A good way to avoid over consuming, a serious problem in America is to reuse old items. This doesn't only mean that you have to be the one doing the reusing! A good way to extend the life of old goods that are still good just old is by either having a yard sale or doing some of your shopping at yard sales. Just yesterday I took advantage of one of the nicest days of the year so far and did a little yard sale shopping. One particular stop paid off really well for me too in that not only was I able to get some good fishing lures but I picked up a lot of advice as well. One of the things that I really miss from my childhood is going to the local hunting and fishing stores. A few weeks ago with the opening of trout season I found to my sad surprise that all the ones in my area had recently closed down without me even knowing. The only place to buy fishing goods within a 30minute drive of my house are Walmart and KMart...Not much for choices! At one of the yard sales I went to though an old man was selling some of his lures(he had hundreds) in an effort to condense his toolbox size tackle box. He was kind enough to tell me about some of his favorite holes in the area, the kind of advice and service that's hard to find at Walmart! Also the price of 25cents a lure is hard to beat. The deals didn't stop there though. At another yard sale I went to later in the day I arrived at as the family was packing up. I asked how much an old but beside a few scratches perfectly good desk was. My answer was that if I took it now free because they didn't want to carry it back in the house. A price that again fits my budget!!
Heres some advice I have gathered from past yard sales my family has had in case you want to have your own.
1-In the case of my family the yard sales were more about getting ride of stuff that was to good to throw out then in actually making alot of money back. So take the day in stride and just have fun. A good way to look at a yard sale I think is as a relaxing day hanging out in your front yard. Don't look at it has a day of work.
2-That being said yard sales are a good way of making some money for things your would either throw out or give away, just don't stress about it.
3-My job as a kid was always making signs and than riding around and putting them on telephones with big arrows. This is a good way to get the attention of people just make sure you go and clean them up afterwards.
4-Haggling! This is your choice but in the case of my family we love a good haggle so we didn't really put price tags on things. I must warn you though that theres always a better haggler out there so if you have a price that you definitly want for something label it but even this might not stop the costumers from attempting to get a better deal. So I say gain some business experience and leave the price tags off and prepare to go toe to toe with the best.
5-This should probably be number one but check the weather!! A day thats too hot will keep costumers away and make for a miserable time and rain will ruin your stuff.
6-Make sure if you live in a house with other people that all of the items your selling are your own or you have the owners permission. I once witness my little sister chase a car down the street because my mom sold her favorite rocking chair.
7-Again just have fun!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Eco Friendly Grass Cutting
With summer just around the corner and all of this rain we are getting now I know before long I will have to be cutting my grass. Surprisingly, there are many aspects to grass cutting that can contribute to an eco friendly lifestyle. I knew before that gas power lawn mowers emitted pollution but I had no idea how adverse they could be. According to EPA statistics gas powered lawn mowers contribute as much as 5% of America’s air pollution! The pollution emitted by the average gas lawn mower is equal to that of 43 cars! A problem to is that until 1995 there were no laws in place concerning lawn mower pollution. Here is what you can do. First if you have an older mower(pre 1995) consider upgrading. When purchasing a new mower you should definitely consider other options besides gas power, as even new gas mowers are big pollutants. One option is electric. I know in the past I always hated the idea of electric mowers because I was afraid of running over the cord. This problem has been corrected though in that new electric mowers are actually cordless. If you really want to be eco friendly though consider getting a push mower! The biggest fear I feel people have against push mowers is that they don’t do a good job. I can assure though that this is not the case! I used a push mower when I was a little kid before I could be trusted with a more dangerous gas mower and let me tell you there is no difference in the quality of the cut. I’m going to switch back to using my old push mower this summer. It is important that you keep your blades sharp for good quality and that will be the first thing that I do.
The type of mower you use isn’t where the eco friendly lifestyle ends though. Cutting grass obviously produces a lot of grass clippings that are perfect for the compost. When racking up your lawn don’t be to obsessive about getting all the clippings as any left behind will compost on the spot providing your lawn with a nice natural fertilizer.
For more scary statistics on gas power lawn mowers check out the EPA’s website
Also this site provides a lot of information about the latest push mowers and other gas power alternatives.
http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/faq-environment.htm
The type of mower you use isn’t where the eco friendly lifestyle ends though. Cutting grass obviously produces a lot of grass clippings that are perfect for the compost. When racking up your lawn don’t be to obsessive about getting all the clippings as any left behind will compost on the spot providing your lawn with a nice natural fertilizer.
For more scary statistics on gas power lawn mowers check out the EPA’s website
Also this site provides a lot of information about the latest push mowers and other gas power alternatives.
http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/faq-environment.htm
Friday, April 10, 2009
Many cleaning products on the market are filled with toxic environmentally dangerous ingredients that I knew were there but accepted as necessary to do the job. This I am finding out is not true. You can use items you probably already have in your home to produce cleaning products that are safe for the environment, cheap, and do just as good a job of cleaning.
You can make your own window cleaner by mixing 3 table spoons of vinegar, 2 cups of water, and 1/4cup of a good liquid detergent in a spray bottle.
Having a tough time getting your oven clean? Try baking soda, warm water, and a little detergent.
What about that old piece of wood furniture? Want to make it shine again? Try mixing 2 teaspoons of olive oil and a ¼ cup of lemon juice. Apply using an old rag and your wood surfaces will look as good as new.
For more ideas on cheap non-toxic cleaning products check out this website!
You can make your own window cleaner by mixing 3 table spoons of vinegar, 2 cups of water, and 1/4cup of a good liquid detergent in a spray bottle.
Having a tough time getting your oven clean? Try baking soda, warm water, and a little detergent.
What about that old piece of wood furniture? Want to make it shine again? Try mixing 2 teaspoons of olive oil and a ¼ cup of lemon juice. Apply using an old rag and your wood surfaces will look as good as new.
For more ideas on cheap non-toxic cleaning products check out this website!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
An Eco-Friendly Night Out
If you read my classmates blog http://greenyourlifephilly.blogspot.com/ you would have seen the recent post about eating out responsibly. Well I put that to the test! I went to Govinda's Café a restaurant on my other classmates blog http://livingecofriendlylifestyle.blogspot.com/ of vegan friendly places to eat in Philly. To start I walked there, which was about 7blocks. I had never tried to eat vegan before so I was kind of worried if I would be satisfied with the food but my meal was very tasty, filling and healthy. I had brought my own container to take my leftovers home in but I kind of ruined that by eating it all. Like I said the food was good and maybe the walk there made me extra hungry. When I was done I was feeling pretty stuffed and not excited to have to walk home but after about a block I started to enjoy the walking as it got my metabolism going. All and all, it was a nice eco-friendly outing, next time I’m going to maybe order a little extra so I can use my own take home containers.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Update on the Eco Life
Just to let you know how I’ve been doing changing my life style to an eco-friendly one I’ve created this update. The most important step for me was reducing the amount of trash and waste I through away. My compost has been a great success, besides the occasional absentmindedness when I forget to put materials in the paper bag in the freezer I’ve created a good amount of fertilizer I can’t wait to use when I start my garden in another month. I have also learned that it is safe to add egg shells to the compost but make sure you break them up first as they take a long time to dissolve and release their calcium. For a good web site on composting dos and don’ts have a look here. Delicious Organics . This last week by carrying my own water bottle to class, using my school bag when I went shopping, and reusing a tuber ware container everyday for lunch I only actually have one piece of plastic to recycle. That is from a mouthwash container that is a Number 1 type plastic so it will definitely be accepted at my local center. I also have a few milk gallon containers, which are Number 2 type plastics, but I am saving them for my garden. A cool trick is to cut the bottom off and place overtop of young sprouts to create a mini green house that allows plants to be planted outside a couple of weeks early.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The know how on plastic recycling
Plastic is an essential part of modern life and it makes many of the things that we do on a daily basis much easier. Part of why we use plastic so much is the convenience it creates. For example, someone can take a plastic water bottle out and when they are done with the contents of the bottle, the bottle itself is so cheap that it’s easier to throw it away than carry it back home to reuse. The problem that is produced from this situation is multifaceted in that not only is it not environmentally sustainable to constantly be making new plastic items to throw away but that all of this thrown away plastic has to go somewhere. The somewhere that all this plastic is going also has to be a permanent resting place considering that it takes over a million years for a plastic bottle to be fully decomposed. OVER A MILLION YEARS!!! So a good way to start living the eco life concerning plastic would be to try to reuse or reduce the amount you use as much as possible. For ideas on how to cut back on plastic bags and bottles check out my classmate’s blog at http://livingecofriendlylifestyle.blogspot.com. No matter what though you are going to have to get ride of some plastic and the best way to do that is by recycling. Plastic is not like other big recycle materials such as aluminum cans and glass bottles in that there are many different types of plastic with different degrees of recycling ease and this can get kind of tricky.
39 U.S states now require that all plastic contains between the sizes of 8ounces and 5gallons be marked with an appropriate number for their specific type of plastic. This number, which can be a 1 through 7, is next to a recycling symbol of a triangle made of 3 arrows. This system of plastic classification was created by The Society of the Plastics Industry in 1988 to help in the recycling process.
The number 1 is for polyethylene terephthalate(PETE) which is the most used and easiest plastic to recycle. It is the general ingredient used to make water bottles and when recycled can be used for a number of other things such as fiberfill for life jackets, sailboat sails, and even remade into other plastic bottles.
The number 2 is high density polyethylene plastics, such as the containers that hold bleach and motor oil. This can also be recycled into a number of different things such as piping and plastic lumber.
Numbers 1 and 2 are widely accepted at recycling plants because of the commonness and the usefulness of their recycling by products. Numbers 3, 4, and 5 are usually not excepted so reducing the amount you use of these types of plastics would be very environmentally beneficial.
Number 3 is polyvinyl chloride which is mostly used for shower curtains, medical tubing, and plastic pipes.
Number 4 is low density polyethylene which is used to make grocery bags and food wrapping film.
Number 5 is polypropylene which is mostly used to make Tupperware.
Number 3 is something that it would be hard to reduce your use of but with number 4 and 5 a small effort could reduce the amount you use to near zero. For example using a cloth shopping bag and washing out your Tupperware for reuse would make the amount of these types that you throw away minimum.
Number 6 is polystyrene or Styrofoam and is surprising accepted at most recycling plants. This is because it can be recycled into many of other products. This how ever doesn’t mean that it is an environmentally friendly product. Bringing your own travel coffee mug to get filled and reusing packing peanuts would cut back on the amount of Styrofoam that is produced, but what you do use you should know can be easily recycled.
The hardest plastics to recycle are given a number 7 or sometimes not assigned a number at all. These products are so hard to recycle because they are made from a combination of many types of plastics and cannot be broken down. You should pay attention to the number on the plastic products you by and if you see a number 7 try to avoid that product or look for it in a different type of packaging. It is suggested that if you do find yourself stuck with number 7 containers to take them back to the product manufacturers and give them the responsibility of getting ride of it.
39 U.S states now require that all plastic contains between the sizes of 8ounces and 5gallons be marked with an appropriate number for their specific type of plastic. This number, which can be a 1 through 7, is next to a recycling symbol of a triangle made of 3 arrows. This system of plastic classification was created by The Society of the Plastics Industry in 1988 to help in the recycling process.
The number 1 is for polyethylene terephthalate(PETE) which is the most used and easiest plastic to recycle. It is the general ingredient used to make water bottles and when recycled can be used for a number of other things such as fiberfill for life jackets, sailboat sails, and even remade into other plastic bottles.
The number 2 is high density polyethylene plastics, such as the containers that hold bleach and motor oil. This can also be recycled into a number of different things such as piping and plastic lumber.
Numbers 1 and 2 are widely accepted at recycling plants because of the commonness and the usefulness of their recycling by products. Numbers 3, 4, and 5 are usually not excepted so reducing the amount you use of these types of plastics would be very environmentally beneficial.
Number 3 is polyvinyl chloride which is mostly used for shower curtains, medical tubing, and plastic pipes.
Number 4 is low density polyethylene which is used to make grocery bags and food wrapping film.
Number 5 is polypropylene which is mostly used to make Tupperware.
Number 3 is something that it would be hard to reduce your use of but with number 4 and 5 a small effort could reduce the amount you use to near zero. For example using a cloth shopping bag and washing out your Tupperware for reuse would make the amount of these types that you throw away minimum.
Number 6 is polystyrene or Styrofoam and is surprising accepted at most recycling plants. This is because it can be recycled into many of other products. This how ever doesn’t mean that it is an environmentally friendly product. Bringing your own travel coffee mug to get filled and reusing packing peanuts would cut back on the amount of Styrofoam that is produced, but what you do use you should know can be easily recycled.
The hardest plastics to recycle are given a number 7 or sometimes not assigned a number at all. These products are so hard to recycle because they are made from a combination of many types of plastics and cannot be broken down. You should pay attention to the number on the plastic products you by and if you see a number 7 try to avoid that product or look for it in a different type of packaging. It is suggested that if you do find yourself stuck with number 7 containers to take them back to the product manufacturers and give them the responsibility of getting ride of it.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Choosing The Best Light Bulb For You
For a long time I have been hearing different stories of what is the best light bulb to use based on initial cost and long term energy efficiency. So I have decided to do some research and get to the bottom of it. What I found is a bit confusing but here it goes.
There are basically 3 different kinds of household light bulbs to choose from. The traditional incandescent bulbs, Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL), and Light Emitting Diode (LED). If you think it doesn’t matter which one you choose your wrong as it is estimated that up to 25% of the average household energy cost goes to lighting.
In terms of energy efficiency LED’s take the cake using less than 1/30th of the energy of incandescent bulbs. CFL’s are pretty efficient themselves using 50-80% less energy than an incandescent bulb.
In terms of life time of the bulb LED’s again take the cake lasting up to 10times as long as a CFL which lasts up to 10 times as long as an incandescent.
In terms of pricing LED’s take the cake here but in a bad way they have the highest initial cost, CFL’s are somewhere in the middle with incandescent bulbs being the cheapest by far. In the long run however both CFL’s and LED’s turned out to be a much better bargain than incandescent bulbs. LED’s only come out to be slightly cheaper than CFL’s and if you factor in that they require more money up front it really isn’t that big of a deal.
In terms of functionality, meaning does the light actually light up the room is another area where LED’s don’t work out. Many people say they are really only good for reading lights. New CFL’s are on par with the best incandescent bulbs.
What about pollution? LED’s contain no mercury at all. CFL’s contain trace amounts of it and per bulb more mercury than an incandescent. This is misleading stat though considering that when you factor in the mercury used to light the less efficient incandescent bulb CFL’s are actually more environmentally friendly. You can even dispose of burned out CLF bulbs at your local Home Depot or Ikea.
When all of this is considered I think the best option for me is CFL’s. I don’t have a lot of money to invest up front but can see the long term saving CFL’s will provide me. Also, I need a light that actually lights up the room for when I am doing home work so I don’t think LED’s would work for me. I am not going to go switch all of my light bulbs right away but as my incandescent bulbs burn out they will be replaced with a new CFL bulb!
Always remember to turn off the light when you leave a room to no matter how efficient your bulb is because as I’m sure you’ve heard lighting empty rooms is just a waste!!
I got a lot of these facts from these websites
http://www.productdose.com/article.php?article_id=1142
and
http://www.eartheasy.com/live_energyeff_lighting.htm
Check them out if you would like to learn more or hear what others are saying.
There are basically 3 different kinds of household light bulbs to choose from. The traditional incandescent bulbs, Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL), and Light Emitting Diode (LED). If you think it doesn’t matter which one you choose your wrong as it is estimated that up to 25% of the average household energy cost goes to lighting.
In terms of energy efficiency LED’s take the cake using less than 1/30th of the energy of incandescent bulbs. CFL’s are pretty efficient themselves using 50-80% less energy than an incandescent bulb.
In terms of life time of the bulb LED’s again take the cake lasting up to 10times as long as a CFL which lasts up to 10 times as long as an incandescent.
In terms of pricing LED’s take the cake here but in a bad way they have the highest initial cost, CFL’s are somewhere in the middle with incandescent bulbs being the cheapest by far. In the long run however both CFL’s and LED’s turned out to be a much better bargain than incandescent bulbs. LED’s only come out to be slightly cheaper than CFL’s and if you factor in that they require more money up front it really isn’t that big of a deal.
In terms of functionality, meaning does the light actually light up the room is another area where LED’s don’t work out. Many people say they are really only good for reading lights. New CFL’s are on par with the best incandescent bulbs.
What about pollution? LED’s contain no mercury at all. CFL’s contain trace amounts of it and per bulb more mercury than an incandescent. This is misleading stat though considering that when you factor in the mercury used to light the less efficient incandescent bulb CFL’s are actually more environmentally friendly. You can even dispose of burned out CLF bulbs at your local Home Depot or Ikea.
When all of this is considered I think the best option for me is CFL’s. I don’t have a lot of money to invest up front but can see the long term saving CFL’s will provide me. Also, I need a light that actually lights up the room for when I am doing home work so I don’t think LED’s would work for me. I am not going to go switch all of my light bulbs right away but as my incandescent bulbs burn out they will be replaced with a new CFL bulb!
Always remember to turn off the light when you leave a room to no matter how efficient your bulb is because as I’m sure you’ve heard lighting empty rooms is just a waste!!
I got a lot of these facts from these websites
http://www.productdose.com/article.php?article_id=1142
and
http://www.eartheasy.com/live_energyeff_lighting.htm
Check them out if you would like to learn more or hear what others are saying.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
