Rain Barrel

Flowers are nice, but a rain barrel is what I really hope to see in my yard this summer. I just hate using city water to water our veggies and wash our cars, when I know a better alternative exists. So, bring on the barrels, I say!

Want to add rain barrels to your yard? They’re actually pretty easy to make. Check out these instructions from the EPA:

• How to Make a Rain Barrel

Photo © Flickr user grifay

Eager to upgrade to LED light bulbs, but turned off by the price? Then, ease in with LED nightlights. They sell for as little as $2 a piece, and pack the same high-tech punch.

Why switch to LED nightlights?

Because they:

• use 90% less energy than incandescent nightlights
• cost 27-cents a year to operate
• last 15 times longer

They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and it’s certainly true. While out curb shopping yesterday, my family found – and rescued – a potted Christmas tree (alive and well), a Nike golf bag, a wicker laundry basket, a Littlest Petshop play set and a set of concrete steps (just what we needed for an upcoming project).

What’s crazy is that all of this stuff was in like-new condition. So why discard it like trash? I don’t know, but I do know we’ll put it to good use.

Curb Shopping Tips

Ready to give curb shopping a try? Here are some tips to help you get started:

• Learn the trash pick-up schedule for your area. Different parts of town will often have different pick up days (shop a day or two ahead for the best haul)
• Be sure to include wealthy neighborhoods in your curb shopping route. They usually generate the best “trash”
• Keep a tool box in the car, so you’ll be able to break down larger items with ease
• Not sure if it’s trash? Ask before you take it

A Word of Warning: Some towns have rules against curb shopping. Check to make sure it’s legal in your area before heading out.

Tomatoes

Trying to eat locally to reduce your carbon footprint? Well, you can’t get much more local than your own backyard.

Campbell’s Soup is offering a free package of tomato seeds to everyone who wants them. Just visit their website to request yours, and they’ll also donate seeds to FFA.

Photo © Flickr user The_Ewan

I love the idea of biodegradable trash bags, but they’re just so darn expensive. I mean seriously, you’re buying them to throw away! It’s not exactly the easiest expense to justify.

And while I suspect I’ll eventually make the switch, for now my focus is on trying to limit the number of bags that my family uses. One clever trick that we’ve employed: using the plastic wrap from large toilet paper packages as trash bags.

I figure they were bound to go out in the trash anyway, so they may as well go out as the trash bag instead of as the trash.

Have you found other ways to green your garbage bags?

WRAP-N-MAT

Plastic grocery bags are bad – it’s been drilled into our heads a hundred times over. And yet, very little has been said about plastic sandwich bags. Why is that? They’re just as bad for the environment, and we actually PAY to bring them home!

Determined to cut back on the amount of plastic used in my house, I set out to find a earth-friendly alternative to plastic sandwich bags, and I’m happy to report that I found a great one: the WRAP-N-MAT.

Design-wise it’s pretty simple stuff: just a piece of fabric and a liner that folds around your food and seals with a piece of Velcro, but in action it’s the stuff of genius. When you open the WRAP-N-MAT it becomes a placemat (bye-bye cafeteria germs), and clean up couldn’t be easier. Just wipe off the lining, and store it away until next time.

Want to give WRAP-N-MATS a try? You can buy them direct from the company ($7.50 each and up), or do what I did, and take advantage of the 4-for-3 promotion
over at Amazon.

Photo © Erin Huffsteter

Recently my husband and I needed a pressure washer to complete a project, so we headed off to Lowes to price them out. Well, once I saw how big they were, I started to wonder, “Did we really need to own a pressure washer?” I mean we needed one, yes; but did that mean we needed to own one? To store one? Not so much.

So how did we meet our need? We borrowed one from my brother-in-law, who had bought one, used it once and was now stuck storing it.

Just think how much consumer waste could be eliminated, if we were willing to lend more of our belongings.

Enameled Cast Iron

“Made from recycled materials”, “all-natural”, “eco-friendly” – these terms used to mean something, but now that every manufacturer wants to appear green, they just don’t carry the same weight that they used to.

So how’s a green-minded consumer supposed to side-step all the hype? A simple way is to direct your spending towards items that are made to last.

Cast iron cookware is the perfect example. With just a bit of care, a cast iron pan will outlive any modern non-stick pan and it will likely outlive you too.

Jump on the buy-it-once bandwagon, and you won’t need a label to tell you that your purchase is a good one.

What buy-it-once purchases have you made? I’d love to hear from you!

Photo © Erin Huffstetler

Take a walk down the cleaning aisle of any store and you’re likely to come to the conclusion that using green cleaners means forking over more of your hard-earned green.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way. Learn how to make your own cleaners from baking soda and vinegar, and you’ll enjoy all of the benefits of green cleaning at a fraction of the price.

Homemade Cleaner Recipes to Try:

• Vinegar-Based Cleaners
• Baking Soda-Based Cleaners

Photo © Flickr user steve_greer

Cloth Napkins

My favorite green switch to date happens to be one of the simplest switches that my family has made: replacing disposable napkins with cloth napkins.

I’ll admit that I wasn’t too sure about this switch on the front end. Would my family go along with it? Would it add to our laundry? How many napkins would we need to get through a week? Only one way to find out . . .

Since ditching our reliance on disposables, I have found that cloth napkins are not only easy to deal with (the increase in laundry volume is undetectable), but they’re cheaper and more fun to use too (meals just seem a bit more special when you’re using cloth napkins).

So, Have you made the switch?

Tips for Finding Cheap Cloth Napkins:

• Shop for cloth napkins at yard sales, thrift stores and flea markets
• Raid your fabric stash for material that you can use to make napkins
• Let friends and family know that you’re making the switch. They may have cloth napkins stuffed in the back of a closet that they’d be happy to give you
• Purchase a value pack of wash clothes, and use them as napkins