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Six green home changes you can make this weekend

June 19, 2009 in Green Your Home, Healthy Green Home by Jennifer | No comments

If you’ve got the weekend, you’ve got enough time to green your home.

Small changes you can make in just one weekend include:

Eco-window care: Wash all curtains in eco-friendly detergent or wipe down blinds with an earth-friendly all-purpose cleaner. Wash windows with a non-toxic homemade cleaner – either mix 1/2 cup vinegar with one gallon water and spray and wipe or use straight up club soda and wipe down with recycled newspaper. After cleaning open up all the windows wide to let some fresh air in which cuts indoor air pollution more than any other tactic.

Clean your refrigerator coils: Your fridge coils may be costing you in both energy and money. Dirty coils have to work harder to cool your fridge which pumps up your electricity use, and in turn your bill. You can easily clean off the dust and grime with a long brush and your fridge will run better. Note; fridge coils are usually under or behind your fridge (check your fridge manual).

Hang a clothesline: With warm summer air here, you’ve got no excuse not to hang a clothesline. This will save energy and money plus is a super cheap fix to start with. It’ll only cost you about $10 for a decent clothesline and about 50 clothespins either online or at your local hardware store.

Clear out some plastics: Go through your kitchen cupboards and clear out some toxic plastic dishes and containers. Aim to ditch plastics #3, 6, or 7 first as these are the most toxic. Cleaning out toxic plastics leaves you space to stock up on some eco-friendly food storage options and less toxic dishes.

What are your green weekend plans?

[image via stock.xchng]

Five easy no-fuss ways to go green at home

February 19, 2009 in Green Your Home, Quick Green Home & Garden Tips by Jennifer | No comments

You don’t need dramatics to go green. You can, in fact, take some small steps to green your home. All the small steps you try can add up to big eco-changes.

Install light sensors: Installing light sensors in all your rooms means that when people leave, the lights go out  and you save energy and cash.

Give up juice boxes: Juice boxes, a perpetual kitchen favorite of kids are not so earth-friendly. Even if you can recycle them, there’s manufacturing and shipping to consider. Try a reusable juice container instead like the leak-proof kid-sized Sigg bottles.

Wash your hands right: Switch out your toss away plastic hand soap containers and purchase some refillable hand soap pumps. Most co-ops and natural grocery stores carry bulk hand soap. Or you can make some.

Clean your coils: Cleaning your fridge coils just once yearly can allow your fridge to run 10%+ more efficiently.

Buy big bathroom items: If you don’t buy bulk bathroom items (i.e. shampoo, conditioner, etc) then buy the largest size possible. This technique is especially important with items like toothpaste – which can’t really be bought in bulk. If you have to buy a tube of plastic, it’s better to buy the larger size which eliminates two+ smaller sizes.

Which small steps is your household taking to stay green?