5 Tips for Reducing Waste While Traveling

Congratulations on your choice to go green Making those changes on the home-front require some research, dedication and concerted implementation. Now that you are so waste-conscious, it may be hard to imagine going on your next trip without also doing your part to conserve the environment. But with so many factors coming into play while you travel, how is it possible to stay earth friendly in the process? Here are five tips for reducing waste while traveling:

Research your accommodations. Before you travel, get on the Internet and find accommodations that are expressly environmentally conscious. While you are there, let the management team know that you specifically chose them because of their eco-friendly policies and practices, and also make recommendations for how to better their accommodations if you see such a need. They’ll not only be grateful for your business, but also for your support and advice.

Go paperless. Whenever possible, use electronic tickets, maps, itineraries and reservation methods. If you think about it, you can do most things with your laptop or smart phone and skip out on the paper-wasting altogether. Read the rest of this entry »

The Benefits of Starting a Home Compost Pile

If you are looking for a natural way to be earth conscious and increase the bounty of your hard work in the garden, then you should definitely consider starting a compost pile at home. A compost pile is relatively simple and easy to make and tend to, and can return some major rewards. Here are the benefits of starting a home compost pile:

Nutrient-rich soil. Once the materials in your compost pile have completely broken down, they have completely changed into a new material. This new material – or, compost – is full of nutrients like nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous, copper, zinc, iron, manganese and more, that will enrich your soil and make it ideal for fostering healthy plant growth. Moreover, because the materials in compost decompose at different times, compost releases its nutrients in an ongoing, sustained basis.
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Living an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle

Environmental issues have never been so prevalent in the media. Everyone from mainstream politicians to major celebrities seem to be backing and supporting environmental projects. Of course, for eco-friendly living to work, it is something that everybody has to do together. There are a variety of ways that you can change your own lifestyle to incorporate more eco-friendly practices.

Recycle

One of the most obvious things you can do to help the environment, recycling your paper and rubbish is often the first step for most people. Your local government should be able to provide you with the necessary bags and boxes for recycling, and should also pick up your rubbish for you when you’re ready.

Assess Your Transport Options

Changing the way you commute to work and get around is a great way you can be more environmentally friendly. If you currently use a car by yourself, you should think about sorting out a carpool with your neighbors or other employees in your office. Read the rest of this entry »

Reducing Waste by Buying in Bulk

We all know that the first step in helping the environment is to reduce waste. This means buying and consuming fewer products when you can, and saving energy in every possible way. However, when you do go grocery shopping, buying more can sometimes help the earth more than if you bought less. What I mean by this is not buying more for the sake of consuming more products, but buying in bulk the things that you use on a regular basis.

The biggest benefit of buying in bulk is that it leads to less waste in terms of packaging. Products that are individually packed often use up more plastic, carton, and ink than products that are crammed into one large container. This is true whether you buy detergent, milk, or toys.

Another benefit of buying in bulk has nothing to do with the environment, but is something any penny-pinching housewife will appreciate – savings. Companies usually price super-sized products a bit lower than small packets to encourage consumers to buy more. While the difference in price is not that big, those pennies will eventually add up to a significant amount.

Here are some tips for buying in bulk to ensure that nothing is wasted:

• Buy products in bulk only when you also consume them in bulk. Examples of ideal products to buy in bulk include toilet paper, shampoo, milk, biscuits, detergent, and anything that you use on a daily basis. Here’s a good list of some items you might want to buy in bulk.
• Check the expiration date. If you won’t be able to consume the product before the expiration date, then don’t buy in bulk. The last thing we want is to encourage a throw away culture.
• Do away with plastic bags and paper bags. Some products bought in bulk come with handles in their packaging (i.e. disposable diapers and toilet paper). Reduce waste further by not having them bagged.
• Do not buy non-consumables in bulk because they will just end up stocked in the house for a long time.
• Stay within your budget. As much as we want to help the environment, we also know that most families have budgets they need to work with. Exercise financial restraint when bulk buying, stocking up on the most needed items and putting off unnecessary purchases.

5 Tips for Teaching Your Kids about Green Living

Green living doesn’t have to mean lining your roof with expensive solar panels, or bathing in the wilderness. It’s actually quite easy to go green with just a few simple lifestyle changes, and if you get your kids on board, you’ll find that going green can be a stimulating and bonding experience for you and the whole family. Don’t know where to begin? Here are five tips for teaching your kids about green living:

The light switch habit. Encourage children to get into the habit of turning off the lights whenever they leave a room by enforcing a light switch rule. You may do this by making it into a game of rewards and consequences. For example, offer points for turning off lights, and subtract points for leaving them on. Offer a small prize for reaching a certain amount of points, and soon your children won’t even have to think twice about turning off the lights when they leave a room. Read the rest of this entry »

MSG is Safe to Use despite of Controversy

MSG or monosodium glutamate is widely used in many food choices including meals at restaurants, snacks, microwaveable dinners, especially in instant noodles. Even if the usage of food additive products like Ajinomoto are practiced into a minimum, every individual in the world will still have a taste of it as it is present in fish, chicken, beef, pork, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, leeks, cabbages, mushrooms, and in dairy products like milk and cheese. To confirm this claim also, comparison of glutamates found in MSG and those glutamates found in crops and produce are 100% identical. This indicates in summary that use of this savory flavor enhancer is safe to use.

There have been worries that MSG is attributed to so many diseases such as obesity, arthritis, rheumatism, fibromyalgia, Alzheimer’s disease, memory loss, and more. All of these have been attributed beginning from the “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome”, which was reported and shared by Robert Ho Man Kwok after ate in an American-Chinese meal, and experienced the MSG symptom complex. He had tasted wine in cooking, sodium, and glutamate seasoning, but the focus was only on monosodium glutamate and disregarded other factors. Since then, the umami food additive has been the subject of research for so many years, and was questioned since its founding in 1909.

In as early as 1950, the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JEFCA) has been created by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) along with the World Health Organization (WHO) in addressing the rising number of countries using processed foods. In 1970, 1973, and 1987, the International Programme on Chemical Safety has published a report “Toxicological Evaluation on Certain Food Additives” has placed Monosodium Glutamate in the “Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) not specified” category, not indicating any risks in minimal intake. After the said evaluation, Commission of the European Communities also issued a report in 1991 of the same ADI result. The American Institute of Nutrition also marked ADI for MSG in 1995, even backed up by the Food Standards Australia New Zealand in 2002. All of these groups have done the research independently, proving that Monosodium Glutamate is still safe to use today.

How to Find Safe Organic Skin Care Products for Babies

Your baby’s skin is ultra-sensitive, and it dries out very easily. There’s no doubt that you want the best for your baby, so your best bet is to shop all-natural so that you know exactly what it is you are putting on your baby’s delicate protective outer layer. Organic is the way to go. But, where do you go to get it? And how do you know that what you’re buying is the real thing? Here is a guide for finding safe organic skin care products for babies.

USDA Organic Certification. Don’t buy anything that is not explicitly USDA Certified. In order to acquire USDA organic certification, a product’s ingredients must comply with the very strict standards and definition of organic, as specified by the United States Department of Agriculture. Organic means that there are no artificial additives, no chemicals, no preservatives, and nothing that should irritate your little one’s skin. Read the rest of this entry »

Saving the Earth with Your Mobile Device

Our ever increasing reliance on mobile devices need not contribute to the massive environmental problems we now face; in fact mobile devices can actually help each of us lessen our carbon footprint. Here are some ideas on how you can help save the Earth with the help (and even despite) mobile devices.

Use it till it breaks down – The easiest, but sadly oft ignored, piece of advice for helping the environment is to reduce waste. While I understand the temptation that newer and better models of mobile phones and tablets bring (I too want and iPhone 4s!), the truth is that we really can survive without upgrading our devices. So unless you have someone in need to pass your old phone or tablet to, try to refrain from buying a new one.

Conserve energy – Smartphones today are capable of doing so many cool things, but the increase in power means shorter battery life or greater power consumption. Conserve your battery by downloading battery-saving apps, switching off all tasks you are not using, turning off the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when not in use, and setting your display brightness to an appropriate level. You should also turn off your phone, instead of just putting it in silent mode during times when you are not supposed to be using it, like in an airplane, a meeting, in the cinema, or during religious services. The little energy that you save this way each time you do this will amount to much over time.

Use energy-saving utilities – Unplug your electric alarm clock and night light and rely on your phone to wake you up. Just one push on your phone’s button will turn on the backlight so you can see clearly in the dark. Instead of turning your computer on to read your mail or check the activity on your social account, just do these on your mobile device when possible so you won’t have two electronic equipment turned on at the same time. Just make sure you only set your most important accounts on auto-check or else this will defeat the purpose of battery-saving.

Do comparative shopping on your mobile device – Before heading out to buy whatever you need, do your comparative shopping online. You can do this wherever you are on your mobile device so you don’t have to waste gas driving around from store to store just to compare prices. If your mobile device has GPS, use that to find the shops easily so that you can again save gas by driving around in circles just because you’re lost.

Be Inspired in the Kitchen With Recipe Finder

Recipe Finder Home Page

Cooking is one of the most relaxing and fulfilling hobbies that one can have. Even those who do not have much experience in the kitchen can derive all sorts of pleasures from coming up with various creations that everyone can eat. One thing that is necessary – both for the seasoned cook and the newbie – is to have access to different recipes that have been tried and tested. Of course, there is the adventure of coming up with your own recipes, but even the best of cooks will admit to having gotten many of their inspirations from other sources.

If you are looking for your own source of inspiration, your search can very well be over. The newest recipe site in town is here to serve as your constant companion in the kitchen. Read the rest of this entry »

How can Going Green Can Save You Money

There are more than enough ways for people to save money. But the question is how many of them are willing to bend a little to do it? Did you know that going green can save money? Not many know that by simply participating on green campaigns, they are not just saving the environment but they are saving a lot of money too. Here are the top two examples on how to save money by going green:

• Save on electricity bill
With the continuous crises in fuel resources, fuel inflation is also continuous, giving people with no choice but to pay their high electricity bills. You can save a lot of energy by simply switching off your lights when not necessary, by unplugging all unused electric appliances or you may use surge protector. You can also replace your light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs like fluorescent, they last longer and they are energy savers. You may also stop using hot water in the laundry. Cold water can also clean your clothes as effectively.

• Save on gas
By avoiding using your vehicle to get to short destinations, you are saving yourself from a lot of gas expense, not to mention gas emission. You may also practice carpooling. Just ask your neighbors if they need a ride located near your destination. This will be cheaper for you and for your neighbors. You may also want to try public transportation. This may not be as comfortable as having your own car but they can save you a lot of money. You may also convert your car into bio fuel or any other alternative fuel to minimize the cost. By simple looking at these examples you would be able to not just help the environment but save money too.