Archive for July, 2009

Eco-Friendly Disinfectants - Cheaper & Healthier Alternative

It's not hard to see why people want to take precautions and use disinfectants to help ward off some of the nasty germs and viruses that are making their way around the world. Parents, educators, businesses, and doctors are using more and more disinfectants to protect their kids, employees, students, and patients from these harmful, sometimes deadly, viruses. Earth friendly disinfectants should be used in place of these harmful stores bought disinfectants because of the actual health risks that come with them. The chemicals found in most brands of disinfectants that you can find on the shelves of your local department store can have an adverse affect in battling germs. Germs are nasty little bugs that have a way of becoming immune to the battery of chemicals that we can throw at them. In fact, recent studies have proven that there are some viruses, like staph, that are completely immune to any type of antibiotic and/or disinfectant. Of course, our culture today has been groomed for taking the easiest way out. Earth friendly disinfectants, while much more economical and healthier, does take a little work on our part. It's not as ...

Recycle your Old Socks

Nowadays, you can get a six pack of socks for about 7.00 in your local discount store. Gone are the days when you needed to darn your socks and hang on to them for years. They are so cheap these days, that you can buy them when you need them. One thing about the new sock material is that it isn't made from environmentally friendly materials, generally a mixture of polyester and cotton. If you knew what polyester is made from - crude oil and cotton that needs large amounts of water and pesticides - you'd see why cheaper isn't necessarily better. Polyester is also one of those inventions that has a half life in the years, and will probably still be hanging around when you cease to be. Estimating that the average person goes through about six to seven pairs of socks per year and multiply that by the number of years you will live, on average, well - that's a lot of socks! Pile up all of that polyester, and you've got quite a mess. So, instead of adding to the environmental mess, why don't you try to recycle your ...

Old Fashioned Fun Ways to Keep Cool

As summer approaches and promises to be a scorcher, we all need to think about the energy consumption. There are numerous ways to keep cool without the use of the air conditioning systems we have in own homes. Whether you have an old home or planning to build a new home there are architectural ways to take advantage of natural cooling. There are also ways that we can adapt our older homes to be more energy conservative while staying cool. If you are building a new home talk to the contractor about using the natural resources of how the sun rises and sets and wind direction. When building the roof make it reflective and insulate with earth friends cellulose fiber to help keep the entire house cool while the sun beats down on the roof. The major room where the family gathers during the day should be facing either north or south instead of east and west, windows and doors should be opposite of each other for crosswinds. Keep those doors and windows open during the day to keep air moving through the house, and all the other windows closed and ...