Green & Clean

By combining a few tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of table salt you have a great copper cleaning agent.  Just rub in on and then polish it off…so shiny! If your items are heavily soiled, you can buff the area with ketchup and a sponge.  Continued Here

Whether you have fine family heirloom pieces or something with character you picked up at an estate sale for a song, you’re eventually going to have to wash your antique linens. Even with advanced settings on today’s washing machines, you still may want to clean fragile fabrics by hand.

Boiling: If that doesn’t do the trick, fill a pot with water and bring to a boil on your stovetop. Drop in linens and let steep until stains lift. Continued Here

Silk stockings are of course as long gone as my dear grandmother; truly sad to say, in both cases. But here are 20 creative ways to repurpose today’s worn-out nylon pantyhose, even if you’re not planning to rob a bank:

* Gift wrap storage: Keep rolls of gift paper neat and tatter-free by storing them in old pantyhose — one roll per leg — and hanging them in the closet.
* Green Cheapskate soap on a rope: Put bath soap slivers in the foot of a pair of pantyhose to get every last bit of suds out of them in the shower. Rub-a-dub-dub, there’s a cheapskate in my tub. (See more “Recycling Oddities.”)
* Plant ties: Use lengths of pantyhose to stake up tomatoes and other plants in the garden; because of its elasticity, it’s easier on tender plants than string.
* Mold and mildew stoppers: Partially fill pantyhose with kitty litter and place in shoes, luggage, closets, dressers, etc., to absorb moisture and reduce mold and mildew. Continued Here

When you own a house, there may seem like a never-ending list of things you want to improve, whether cosmetic — like finally replacing peeling wallpaper or adding a splash of color with new paint — or more functional, as with more insulation in the attic, or a more efficient heating system. But in a down housing market, in an economy that’s made money a bit tighter for a lot of us, which green improvements will really add value to your home?

The good news is that a lot of green improvements are designed to either improve the energy efficiency — as with insulation — or environmental health — think wallcoverings — of your home, and those types of things add value. Still, there are a few home improvements that get oversold as value-boosters that can actually reduce the long-term value in your home; windows are a prime example of that. With that in mind, here are five ways you can add value to your home when making green improvements.

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I’m glad – and proud – that we’re now a nation where recycling is becoming a common practice. Today, more than 80% of U.S. households have easy access to locally based programs for recycling paper, plastic, glass and aluminum.

But recycling isn’t just about everyday household items any more. Nonprofit organizations and specialized businesses are springing up everywhere to recycle almost everything imaginable. Here are some that might surprise you….Continued Here

Your food can’t go everywhere exposed; it needs packaging. Unfortunately, much of that packaging takes massive amounts of energy to create and doesn’t properly decompose. We’ve rated some common carriers on a scale from 1 (bad) to 5 (good).

1. Styrofoam

Rating: 1

Ubiquitous clamshells for restaurant leftovers, hot and sour soup containers, coffee cups at PTA meeting.

The bad news: All research shows that Styrofoam becomes a permanent part of our environment after we use it. Information on the health risks of Styrene, which is used in the production of polystyrene plastics and resins, can be found on the EPA Website.

The good news: Many cities are passing laws that require restaurants to discontinue use of all Styrofoam products. And there are more and more better options. Continued Here

Every single week day, people come back home after a day of work and almost simultaneously start using lots of energy intensive-things; they turn on the television, the computer, turn on the lights if it’s dark, they plug in their cell phones and gadgets… And then they start cooking food.

We’re all getting more aware of our energy consumption when it comes to cars (hybrids and electric cars are getting more popular) and to lighting (compact fluorescents took over in only a few years), but most of us are still in the dark when it comes to energy-efficient cooking. Here’s a few common sense tips to get your started on the road to low energy cooking.  Continued Here

Here is your guide to figuring out what those recycling codes on plastics mean.

Sometimes it seems like modern America is one colossal plastic palace. The versatile material is in our cars, toys, packaging, clothing, home goods, food utensils, medical devices and so much more. It is also littering our streets, clogging our waterways and choking marine life. Many plastics can be readily recycled, but how do consumers make sense of all the different types and rules?

Number 1 Plastics

PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate)
Found in: Soft drink, water and beer bottles; mouthwash bottles; peanut butter containers; salad dressing and vegetable oil containers; ovenable food trays.
Recycling: Picked up through most curbside recycling programs.
Recycled into: Polar fleece, fiber, tote bags, furniture, carpet, paneling, straps, (occasionally) new containers

PET plastic is the most common for single-use bottled beverages, because it is inexpensive, lightweight and easy to recycle. It poses low risk of leaching breakdown products. Recycling rates remain relatively low (around 20%), though the material is in high demand by re manufacturers.  Continued Here