Your Greeness

Even when the actual orange is gone, there’s still life left in your orange peel o green and use it in a number of creative ways like this!

1.Insect repellant- All you need t do is rub the peel onto your skin and the insects won’t come near you. I think the citrusy scent turns them off!

2. Air freshener- Go natural on your air freshener. Place some orange peel into your radiator vents. The heat will allow the fumes to come out and spread all over the room. It will smell yummy in no time!

3.Plant Protector- You know how sometimes cats and dogs can get crazy and bite and scratch your plants. You can prevent this from happening by rubbing some orange peel on your plants. Like insects, your pets will stay away!

4.Complement ordinary dishes- The great chefs we see on tv do this all the time- they transform ordinary dishes into restaurant worthy things by garnishing them with a bit of orange zest! Do the same for the next dish you whip up!

I recently ran across a super interesting article sharing how we can all reuse a rather odd thing which is the scrabble board! The whole thing amused me so much that I immediately thought of sharing it with you too.

Often times we forget about our old scrabble boards. What do we do when we find them again? Why not make cool artwork with it. First, you need to come up with a statement that you really like, maybe a personal motto. Make sure you can spell out this statement on a board. Next, glue down the statement on the “holes” that you like. Then, hang the scrabble board like a frame! Instant artwork!

That sounds like an easy and fun idea right? I hope you get inspired and try it yourself!

1. Why not buy and install a water saving shower head? They’re highly available and easy to install too.
2. This one is easy-take shorter showers! Or an even better idea is to turn off the water while your shampooing and soaping up and then turn it back on as you’re ready to rinse.
3. Don’t keep the water running while you’re brushing your teeth. Wet your toothbrush and get a glass full of water to use that to gargle!
4. For rinsing your razor, you can keep the sink shut and put some water in it. Then dip and shake our razor in the water! Easy!
5. Make sure your faucets are drip free. Little drops can add up to a lot of water wasted!

Why should we recycle? These fun facts ought to answer that burning question!

1. The average American manages to consume and use up around 650 lbs of paper in a year! That’s a lot of trees cut if we don’t reuse!
2. If all paper we used would actually be put back into recycling, a hundred tons of wood would be saved in over a years time!
3. When aluminum is recycled, it manages to save 95% of energy to make aluminum!
4. Every aluminum can recycled can save up enough energy to make a tv run for 3 hours!
5. Americans manage to consume and go through 2.5 million plastic bottles in an hours time!

One of the simplest ways to live green is to use and reuse the available resources to us. That includes those given by Mother Nature, like rain! By investing in a rain barrel, or just any container to store rain water as it falls, all of us can reduce our tap water comsumption! Rain water recycling also reduces the chance of run-off and soil erosion because instead of running to the ground, rain ends up in your containers!

Rainwater can be used in a number of ways. We can us it to water our lawns and ardens, and our plants around the house! We can also use rainwater to wash our cars and bikes, and other dirty things stored in the garage!

Who knew that such a simple thing like rain could benefit so many aspects of our lives! So the next time you see dark clouds looming ahead, get your containers ready and recycle!

Besides being used to close off bottles of wine, there are many other uses that can be found for cork!

Cork is actually very sustainable and a great finish material that can be used for home and work surfaces. In the design world, cork is also seen as very fashionable too and has been making its mark as statement pieces for beautifully decorated rooms!

Cork is great because it’s not a new finish material. No trees were destroyed to make cork, and it is completely residue free! There are also no harmful byproducts that are made because of cork!

Cork provides color and warmth, both visually and literally. It is a great option for flooring, as well as for walls.

In your next home redesign, do consider cork! It meets what you need without costing the environment!

The case of socks mysteriously disappearing is common in every household. What do you do with your old socks? Here’s a fun solution!

Why not make those little pockets to store electronic gadgets like your mobile phone, your ipod or your digital camera. The sock’s cushioning is perfect to protect your gadget fro bumps and because it’s wrapped snugly up, you won’t have to worry about them rubbing on surfaces and scratching!

You can even personalize your sock by stitching your name, or making a little sock bunny! Your imagination is the limit!

If you have teenagers around the house, or kids just about to hit puberty, why don’t you introduce them to green products that they will need during this transitional time in their lives.

Here are a few products that will help them along the way!

1.For deodorant, it is best to steer clear of antiperspirants which can contain toxic chemicals. Brands like Weeleda and Sage make deodorants which are suitable to both girls and boys. They use non-toxic, all natural ingredients too!

2.Feminine care- For your teenage daughters who are about to start the phase wherein the time of the month is very much a part of, it is important to have sanitary napkins that use organic cotton. Organic cotton isn’t grown with harmful pesticides and are definitely a better choice. You can stock up on pads at Organic essentials.

3.It is very possible to achieve a pearly white smile using a green toothpaste. Try brands like Dessert Essence or Natural dentist, as well as Toms of Maine.

The Anya Hindmarch I am not a plastic bag started it all, and now everyone seems to have jumped on the reusable bag bandwagon.
But really, Mother Earth isn’t complaining! Reusable bags mean less paper and plastic bags are being consumed and used which means that less get dumped on our landfills and less trees are being cut.

If you’re sick of the Anya Hindmarch version, there are other cool designer ones available like Marc Jacobs. There are also ons with fun designs in stores like H & M, Topshop and Urban Outfitters. If you’re not really particular on the brand or look, you can even get your reusable bag from your grocery store!

Make this your fashion statement and do Mother earth a favor!

Here’s a great idea that family and friends can engage in this holiday season. Why not exchange used greeting cards? Or reuse greeting cards?

Each year many of us receive wonderful greeting cards. However, most of them end up in the trash. This is not exactly a green practice.

We could change all this by agreeing with those close to us to reuse greeting cards. Maybe cover the old message with a sheet of construction paper and give it to someone else who you feel the same way about.

Your friends and family will appreciate your thoughtfulness and you will have helped the environment too!