Posted on July 5th, 2008
Fact: Tiny flies buzzing around the kitchen are annoying. The hardware store will sell you sprays, traps and serums full of chemicals to help you rid yourself of the problem, but non-chemical traps are just as effective (and free!). If the summer heat has turned your kitchen into a fruit-fly playground, help is here! Rid yourself of pesky kitchen flies with a homemade trap using natural ingredients.
To Make: While assembling your trap, boil a pot of water to pour down your drains. Fruit flies and their kin like to breed in the pipes, so a good amount of boiling water poured down the drain will help stop future generations from hatching. ...
Posted on July 4th, 2008
It’s summer, and it’s hot hot hot! Keep cool and tap into your inner Steel Magnolia by purchasing a fancy hand fan. You’ll feel glamorous and breezy as you keep yourself comfortable. Mint julep anyone?
Posted on July 3rd, 2008
Keep blinds and drapes closed during the day to reduce solar heat in your home. If possible, install white window shades, drapes, or blinds to reflect heat away from the house.
Posted on May 30th, 2008
Today, May 30th marks the annual Drive Nowhere Day. The online organization, Environmental Action has deemed this the day to walk, run, bike, skateboard, surf or take public transit around town (or play hooky - we won't tell) and leave the car at home. Annual consumption of gasoline is approximately 7,637,900,000 barrels, expenditure is $485,312,166,000 and the pollution caused in metric tons is about 2,579,000,000 and that's just in America alone! So if you can, pitch in today, save yourself some money, give that engine a rest and join a growing collective that choose to cruise another way. If you want to take one step further and make a pledge with the Environmental Action group ...
Posted on May 29th, 2008
dunk it in milk. If Grandma's heirloom china is starting to crack, give it a facelift with good, old fashioned Vitamin D. Place the plate in a pan and cover with milk (powdered or fresh or a little less than fresh but before the chunks set in) and bring to a boil. Once it hits boiling point, lower the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. The protein should mend most fine cracks and the dish can keep on dishing.
Posted on May 28th, 2008
Palm oil is an ingredient found in thousands of products- lipstick, anti-freeze, shampoo, potato chips, toothpaste, chocolate, industrial lubricants, instant noodles, margarine, crackers, dish detergent, cookies, biofuels, soups, and ice cream to name just a few. It’s an incredibly cheap and versatile oil, used as a frying oil, an emulsifying filler in products like chocolate and lipstick, and also as a foaming agent in soaps, detergents, and personal body care products. It’s aliases include sodium lauryl sulfate, laureth, and laurate.
The problem is it’s the largest cause of rainforest deforestation and habitat loss for critically endangered species in Southeast Asia, which include the Sumatran and Borneo orangutans, who share 96.4% of our genes! Rainforest is clear-cut to ...
Posted on May 27th, 2008
Relive one of the stranger parts of childhood — those creepy Pink Panther commercials on TV. If you were too busy ogling that suave cat to digest what he was selling, consider yourself reacquainted: he was hawking insulation, the kind every attic oughta be stuffed with, even in the summer (those fuzzy fibers stifle air conditioning bills the same way they trap in heat during the frigid months.) A well-insulated attic can reduce greenhouse gases by a half ton per year. If it's good enough for Jacques Clouseau, it's good enough for yeau.
There are lots of eco-friendly alternatives to the pink stuff too these days- check out CFC and HCFC-free soy-based spray foam insulation, as well as blown in ...
Posted on May 26th, 2008
We know, this one's hard to argue with. So why are your south and west walls naked as summertime feet? A mere three trees in all the right places can allow you to bury a burlap sack of cash with anywhere between $100 and $250 each year in your yard, knockin' your daytime 'stat stat down 3 to 6 degrees if the whole 'hood participates.
Posted on May 25th, 2008
The next time it rains, try collecting the drops in an easy-to-pour container for watering your houseplants. Potted plants, window boxes and indoor plants will love a healthy helping of freshly fallen rain. Another benefit? Rainwater is not only free to use, but also free of the chlorine and fluoride added to most tap water, giving your plants a healthier drink. If you collect rain for watering, try to use it as soon as possible so nasty bacteria and bugs don't use your watering dish as a breeding ground.
Posted on May 23rd, 2008
As you plot and scheme and dream up your 2008 garden, consider which plants might hit it off together the best. Its a method called companion gardening and has proven to help soil nutrition, ward off pests and improve taste. Here are a few examples: Plant sunflowers behind lettuce - the lettuce keeps the soil moist and the sunflowers keep the lettuce shaded. Repel pests through smell - plant onions and garlic to protect strawberries, tomatoes, carrots and roses or use mint to save your cabbage. Marigolds are great pest busters anywhere as well as fragrant herbs like thyme and lemon interspersed throughout. Certain plants can act as decoys, luring pests away from your ...
