April 30, 2010
Wasteful Things We Can Live Without
Clean World
Everywhere I look these days, people are coming up with innovative ideas to curb wastefulness.
These are some suggestions I got from Care2 website on healthy living.
A Few of the Wasteful Things We Can Easily Live Without:
- Tin foil — Use an oven-safe pot.
- Plastic wrap — Use a glass container with a lid.
- Disposable cleaning cloths — Use a microfiber cloth or rags that can be washed.
- Paper towels — Use a cloth towel.
- Disposable pens — Buy a good pen that only needs the ink well changed.
- Plastic cutlery — Use silverware.
- Paper plates — Using dishwashers saves water.
- Paper or plastic single-use grocery bags — Use reusable tote bags.
- Packaged fruits and vegetables — Go to the farmers market instead.
- Individually wrapped snacks — Use a container.
- Disposable razors — Purchase a razor that only needs the blades changed.
- Juice boxes — Put juice in a reusable glass container.
- Disposable diapers — Cloth diapers services are a good option.
- Plastic cups — Reuse porcelain cups.
- Bottled water — Install a water filter on your tap or buy a water pitcher with a filter.
- Electric can openers — How much effort does it take to use the manual one?
- Single-serving pudding or yogurt cups — Buy a large container of yogurt or make your own pudding.
- Antibacterial wipes — Wash hands with soap and water instead.
- Disposable table cloths — Use linen or cotton and wash when needed.
- Facial tissues — Where did all the handkerchiefs go?
What are some of your solutions to a green, clean and healthy planet?
March 11, 2010
Make Your Kitchen Green
Make Your Kitchen Green
Simple and easy steps add up to make a big difference in sustaining our resources. Here are a few things you can do to make your kitchen green.
- Choose your cookware carefully – this is important for taste and safety. Quality of the pots makes a difference, as does their care, and choosing the right pot for the right cooking job. A cast iron skillet might be perfect for browning meat or chicken, but is not the best to use when cooking acidic foods.
- Use natural cleaning ingredients – salt is excellent for cleaning pots and pans. To clean burned saucepans, fill the pan with water, add baking soda, let it soak overnight, then bring to a boil the next day. You pots will be sparkly.
- Use convection oven – these ovens reduce cooking time and use less energy by continually circulating the heated air.
- Use cloth napkins instead of paper – Americans use 2,200 paper napkins a year per person – on the average. None of these napkins are recycled!
- Use glass containers – plastic often breaks down when heated and leaches various toxic chemicals into food. Use glass containers to store leftovers or food such as beans and rice.
- Energy efficient dishwashers save more water than hand washing – run a dishwasher with a full load, but don’t overloaded your machine. Air dry your dishes.
- Use reusable bags when shopping – and you will help cut down on plastic usage.
- Don’t buy water in bottles – drink faucet water instead. Municipalities must comply with strict government standards from the EPA for water purity, so they have to keep high water standards. Water bottling companies are regulated by the FDA with fewer restrictions, so their standards are usually lower.
RepairClinic encourages and supports steps to green living.
Gracious Living - Day by Day 