Written on
March 18, 2009 by
SusanC
There has been lots of talk in the past and even recently about how to increase your fuel efficiency. This talk is usually associated with gas mileage, but in places like where I live, that also includes power. Our power comes from a petrol generating plant. Gross, I know.
While saving gas is very important, where, exactly, does all of the information floating out there in cyber-space come from? Is it reliable?
The most quoted numbers are actually from a company subcontracted by the US Government to do these studies. The researchers are known as Energy and Environmental Analysis, Inc. and helped compile most of the information on FuelEconomy.gov.
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It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I LOVE to shop at thrift stores, but it wasn’t always this way.
When I was a middle-schooler, I absolutely hated it. I felt like it was embarrassing, something only poor people should do. If someone complimented a thrift store item I was wearing (which did not happen often, due to my complete non-thrift-store-related lack of stylishness) and asked where I got it, I would fib and say I didn’t remember. By high school, however, I had fully realized the awesomeness that is thrift shopping, and would gladly tell anyone who asked where I shopped.
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Written on
March 11, 2009 by
SusanC
I recently received an e-mail from a fellow mama who was inquisitive about cloth diapers.
Her questions were simple and straight forward. “I see that they now have snaps, but can you tell me how it works?” “I cannot imagine cleaning a cloth diaper and I’m curious why would you do it when you could throw them away. More specifically, how do you clean those things?”
I appreciate her questions; most people don’t even bother to ask before they just assume that I must be crazy or a glutton for punishment!
Quite honestly, I completely understand that mind set though. I used to think the same way!
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Written on
March 5, 2009 by
SusanC
Reduce, reuse and recycle. We all understand the importance of the three “R’s” of being environmentally responsible. I believe there is another part of the circle that is often overlooked, and I think it is the most important part.
I am referring to supporting the market for your carefully recycled cast-offs.
When you buy something, look for items made from a high percentage of post-consumer recycled materials. It doesn’t matter how many plastic bottles, newspapers, cardboard boxes and tin cans we throw in the recycle bin. If there is no market for these materials, the recycling industry will disappear.
In west Texas, for example, it is very difficult to recycle glass.
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Written on
March 3, 2009 by
SusanC
Post title from The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Water is really, really important stuff. It’s that clear liquid that quenches your thirst, cleans your body (and clothes and kitchens and loved ones too!) and accounts for about 55-70% of your body weight. Clean water is essential to life, and if you don’t agree, just ask anyone who doesn’t have access to it.
So, if you’re anything like I was, you realize that there’s a problem, but you’re not really sure what you can do. You use water all the time, and everything that you use seems to be cleaned or manufactured with water–but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to know where to start to make a difference.
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Written on
February 27, 2009 by
SusanC
After a reading a few comments on my post called Saving Green by Going Green, I thought that the topic of clothes drying could use a little more attention. So, this week I am going to focus in on a few different issues about living green and drying our clothes that I believe everyone can benefit from.
First of all, it was brought to my attention that the dryer balls I referred to in my original post were, indeed, made of PVC, which is obviously not a green material. With that said, I was assured by distributors of these balls that they are made with safe practices, but let’s face it, any way we can avoid PVC (especially heating it) is probably a good idea.
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Written on
February 23, 2009 by
SusanC
Part of the reasoning behind economic stimuli (at least in the GWB school of thought) is that if you give people a little extra cash, they’ll run right out and buy a good or service, and that enough people doing this at once will act like a booster shot in the arm of a struggling economy. This reasoning does not, of course, ta
ke in to account that giving a family of 4 an extra $1,000 and telling them to buy a new TV doesn’t address the $10,000 of credit card debt, $500 of car repairs and $1,500 mortgage their still be facing next month.
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Written on
February 19, 2009 by
SusanC
Are you ready to install solar panels or a wind turbine at your house? How about adding insulation or installing more energy efficient windows? 2009 may just be the year to take the plunge, thanks to some new, extended and improved tax credits.
Details can vary depending on your project but energy efficient home improvements including replacement windows (capped at $200), insulation (10% of the cost, capped at $500), sealing cracks in the shell of your house and in the duct work, and energy efficient water heaters and furnaces (capped at $300) can get you some very helpful tax credits.
The existent tax credit for installing solar panels was extended for 2009 giving you a 30% credit against the cost of your equipment with the previous $2,000 cap removed.
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Written on
February 18, 2009 by
SusanC
These days it is hard to know which toys are truly safe for our children to be playing with. Between phthalates, BPA, lead, and every other nasty chemical out there, it can leave you feeling like you don’t want to give your child anything more than a wooden spoon to enjoy!
Well, rest easy- there are lots of wonderful toys available out there that you never have to second guess, and a few you can create yourself with very minimal effort. Here are some ideas:
-Encourage imaginative play! That wooden spoon just may not be such a bad idea! See how many brilliant things that spoon can become in the hands of your little one.
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If I were to ask you how eco-friendly the food you buy at the grocery store is, you would probably dutifully point out the “organic” label on the fruits and vegetables and perhaps even some cereals and crackers.
