Green Ideas

Here is a site The Daily Green that has some great ideas and tips and obviously a budget ;-)

Get Paid for Going Green - woo hoo

Ok, if you have a CVS around you, please check this out, you get a Green Tag and you put it on your reusable bad and everytime you use it, they scan your tag and you get $1 every fourth visit.

Check it out here!

BarBeQue its good for U

As most of you know, cooking is NOT my forte, at all. OK , I HATE to cook and the kitchen HATES me so the feelings are mutual.

However..... I am a BBQ Master!! I keep telling my husband if he can move the grill inside it would take care of all our problems (still haven't figured out how to do that yet!)

Anyway, with summer here and the heat that goes with it, Barbequeing is good for you in ALL sorts of ways.

#1 everything always tastes better & heathier when its grilled, prime example S'Mores!
#2 much less to clean up afterwards, reduces water / electricity usage
#3 gas / charcoal grills = NO electricity usage
#4 last but not least, grilling doesn't heat up the house so you don't have to use the A/C to cool it down!!! more Electrity savings

Bet you never knew grillin was so GREEN

New Patio Cover

I recently got my patio cover installed - after 9 years of "gently" persuading my husband (aka nagging to hear him tell it!)

It looks really good except it is oh, hmm, let me see, 6 FT SHORT! - They are coming out to see for them selves, hmm, it isn't like it is hiding anywhere, it isn't like this is a small amount! Jeez we will see what happens next.

So besides being too short, it is really nice! We got it (ok, ok, I got it) because I want to be able to relax in my backyard, there are some unintended consequences which turn out to be GREEN!

Our Bedroom and Living Room have high ceilings and sliding glass doors so they tend to be warmer then the rest of the house, the cover reduces the amount of sunlight and heat which reduces my need for A/C which inturn lowers my Electric Bill - (insert happy dance here!)

The patio also shades a lot of my yard, so since CA is in a drought and water is rationed my grass a'int lookin' so hot, I am hoping the shade will help my grass recover from the lovely yellow it currently is to a nicer shade of ... wait for it.... GREEN

Water Wise Tips

What do you do when your bathtub needs to be cleaned but you have to shower and get ready for a BBQ?

You do what I did, first you spray some scrubbing bubbles or what ever cleaner you like for the tub, then as it works you pick out what you are going to where, then you go in and scrub the tub clean.

Then since you have to turn on the shower and wait for the water to warm up you use that water to rinse the tub out, so by the time are done showering both you and your tub are clean!

With very little water going to waste!

Get a Bike Go Green!

As some of you may recall I got a Bike for my birthday, we got one for my husband at the same time.

I got it to get in shape more then anything. So, the first day I "rode" it, HAH, I got up to about the corner...Yikes, sooo outta shape. The big problem in our area is the freaking HILLS!!!

We finally found a route that has very little hills and I have been up to 2 mi, woo hoo!!! The good thing about this is the route takes us to the mailbox and the bank, so if we need to drop off our Netflix or get some cash, instead of the car we bike.

Lets see - no gas, no emissions, no cost, and good exercise, I hit the freaking quadfecta!

WIN ENERGY STAR-qualified powerhouses

Amazon and ENERGY STAR will also host the Earth Day Sweepstakes. Five first-place winners will receive two ENERGY STAR-qualified powerhouses: a Toshiba laptop and a Brother multifunction printer. Fifteen second-place winners will receive the Brother printer. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter here by April 22, 2009. See Official Rules for details.

Get FREE samples & Coupons

I joined Vocal Point and the good thing about them is I get a lot of Free Samples, (razon, lotion) and I get Coupons that get me stuff for FREE.

Free box of Kashi Bars, free packet of Starkist Tuna, ect, along with the Free coupon there are also extra savings coupons that I pass out to friends.

I got my free box of bars they are GoOD. I stuck the packet of tuna in my desk and it worked out since I forgot my lunch, I had crackers in there also.

So pretty good lunch, Tuna Creations Zesty Lemon and Crackers!

Check it out. www.vocalpoint.com

Grow Your OWN Garden

With the ever increasing cost of living, food, energy, and the risks with pesticides ect, I am looking into growning some of my own veggies.

Currently I get most of my fruit and veg from local farmers markets, much better quality and lower costs!

I recently came across this "tower garden" thingy I want to try, I need to save up some money but if I could grow - Strawberries (everyone eats 'em), Cucumbers (to eat and treat), Radishes, and Carrots it would be great!

Check out the Tower Garden, if you get one let me know what you think. I have a "black" thumb but this is something that I might actually be able to do!

Cucumbers - good for what ails ya!

My eyes have been bothering me lately, itchy, sore, puffy, so I have always seen where they put Cucumbers on the lady's eyes at the spas, so I looked it up on line to see if there is anything to it.

And amazingly enough, cukes are good for you in all sorts of ways!

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=42#healthbenefits

So I figured what the heck, and cut up two slices and put them on my eyes. They were a little stingy at first (but my eyes were very tender) I kept them on about 20 minutes, and by then my eyes actually did feel and look better.

Now there are quite a few GREEN benefits to cukes:

1. They cost a lot less then the stuff in the store
2. They are natural, no packaging to throw away
3. They are biodegradable
4. They taste good!

So go for the Green with a Cucumber!

Finally, someone gets it! I like that the opening is big enough for Ice Cubes, no more having to shove them down or used the "crush" setting which means in my kitchen the fridge laughs as it spews ice everywhere EXcept the bottle!

https://www.ecocanteen.com

Laundry its a dirty job but someone has to do it

and of course that someone is usually me.

Now I have been able to cut my laundry time and bill by a huge amount. Some times you have to spend a little green to save a little green and the side benefit of what I do now also helps me go green at the same time.

Invest in a clothes rack or line. It will depend it you are in a house or apartment and how close your laundry is to where the rack or line will be. I have a rack in my garage right by my washer and dryer.

So instead of drying my towels and jeans in the dryer for 1hr to 1 1/2hrs I dry them on the rack, I do NOT dry them all the way because then they would be all rough and stiff (I may want to be "Green" but I also want to be comfortable!). When I put them in it only takes 20 or 30 min to finish drying.

So typical laundry goes like this

I run a load of towels and/or jeans. When the wash is done I put the the pants and towels on the rack.

I then start another batch of laundry, usually light whites or "good clothes" (the wash cycle is shorter for the better clothes), when they are done washing I put them in to the dryer (the towels and jeans are still on the rack) .

I then start another load of towels and/or jeans. Before the 2nd batch of towels/jeans are done the good clothes will be dry. I put them away, put the towels and jeans from the rack (almost dry by now) into the dryer for 15 - 30 min. When the load in the washer is done I put them on the rack.

Repeat until all the laundry is done.


Try it you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Ways for Companies reduce expenses

We have done the following things to save money at our company. If you are an owner you can implement the ideas, if you are a worker, go suggest these ideas and get the gold star (at least send me a comment of how it worked if you are going to take the credit at your job ;-) Reuse: Save your company green and save the environment at the same time.

Go Green/ Save some Green sometimes BOTH at the same time

Everyone wants to "Go" Green, but it isn't as all that easy.

We (me included) don't want to have to put out a bunch of extra time, effort or money. We will do a little but not a lot, now there are exceptions to the rule, but my posts are for the "real" people out there, we want to do the right thing with the minimum effort possible.

Does that make us "bad" or "lazy"? No that make us well meaning people who have to much to do in to little time with to little money. Now some of the advice will be more useful to home owners, but most of it will be usable by those of us who own, or rent our home or apartment.

With the home market like it is, any money saved can be used to pay down credit card debit, make rent or mortgage payments ect. If you have a "Easy to be Green" thing you do or an Idea please post, we need to take care of each other and the world because the government and big business isn't going to do it for us!

New Electric Motorcycle Coming Soon

I just read a article on this Motorcycle. It looks cool! The Article Link is below and their website