Category Archives: Environmentally Friendly Ideas

Environmentally Friendly Ideas, Indoor Living Spaces, Innovative Solutions, Outdoor Lighting Ideas

Green Energy – For the Planet AND the Pocketbook

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Energy Saving Green Logo
“Going Green” is a trend that is gaining momentum every year and has become a lifestyle choice for many Americans. Not only does it allow you to do your part in conserving our precious resources, but it can also save you hundreds of dollars a year in utility costs. Making small changes can yield huge differences. Replacing just one regular light bulb in your home with an energy-efficient light bulb will reduce that outlet’s energy consumption by 75% and save you up to $40 a year! Imagine the difference that you can make if you replace all of the bulbs in your home. Another important energy-saving tip is to make sure that your doors and window are properly sealed. Drafts and broken seals can waste hundreds of dollars a year in heating and cooling cost and waste unnecessary energy. You will also want to make sure that you are using energy-efficient appliances. Seventeen percent of your household energy is spent on large appliance operation (refrigerators, clothes washer and dryers, and dishwashers). If you are not using an EnergyStar certified appliance, consider upgrading. It will save you money in the long run.

Solar power is also a great way to save energy in and around your home. If you are not ready to install solar panels on your roof and rely solely on the sun, you can still implement small uses of solar power around your home. Consider using Chinese Solar Lanterns or Umbrella Solar Lanterns at you next outdoor party instead of traditional lighting sources. Add solar powered path lights to your driveway or sidewalk. Consider investing in solar swimming pool heaters in place of traditional heat sources for your pool.

Green power is here to stay. More and more people are realizing that making these small, but powerful, changes are a necessary step toward protecting our plant AND our pocketbooks. Start making your home energy-efficient today and you reap the benefits for many years to come.

Chinese Solar LanternsUmbrella Solar Lanterns

Source: US Department of Energy (http://www.energysavers.gov)

Environmentally Friendly Ideas, Garden Tools & Tips

How to Thrill the Thrifty and Excite the Environmentalist at Home

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photographs,puddles,raindrops,rains,weather

Thanks to a furry little friend, I happen to know that spring is coming a little early this year.  The coming of spring means the coming of rain…and lots of it, depending on your locale.  You don’t have to be a gardener or conservationist like me to see the benefits of capturing some of that impending rainfall in a rain barrel and using it for watering garden beds, container plants, and lawns.  You just have to like saving money.

Sure, using collected rain that falls from the sky to sprinkle our plants saves water, which is a resource thatGarden Rain Barrel - 60 Gallon is becoming more and more scarce.   For many people, though — like my thrifty spouse — the only real requirement for owning and using rain barrels is the desire to save money.  Saving money is a big motivator for many homeowners, especially for those of us who work harder than we’d care to in order make sure those monthly bills are paid on time.  Rain barrels are one of the easiest ways to save on those monthly bills.  Set up a rain barrel or two near your home’s downspouts, and let Mother Nature fill them up for free.

Home maintenance practices that combine money savings with conservation are my absolute favorite because they meet the needs of both my spouse and myself in one package.  Have you adopted other practices at home that save money and help the environment at the same time?

Environmentally Friendly Ideas, Innovative Solutions, Insect Control, Outdoor Entertaining

Insect Control Keeps Pesky Bugs Away!

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Mosquito Eliminator

If you do lots of outdoor entertaining on your porch, patio, or backyard during the spring and summer months, you know that there are many factors you must consider to keep your guests comfortable. Providing temperature control and shaded areas are usually taken care of, but do you ever consider pest control? Mosquitoes, flies, and other insects can really put a damper on your party atmosphere. Here are two choices to rid your yard of these pesky party poopers.

The Mosquito Eliminator is a useful solution that will also add beauty to your backyard. No eyesore bug zappers for you! The Mosquito Eliminator uses ultraviolet black light technology combined with specially formulated attractants to cover an area of up to 1,000 square feet. Each cartridge holds up to 6,000 insects and will last for thirty days. They are perfect for patios and decks, outdoor eating areas, gardens, and even horse barns. Best of all, there are no harmful chemical pesticides and it meets environmentally friendly guidelines.Fly Patrol

If you are looking for something slightly smaller, the Fly Patrol Insect Catcher is perfect for you. Covering 300-400 square feet, it is a great fit for your porch or patio area! It looks like a decorative wall scone, but uses the same ultraviolet black light and attractant technology as the larger Mosquito Eliminator. It will trap up to 1,000 flies per cartridge to ensure that your guests are comfortable.

Your next warm weather, outdoor party will be a definite hit with good food, great friends, and outstanding insect control.

Environmentally Friendly Ideas, Innovative Solutions, Outdoor Lighting Ideas

Smart Solution: Burn the Midnight Oil with a Solar Shed Light

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Problem: You regularly work on projects in your storage shed, garden shed, or greenhouse, but once the sunlight begins to fade, you are forced to abandon your work until the next day.  Interrupting a productive work cycle can be immensely frustrating.  What if the train of thought you were riding the previous day doesn’t come chugging back into the station?  Many projects ultimately go unfinished for this very reason.

Solution #1: Hire an electrician to run an electrical line from your house to the storage shed.  Unfortunately, this means tearing up part of your yard in order to accommodate the wiring.  Oh, and another thing…electricians don’t come cheap.

Solution #2: Attach an LED solar shed light to your storage shed, garden shed, or greenhouse, and get back to work.Solar Shed Light  Solar lights require no special wiring since they get their power from the sun, and there are no set up costs or operating costs beyond the initial purchase of the light.  Simply mount the accompanying solar panel to the sunniest side of your storage shed, and it will soak up the sun’s rays during the day.  The solar shed light then uses that stored energy to properly illuminate your task inside the storage shed until you are ready to pack it in for the day.

Thanks to smart solutions like the solar shed light, you can be the one who decides when work is finished instead of living at the mercy of the setting sun.

Environmentally Friendly Ideas, Garden Tools & Tips

3 Money Saving Gardening Practices

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Garden Rain Barrel - 60 Gallon  Earthmaker Aerobic Composter Is The Fast Green Way To Deal With Organic Waste  Square Cedar Planter Box

Gardens enhance the beauty of any home, but more and more homeowners choose to garden as a way to save money on grocery expenses.  Home-grown vegetables, herbs, and fruits not only taste better and provide greater nutrition than store-bought varieties, they cost less.

Keeping costs low when maintaining a garden, no matter what kind of garden you have, can be as easy as adopting three easy money-saving practices:

  1. Collect Rainwater — There’s no point in paying the local water department when you water your gardens if you can simply use the free stuff that falls from the sky.  According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average homeowner “uses at least 30 percent of their water outdoors for irrigation,” and some studies suggest that “more than 50 percent of landscape water used goes to waste due to evaporation or runoff caused by overwatering.” Collecting rainwater in rain barrels and using it to water gardens is one way to save big on your water bill, and it plays an important part in water conservation.
  2. Make Your Own Compost — Compost enriches the soil and makes for happy, healthy plants.  Sure, you can buy compost from your local garden center or nursery, but you can also make it yourself for free in the backyard.  With the right compost bin, making compost can be easy and somewhat hands-off.  In addition to saving money by making your own compost, you also reduce the amount of lawn and kitchen wastes that go into local landfills.  Not everything can be composted, though.  For a handy listing of what you can and cannot put into your compost bin, take a look at this brief article on Composting Basics.
  3. Use Raised Containers — If you frequently lose your plants to nibbling rabbits, deer, or other garden-invading critters, you should consider planting your more delicious plants in a raised container.  Raised containers allow gardeners to keep plants safe from animals, thereby saving money that would have to be spent replacing those plants.  Raised containers also make it easy to relocate the plants as necessary, and they prevent sore backs and joints that sometimes come with tending a garden at ground level.