Want to know what effect scents have in your home? Essential oils have been used medicinally since 4500 BC. Modern uses are to kill bacteria, viruses and fungi; stimulate the regeneration of tissue; and to oxygenate the cells. Aromatherapy experts Minka Robinson and Ashley Beckman share their valuable insight on the truth behind synthetic scents, where to use specific essentials oils, and safety tips.
When thinking about how to make your home more green, one good way to find good opportunities and ideas is to look to your community. Many cities and neighborhoods work to create a green environment, and after all your community is an extension of your home.
Filling a kitchen with healthy food can be a challenge. To get the answer to a nagging question I enlisted four 20-something men, notoriously unhealthy eaters and bumbling in the kitchen, in a experiment. My cooking.
Electro magnetic induction stoves can be a great energy-friendly alternative to traditional gas and electric stoves.
Where do you start when you want to fill the apartment with stuff but be green about it? Garage sales are a good option to start out with, then move up to buying new, green products to fill in gaps.
When global regulatory agencies fail to protect a vital resource, pop culture can step in and save what we hold precious. Bluefin tuna fisheries are collapsing due to consumer demand and lack of strict regulation. Despite the bleak outlook, pop culture may step in to enforce sustainability where governance has failed.
For the city dweller or adventurous gardener, cultivating mushroom logs can be a great alternative to growing fruits and vegetables in the home.
Your consumer electronics are drawing power not only when in use, but in order to power those ubiquitous clock displays and provide memory backup, your electric bill continues to accumulate overnight as these devices enter standby mode. Learn more about how "vampire draw" works and how to reduce your electric bill.
Greywater irrigation can enable us to not only reuse an increasingly precious commodity, but also to improve our lives, homes, and gardens.
If you want an energy-efficient replacement for an old tank water heater or if you have limited space for a tank heater, like in a cabin or condo, then going tankless can be a great option. Tankless, or on demand water heaters operate on a simple principle: Heat water instantly and only when you need it. It's a great tool for conserving energy in your home.
The organic food market has blown up in the past decade, with more and more people turning to healthy eating. However, eating organic comes at a hefty cost to the wallet and sometimes may not make as much of a difference as manufacturers would have you believe. While going organic is always good, it may not always be economically feasible. With that in mind, here are some foods that you can skip going organic as well as some you shouldn't.
The U.S. is the third largest global consumer of fish and shellfish behind Japan and China. With seafood being such a popular food choice, overfishing has become a large problem over the last 20 years. Overfishing can be defined as fishing with a sufficiently high intensity to reduce the breeding stock levels to such an extent that they will no longer support a sufficient quantity of fish for sport or commercial harvest.
In the midst of all the attention organic vegetables and free-range meats have been garnering, it is easy to overlook the importance of our choice in seafood. Many species of fish and marine life are being threatened, yet are wildly available in many supermarkets still. Though we may not be aware, what we choose to consume can greatly impact the marine eco system in this supply and demand market.
Living a vegetarian lifestyle is healthy for you and the environment, but sometimes it's just not practical. A great way to get some of the environmental, health and economic benefits of a more plant-based diet is to be a part-time vegetarian.
You have two options for washing dishes - hand wash or dishwasher. So, which is the most eco-friendly and efficient option?
The weather is starting to get warmer and with it comes barbecue season! Who doesn't love a nice cookout in the backyard with friends and family? While many people do cookouts for the fun of it, few are aware that grilling your food is actually more energy efficient than cooking with a kitchen stove. With a little bit of planning, barbecues can be one of the most eco-friendly things to do in the summer.
Something everyone must be a consumer of is food, so make an informed choice about where you purchase your food. Farmers markets are an excellent choice because of their smaller impact on the environment.
Giant paper producers play a large role in the destruction of million and millions of acres of forests throughout the world. Make a few easy changes around your home and you can reduce your paper product consumption.
Many of us striving for a greener lifestyle are familiar with eco-friendly home products and décor but we rarely give a second thought about cooking. Considering we spend a good deal of time in the kitchen making food, small changes to our cooking styles can have long term beneficial effects. Here are some tips to go green with your cooking.
2 to 5 percent of what is thrown out as trash has not yet reached the end of its lifecycle and can be reused. Not only is reuse an eco-friendly choice, it is also a money saver. Here are some common household items that can be reused in unique ways.
No home is immune from pests. Instead of using toxic chemicals to manage your pest problems, there are less harmful and budget friendly natural alternatives.
If you aren't one of the lucky few who live in an apartment building that offers a food waste bin you might think that living in an apartment or condo would impede on your ability to compost food waste since you don't have a backyard, but this is not the case. There are options for reducing the amount of food waste going into the garbage for you too.
Plastic food storage containers could be poisoning your leftovers with harmful chemicals. Along with the health concerns over the plastics used in the containers there is also an issue with the recycling of the containers.
Whether you are building a new home or updating your old one, windows can be used to help with the heating and cooling of your home. Follow these easy tips on where to place your windows and how to cover them to start using less energy and save money.
Want a sustainable haven where your family can rest and regroup for the night? Want that place to be attractive? Comfy? Get some practical tips from one of our gurus, Jennae Petersen. As the creator of "Green Your Decor", a website dedicated to all things green in interior decorating, Jennae has combined a passion for design and "going green" to help the artistically challenged and HGTV lovers everywhere.
Normally, New Year's Resolutions are about bettering yourself, your body, or relationships. This year make sure to include the environment in your vows of improvement, and you're sure to transform yourself.
Cookware is almost an afterthought in the grand scheme of improving our home environment. Still, as food preparation plays such an instrumental part in our daily lives, examining the possible health and environmental impact of our cookware is equally necessary for an eco-friendly kitchen.
It's that time of year again! Consumerism and holiday cheer are at the height of prevalance, and people around the globe are flocking to spruce up their surroundings for one of the year's biggest interior-decorating holidays. Kari Whitman, eco-interior designer to the stars, has some terrific holiday tips that will enliven your surroundings, as well as be kind to the environment and your wallet!
Doesn't it seem as though every time we pick up an eco-friendly newspaper or venture online to a green-news site, we are bombarded with advertisements for eco-friendly products that all claim to be the latest and the greatest, or la creme de la creme of household cleaning greendom?
Colors have transformative power. Though the effects of a color differ from person to person, there are some generally accepted rules: Warm colors are generally energizing colors that promote passion, while a cool color exudes relaxation and calm. W
There are simple steps we can all take to ensure the safety of what ends up on our dining room tables. Instead of focusing on what is out of our control (which is most things), we can try to focus on what is within our control, by educating ourselves and our loved ones to ensure that the food we consume is free of GMO's, pesticides, irradiation, and hidden chemical processes.
If your current refrigerator was made before 1993 it uses twice as much energy as the new Energy Star qualified model....
Water is a universal solvent because it dissolves more substances than any other liquid. That's what makes it a great cleaner. To increase its cleaning power, heat it up a little or augment it with baking soda or liquid detergent.
Another green cleaner in its own right, and a good partner to baking soda, vinegar is a wise substitute for harsh commercial cleaners.
Making cement creates carbon dioxide, a lot of it. If you are planning to renovate your house or add on to it, consider using concrete mixes or pre-fabricated concrete modules that use less traditional cement or lower carbon cement. These products are also innovative in the way they add recycled paper and glass to create unusual and unique textures and coloring.
More than a baking ingredient, this common household product does everything from deodorize to polish. It can even fight fires.
Check the label and the product description of your bamboo towel, upholstery, wall covering, even your baby's crib linen, it may use terms like "organic", "environmentally-safe", "biodegradable", "natural", or "antimicrobial". Items made out of bamboo fiber and fabric may not live up to those claims.
In the fight against drain clogs, boiling water, baking soda, vinegar and a plunger are your greenest allies.
Even though they are considered dinosaurs in the modern lighting world, incandescent bulbs and the warm light they create still have a wide appeal. So how can we reconcile energy-gulping incandescents with a greener home?
Quick tip...now that I'm a mommy, I'm always looking for safe and environmentally friendly stuff for my little one. My friend, Rene, just turned me on to a really great resource...KidSmartLiving.com. Check it out! Easy navigation and shopping cart functionality.
Appliances account for as much as 20 percent of your energy bill--replacing your dishwasher with an Energy Star model can save over $25 a year in energy costs....
For Lynn Julian and Chance Claxton, founders of Kids Konserve, the question was even more involved: What business would allow them to help the environment and also set the right example for their young children? When they learned that just one child generates an average of 67 lbs of lunchtime trash per school year and that children's lunches create 3.5 billion pounds of garbage each year, Julian and Claxton created Kids Konserve lunch kits.
Looking for a new stove and oven for your home? Which will you choose: Electric or gas? In today's greening world, energy efficiency has become as important as cost, color and function. So what else should you consider when looking for the perfect range?
Selecting the right water heater for your home is a serious commitment- one that could last up to 20 years. Before you take the plunge, here's some extra information to help you decide between a conventional tank or a tankless water heater.
It should go without saying, pouring a quart of Liquid-Plumr® or Drano ® down the drain to 'burn' through a clog is hardly a nod to personal safety or environmental responsibility. For those concerned with general good health and wellness, there are several safe alternatives to chemical cleaning products that will prove to be just as effective.
As a typical American husband, I know a thing or two about hot water since I'm often in it. There are different home water-heating systems to choose from. However, when your conventional tank water heater fails, the easiest and more affordable option is usually to replace it with another tank water heater. But how do you choose one that fits your house, budget and eco-conscience?
Water. It's always just a twist of the faucet away. But how often do you actually think about it? Where does it come from? How does it get to your house? And - most importantly - when it gets to your house, is it really safe to drink?
The kitchen is a center of activity, a gathering place. It is also the room in your home that can make the biggest difference in limiting waste, saving resources and improving efficiency.
Plastics come in seven different varieties, numbered 1-7 on the bottom of the packaging, within the triangular recycle symbol. These plastics have a variety of different recycling capabilities, as well as different chemical compositions, some of which are harmful.
You can reduce cooking energy by as much as 80 percent when using your microwave instead of oven for small portions....
Replacing an older refrigerator with a new Energy Star qualified model can save $45 - $65 a year....
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Standard kitchen and bathroom water faucets use 4 to 7 gallons of water per minute (gpm) and non-conserving shower heads use 5 to 8 gpm, consuming up to 40 gallons of water for a single five-minute shower. Simply installing a high-efficiency shower head and faucet aerator will save about 7,800 gallons of water per year in an average household.
By replacing your old major appliances with energy efficient ones you can help save significant energy...and money!
If you thought your home was a haven from the pollution of the city, it's important to note that levels of pollutants inside the home can actually be almost 20 times higher than outdoors. Indoor pollution is due in large part to volatile organic compounds that off-gas from home cleaning and decorating products.
If you want to lower utility bills and limit your use of polluting energy sources, replacing your home refrigerator is a wise choice. Refrigerators and freezers account for nearly 17 percent of a home's energy use, more than any other appliance.
If there's one brand that deserves a shout-out for helping make a difference, it's Seventh Generation. Seventh Generation is the leading brand of non-toxic and environmentally friendly household products today. From their biodegradable cleaners to their plant-derived laundry...
Though it is very important to be energy efficient in all aspects of our lives, it may be easily overlooked to be energy efficient in the different places in our homes. Though some may not be aware of it, there are more ways to be energy efficient than turning off the lights when you leave a room. Invest in products that come already energy efficient, and will operate with energy efficiency while they're in use!
Countertops have been included in the shift towards eco-friendly living and now there are some fantastic materials being used in kitchens that have little impact on the planet. There are many green countertop solutions that will withstand the heavy abuse of water and food preparation of daily household use. Using recycled content and non-toxic chemicals, manufacturers have created eco-friendly countertops that not only perform well, but they rival traditional materials in appearance too!
Carrying around plastic grocery bags might eventually be compared to wearing a scarlet letter on your chest. Sure, this may be an extreme analogy but if you've ever forgotten your reusable bags while in a crowded line at Trader Joe's, you might know what accusatory look that I'm referring to. Although progressive stores like Whole Foods and TJ's aren't really big on distributing plastic bags (TJ's does offer a plastic bag that is actually compostable), the rest of the nation's grocery stores are, which is why it's your job to bring your own bag.
If you're looking to revamp your kitchen to a more environmentally friendly space, be sure to keep an eye out for energy efficient appliances. With the amount of usable freshwater going on a decline, it's important to conserve as much water as possible. If anything, it should at least keep your water and energy bill from sky rocketing in the future. A considerable amount of time is spent in the kitchen on a daily basis, and if you're looking to make your kitchen more environmentally friendly, here are some tips you might want to consider.
Cleaning products are a necessity in every household. But perhaps, after a long day of cleaning, you've noticed you have shortness in breath, nausea, dizziness or irritated skin. This is the result of dangerous chemicals that are prominently found in household cleaning products are toxic to your health.
Appliances help make daily tasks easier for any homeowner, but there is no convenience when it is time to pay your utility bills. Fortunately, in the last decade these necessary machines have been tailored to run in a more energy efficient way. These "Energy Star" appliances have been shown to save 30% on energy costs. In turn, roughly the same percentage of greenhouse emissions are prevented as well.
It's somewhat hard to imagine that cork can be used for anything besides a stopper for your wine bottle. However, cork has been used for over a century for flooring. This material is one of many fantastic alternatives to hardwood floors that is both aesthetically pleasing and good for the environment - in more ways than one.
Seventh Generation is the leading brand of non-toxic and environmentally friendly household products today. From their biodegradable cleaners to their plant-derived laundry supplies to their recycled paper products, Seventh Generation offers the one of the most comprehensive supplies of eco-friendly household products on the market.