LIVE GREEN

Go green with products made from wheat. This company’s goal is to reduce oil dependency and they supposedly have the world’s largest range of crop-based eco-friendly products. Check it out, especially if you’re stuck for a last-minute holiday gift idea.

This is the time of year we really can’t hang our clothes out on the laundry line to dry anymore. You don’t have to let the heat from your clothes dryer go to waste, though. I just bought a deflector and hooked  it up to my clothes dryer. Now all that nice, warm humid air from my dryer helps to heat my home.

The dryer heat deflectors are available at home centers and hardware stores. I bought mine online for $11. Installation was relatively easy. You’ll probably have to go and get some more lengths of dryer venting material (looks like a large Slinky covered in tin foil) because what you have to do is hook up a length of vent coming out of the dryer and into the bottom of the deflector. Then, you’ll have to attach another piece of vent coming out of the top of the deflector and attach it to the area where the dryer originally vented to. After you install it, just flip the switch on the deflector and turn your dryer on. Now you’re ready to enjoy the nice warm humid air and have it help to heat your home. Remember to clean the lint screen both on your dryer AND the deflector after each use.

Here’s a picture of my installation. I mounted the deflector on the wall between the washer and dryer. I have to re-mount it so it’s straight. I just wanted to get it operational first, and worry about looks later.

One thing you might consider is to buy unscented fabric softener sheets or your house may end up smelling like a laundromat.

I’ve had this new number and fax machine for a little over a year now, and I just got my first junk fax today. Very annoying! You can report junk faxes to the FCC and there is also a helpful guide to combat these spammers.

Junk faxers waste time, paper, ink/toner and they must be stopped.

Check out America’s First Self-Service Public Bike Rental program of it’s kind! The program is currently running in DC and will progress to other cities if it’s a hit.

The fee is $40 per year. You sign up and then receive a card which you activate on the website.

There are ten Smartbike rental locations in the D.C. area.

Clotheslines make a comeback! Do your Laundry “Online”

With the cost of operating an electric clothes dryer around $100 per year - more in the summer months - many people are turning to “solar dryers” a.k.a. the clothesline.  I enjoy hanging my clothes out there, and I’m thankful for three huge trees in my yard which form the Laundry Triangle. I ran a line around all of them and I can get three loads of wash out there, easy.

Some members of my family don’t like their stiff clothes after they’ve come in off the line. To remedy this, I bring them in when they’re still slightly damp and toss them in the dryer for 5 minutes or so. Problem solved.

Supposedly line drying will make your clothes last and look better longer. Plus, they’ll have fewer wrinkles and no static cling!

If you haven’t already, replace all the bulbs in your house with compact fluorescent ones. Not only do they save energy, they don’t burn as hot as traditional lightbulbs. This will help keep your home cooling costs down.

Baking or laundry should be done after the hottest part of the day.

Wrap your water heater up in an insulating blanket.

Make use of those exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathrooms. They can vent the moisture and heat up out of the house.

Install an attic fan, if you haven’t already done so. You can save a lot on those cooling bills by keeping the attic cooler, and getting all that super-hot air out.

Buy energy-efficient appliances. They conserve energy and release less unwanted heat.

Remember to turn your ceiling fans clockwise for winter and counter-clockwise direction for summer.

With gas prices what they are, more folks are riding bikes. I’m especially into these four-wheel bikes so you can have passengers with you, much like the Flintstone’s car, but powered by pedal action.

 

Check out this website for great tips on how to drive your car more efficiently and save on fuel costs.

 

http://www.cleanmpg.com/

On Saturday, March 29, 2008, Earth Hour invites people around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – from 8:00pm to 9:00pm in their local time zone.

Check out CATALOG CHOICE to cancel any catalogs you no longer wish to receive. This helps the environment tremendously. Your mail carrier will thank you too - no more lugging heavy catalogs around.