Healthy Habits

Think Green at Work

Go Green Tip:

Many of us are creating new habits at home that have a positive impact on the environment.  Here are just a few tips to take to work:

Double side your copies and set the default on your copier to double side copy.  If one in four office workers double-sided their printing and copies, the annual savings would be 130 billion sheets of paper—a stack thicker than the diameter of the earth!

Use a ceramic mug instead of paper, Styrofoam or plastic cups.  In the U.S. we use more than 14 billion paper cups each year, enough to circle the world fifty-five times.  The Styrofoam products will be around for 9 generations!

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Carbon Footprint

 

Go Green Tip:
You can learn the impact your choices are having on the environment by calculating your carbon footprint.  You'll be amazed at how your decisions effect the world around you!

There are several websites that help you determine your footprint along with ways to reduce the impact you are having on the environment.

Here are a few to visit:
JurdyGreen.com
Daily Green
Carbon Footprint
American Forests
An Inconvenient Truth

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Share a Ride

Go Green Tip:

A simple way to cut down on gas emissions is by sharing a ride. 

By carpooling, the average commuter could save 500 gallons of gasoline per year--and with the price of gas these days--save a lot of money as well!

Another result for the average commuter would be the elimination of roughly 550 pounds of poisonous exhaust emissions annually.

Sharing a ride would be the equivalent of taking over 67 million cars off the road!

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Choose Paperless

Go Green Tip:

Change your status with major utility companies and your telecommunications providers and request your statements and bills be emailed to you instead of posted.  Then, pay your bills online instead of writing checks and mailing them.

Unsubscribe.  Remove yourself from mailing lists, journals, magazines and articles that you don't read.

These small steps have a huge impact by reducing paper, electricity use, fuel and labor.

Greening your Spring Cleaning

Go Green Tip:

Green Cleaning 

My favorite green cleaner can be used for a variety of tough cleaning jobs--windows, floors, dusting, removing wallpaper, hand washables, coffeemakers, ironing, even a fruit & vegetable wash!

This cleaner is also great for a variety of outdoor uses--swimming pool tiles, pressure washer, wash for cars, boats, RVs, bug repellant, boat algae, fish odors, house plants, rose bushes, greener lawns, non-toxic pesticide and more!

• Window Cleaner for less than a penny a bottle!  Mix only 2 drops in 16 oz spray bottle of water.
• General Cleaner for less than 3 cents a bottle!  Mix 1/4 tsp in 16 oz spray bottle of water.
• General Cleaning: Cleans doors, walls, woodwork, appliances, bathroom fixtures & tile.
• Floors: 1 Tbsp per gallon of water.
• Air Filters: 1/4 tsp to qt. warm water.
• Dusting: 1/8 tsp in pint of water, spray on and dry with clean cloth.
• Wallpaper: Excellent for removing wallpaper. 1/2 Tbsp per gallon of water. Soak wallpaper with sponge & peel or scrape.
• Coffeemakers: Dilute 1/8 tsp in pot of water. Run through cycle and coffee stains will rinse away.
• Hand Washables: 1/2 tsp to a basin of lukewarm water.
• Ironing:  A few drops in steam iron keeps the jets & interior clean.
• Fruit & Vegetables:  Use 1/8 tsp in pint of water (spray bottle with solution kept by sink is convenient). Wash & rinse immediately. Helps remove spray residue, dirt & waxes, also removes grit from leafy vegetables.

Great for Outdoor Use!

    Outside Windows: 1/2 tsp in “ortho-type” spray applicator full of water. Makes 2 gallons of solution for     windows and screens.  Squeegee dry.

    Swimming Pool Tiles: 1/2 tsp in qt of water, apply with sponge.

    Pressure Washer: 1/2 oz to 20 gallons of water. Heavy Duty—use 1 or 2 oz per gallon of water.

    Automotive: Wash your car using 1/2 Tbsp per gallon of water. Wash small areas at a time and rinse  off. Wipe windshield, windows and chrome dry after rinsing. You’ll love the shine!

    Camping & Boating:

Bug Repellant: Rub on neck, arms, hands and face. Flies, Mosquitoes, Chiggers & Fleas will not bite where it  has been applied.

Cleaning & Washing: Coat bottoms & sides of pots and pans before placing over campfire. It is all you’ll need to take for dishwashing, bathing, shampooing, & laundry. It won’t harm fish, vegetation or wildlife!

Wash your R.V., Boat & Camper: 1/2 Tbsp per gallon of water. Great for awnings, too!

Boat Algae: 1/2 Tbsp per gallon of water.

Fish Odors: 1/2 Tbsp per quart of water.

    Gardening & Plant Care:

House Plants: 2 drops in a gallon of water. Water plants and they will flourish. Use to wipe down leaves.

Rose Bushes: 1/2 tsp per gallon of water. Spraying on rose bushes will protect them from red spider mites & other infestations & diseases.

Greener Lawns: 1 Tbsp in “ortho-type” sprayer applicator full of water. Makes 2 gallons of solution. Irrigate immediately.

Recycling Tip: Dispose of used cleaning solutions on your shrubs or lawn for a greener, healthier yard.

    Non-Toxic Pesticide:  Fleas inside-- Mix 1/2 tsp in 16 oz water. Spray floors, baseboards, etc.

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Jurdy Green Earth Day 2008

Do your shopping selections add a lot or a little to the waste stream? Can your purchases be used a single time or repeated times? Are your appliances durable, fixable and energy efficient? Do you conserve or squander natural resources through daily habits?

We all on occasion make choices of convenience that have more environmentally harmful consequences than would more carefully planned purchases and activities.

The trick is to become aware of the impact of our decisions and try to start making environmental stewardship a habit, not a choice.
 

Planting Bulbs

Go Green Tip:
Dust your light bulbs.  When they need replacing--switch to compact fluorescent bulbs.

If each American home switched to energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs in just five fixtures, we'd reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one trillion pounds.  That's an overall energy savings of $6 billion!

Do you suffer from Eco-Anxiety?

Are you overwhelmed with all the talk about “going green?”  Do you feel intimidated by the concept?  Perhaps you feel pressured to participate?

Well, don't fret. Each week I'll be including a Jurdy Green cartoon to keep you grinning, along with a simple tip to get your greening.

Enjoy!

Delia

Go Green Tip:
Making your house healthier begins right at your front door.  Take off your shoes when you enter to avoid tracking in lawn chemicals and pesticides.  Better yet--be careful with pesticides and choose natural methods when possible.