs.
  • Plant Trees
  • Walk, bike, or take the bus.

Let’s use Earth Day as a beginning….to help make small changes in the way we treat our environment and the way we save MONEY!

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Earth Hour 2010 |Did You Participate?

03/29/10 Andrea Comments (1)

earth hour 2010 300x232 Earth Hour 2010 |Did You Participate?

I along with millions of people around the world participated in Earth Hour 2010 to show support of cutting down on green house emissions…At 8:30 pm EST my outside front lights was turned off along with lights from many major landmarks including the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Empire State Building in New York, the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, and the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Almost 4000 cities in about 120 countries turned out the lights to bring attention to the dangerous climate changes around the world. Even though I’m somewhat aware of these changes affecting our climate it’s not until something like Earth Hour that I actually focus on what’s really gong on with our planet…Do you think the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chili, the major snowstorms of 2010, the volcano eruptions in Iceland or the recent Tsunami scare in Hawaii, and the last few major Hurricanes and Tornado’s have anything to do with the world’s climate changes? Hmmm. I’ll try to do better the rest of this year and when Earth Hour 2011 gets here. I’ll already be ahead of the game when it comes to making small changes by reducing the amount of energy I use… I will pass my knowledge about climate changes to my family, friends, and the world! Feel free to leave a comment about Earth Hour 2010…and what we can do to save our planet!

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Tips for Saving Money While Going Green

03/02/10 Andrea Comments (0)

green 300x284 Tips for Saving Money While Going Green

On January 1st 2010 our city officially went green…. we now have to pay 5 cents for each plastic bag that we use at all stores…. Since I am trying to save money I will NOT be paying that extra 5 cents. However I am curious to find out about other ways to save money while going green. Here are some tips for for a greener life that I discovered on the website Lush.com

Buy Recycled
Help create demand for products with recycled content and send a message to manufacturers. Close the loop: buy products made from (or packaged in) recycled materials and recycle them when done. Buy 100% post-consumer recycled paper. Visit www.recycledproducts.org for some good ideas for the office.

Choose Sustainable Ingredients and Materials
Buy local, organic, fair trade (www.sustainabletable.org) and vegetarian (www.themeatrix.com). Choose non-toxic recyclable yoga mats, organic cotton, hemp, bamboo and fleece clothing. Support farmers in less wealthy nations and buy fair trade coffee and chocolate. Not only will you help promote sustainable farming practices, you’ll also help prevent rainforests from being further decimated.

Detoxify Your Life
Buy non-toxic paints for your house and use non-toxic natural cleaners like baking soda and vinegar. They’re cheap and safe for kids and pets. Buy beauty products with little or no preservative; solid shampoos, conditioners, bubble bars and massage bars all come with no packaging and no preservatives.

BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag)
Look for products you can take home unwrapped. Don’t bag produce; it stays just as fresh in your crisper naked as in a plastic bag. Take your own bag everywhere; one person using one reusable bag can save hundreds of plastic bags from the landfill and oceans every year.
BYOM (Bring Your Own Mug)
Bring your own mug with you wherever you go. Get a really good stainless steel travel mug (not plastic). It’ll keep your coffee or tea hot for hours and you won’t be throwing away paper cups or plastic mugs.

Get It In Glass
Buy your milk and juice in glass bottles. Buy your soft drinks and other cold beverages in aluminum cans. Avoid plastic whenever you can. It’s better for your health and the environment.

Compost: It’s Easier Than You Think
Put a compost bin in your apartment or backyard. It’s easy, cheap and clean. Use your homemade compost to feed your garden and house plants or donate it to your local community garden (www.nyccompost.org).

Reduce Paper Consumption
Buy 100% post consumer recycled paper, envelopes, file folders etc. Print only what you need. Need a back up? Send it to your gmail account. Use PowerPoint for presentations and offer to email a copy in lieu of snail mail. Switch to e-billing for utility bills and bank statements.

Reduce Energy Consumption
Switch to compact fluorescent lights; they use less energy and last 10 times longer. Try solar lights for your garden or outdoor walkways. Get a programmable thermostat. Change air and dryer filters regularly. Use cold water for washing clothes and hang them out to dry. Turn down/off heat when sleeping and when leaving the house. Turn off lights when not in the room. Unplug appliances when not in use. Things like chargers, cell phones, laptops, toasters, coffee pots, tea kettles, microwaves all consume electricity even when off. Boil only as much water as you need; don’t boil a full kettle for one cup of tea!

Reduce Water Use
Don’t let the water run when you’re brushing your teeth. Get a toilet tank displacement bag to reduce water usage per flush. Flush only when necessary. When washing dishes by hand, reuse your rinse water for your plants or garden. Save your bath and shower water and use it for your garden or lawn. Use cooled pasta water for your house plants.

Reduce Fuel Consumption and Your Carbon Footprint
Walk, ride, take transit, or carpool everywhere. Get in shape and help reduce your carbon footprint. Once a week? Twice? Everyday? It all makes a difference. Can’t walk or bike to and from just yet? Ride to work, take the bus home, bus to work the next day and ride home. Baby steps. (www.greenlivingtips.com)

 

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