Sep 22nd

Gardening and Composting: A Cycle for Sustainability

One of the easiest steps to a more sustainable lifestyle involves starting a vegetable garden. Not only will this help you create your own supply of food, it can also serve as the foundation for another wonderful project on sustainability; creating your own compost.

If you are interested in starting this cycle of sustainability in your own life, consider the following steps to help get you started.

Understand Your Soil

Whether you start by focusing on composting or gardening may depend on the quality of your soil. If your soil lacks the organic material necessary to grow strong, healthy plants, you may need to supplement it before you begin planting. While you can buy compost to work into your existing soil, you may prefer to create your own from scratch.

You can begin creating your own compost with the food scraps you would normally throw away, and with a suitable compost bin. Your compost bin can be homemade, if you have the proper tools for the job, or can be purchased. For example, the Envirocycle Composteamaker, can help take your compost and use it to produce a highly-potent compost tea, a liquid fertilizer than can be used to strength the nutritional content of all of your soils.

Choose Your Plants

Once you know your soil is in the best shape possible, you can begin planting your vegetables. If you aren’t sure where to begin, you can always start with some of the most popular options, such as tomatoes and cucumbers. Otherwise, consider which vegetables are your favorites to eat and see if they are appropriate for your local climate.

Many vegetables can be grown across the United States, so you are sure to find a few staples of which you will always appreciate having your own fresh supply.

Begin the Cycle

As you tend to your vegetables, make sure and take any clippings and put them straight into your compost bin, along with the remnants of any vegetables you prepare as part of a meal. Those remnants will begin to create more compost which can be used to feed your current plants or expand your usable soil within a larger space. In turn, healthy soil helps produce healthy plants, and you are able to reap the benefits in the form of delicious vegetables.

If you find that your crop gets to large, you can look into various methods of preservation, such as canning or freezing, or connect with friends, family, and coworkers who may enjoy your excess produce. In some cases, your extras can even be donated to food banks or soup cushions, allowing your garden to give back in more ways that you originally thought possible.

Maintain the Cycle

As long as you take the time to care for your garden, it can keep supplying you with a consistent source of fresh vegetables for years to come. As you become more comfortable with the process, you can focus on rotating your vegetables based on season, and preserving excess for times when that particular plant does not produce food.

All of your scraps can keep your compost strong, allowing the health of your soil and plants to continue into the foreseeable future, and closing the loop on a cycle of sustainability of which you can be proud.

Sep 16th

How to Have An Environment Friendly Travel

You already know by now that traveling can do a lot for you. There are things that you will understand better because you have travelled far and wide. You will become exposed to different cultures. You will get to understand how other people live and the best thing about traveling is you do not have to travel far every time.

You may try to steer free from traveling because you know that it is not too environment friendly but what if you can find ways to have an environment friendly travel? Will you continue with your plans to travel at the soonest possible time? Who does not like traveling at this day and age wherein there are a lot of benefits that you can get?

Aside from making sure that you will search for DMF so that you do not have to spend too much on your flights, there are other tips you have to remember to have an environment friendly travel that you will surely enjoy:

Pack Light

Do you realize that when you pack too much, you have the tendency to make your plane heavier than it should? As the plane gets heavier, the amount of carbon emissions also increases. Carbon emissions are bad for the environment so try not to contribute to this by packing light.

Travel in Different Ways

Do you think that the way to travel is only by plane? There are other ways by which you can travel. It may take longer and it may not always be the ideal way but if you can do it for the environment, why not? For example, if you are only going to take a vacation in a nearby place, take your bike instead of your car. It will make a huge difference with what you are going to do.

Choose Locally Produced Items

When you are traveling to new places, get to know what their local items are. You may want to purchase items that you are more familiar with but these products have been travelled far which mean that the environment has been affected by it. When you choose local products, you will be supporting the country that you are in. At the same time, you are also helping the environment.

Act Like You Are at Home

Some people have the tendency to be like primadonnas whenever they are at hotels. They tend to turn on all of the appliances and electronics that can be found inside the hotel room even when they are not using these items. When you are going out of your hotel room, turn your electricity off. You will be helping the environment this way.

Try to Avoid Bottled Water

You may want to drink bottled water all the time because you are not sure with the quality of the water in the country that you are in but you can always find a local water station and fill up your own container with water. This way, you will reduce the number of bottled water that you will use.

It is evident that there are so many things that you can do in order to help save the environment. Do not be one of the people who continue to contribute to the world’s demise. You can still stop it from happening if you would start now.

Sep 15th

Ways to Make Your House Clean in A Longer Period of Time

You know that you cannot place plastic wrap all over your kitchen counters so that you will not make it dirty while you are preparing your food. You also cannot stop your pets from shedding their fur all over the floor. You may control the pests that you can see at home. You can get rid of pests with the use of the right pest killer. Yet you know that in order to get rid of pests and actually make your house perfect for living, you need to keep it clean.

Have you ever wondered if it would make a difference that you will situate different cleaning products in various parts of the house? This can actually work because one of the reasons why you may not be cleaning your kitchen as much as your living room is because it is far from where you keep your cleaning materials. Have small cleaning materials in various parts of your home and you will find yourself cleaning more.

Here are a few more habits that you can do in order to keep your home clean:

Keep everything organized.

Have you ever wondered why there are some people who just have a lot of storage? It is because they know that they can organize and place their items in different places. Whenever they need something, they know exactly where to look. This is especially true for paper and other items that your children may need. When you keep things arranged, you can have a nicer and cleaner home.

Wipe down surfaces after you use them.

When was the last time that you have cleaned your stove? If it has been a while, then it is time for a change. You need to wipe down your surfaces so that you can use them again. If you have never done this before or it takes so long for you before you clean your surfaces, make some changes now. Keep your surfaces clean and disinfected and make it a habit. You will have a much cleaner house soon after.

Have just enough items at home.

Take a look at the items that you have. Do you have too many clothes? Perhaps you have too many pillows and blankets. It makes sense if you all use them but if not, you should think about giving them away. When you reduce the amount of clutter that you have then your home will be easier to clean and maintain.

Make your bed.

In the past, you are recommended to make your bed the moment that you get out of it but studies show that this might increase the amount of bed bugs that you have on your bed. What you can do instead is probably do something else first but do not leave your home until you have already fixed your bed.

Wash the dishes.

This is one of the most important things that you can do. Washing your dishes or putting the dishes in the dishwasher will not only help keep your home clean, it can also reduce the amount of pests that you will see inside your house.

The habits that are mentioned above are just a few of the things that you can do to keep your home clean and ready for sustainable living. Incorporate these habits into your life and you will surely see the big difference.

Sep 10th

Eco-friendly ways to save money

People think that living an eco-friendly lifestyle can be expensive. This is a huge misconception as there is no inconvenience or overspending required if you do things right. The reality about living sustainably is that it is all about going green and giving the planet a break. You can save a lot of money on this way of living. Just because organic food and hybrid cars cost more we shouldn’t be reluctant to live sustainably. There are many other ways to decrease your carbon footprint that will make it all worthwhile and help you to save some money at the same time. The big idea about sustainable living is to make things simpler and to deal with merchants directly instead of supporting the middleman. A little economical thinking goes a long way.

Start by living wisely. Use cloth napkins that are washable and re-useable. Paper napkins are disposable and can only be used once so it isn’t really very good for the environment. You can use recyclable paper napkins but remember that not having to recycle your cloth napkins you make a bigger difference and you never lose out on your cash. You should also cook instead of buying takeout. It will reduce trash output which means less energy and generally less waste. We have let go of the joys of cooking for our loved ones because takeaways is just too easy. Click here to take a look at a few easy meals to cook. If you used a pressure cooker you will save money and time plus energy. These wonderful appliances take less time and you can get creative with one pot.

Turning off your oven a couple of minutes will allow your food to keep on cooking and will save a bit of energy and money on gas bills. After the stove has been switched off you will find that your food is still cooking. Plan a budget and buy easy to prepare ingredients. We don’t keep track of what we spend on food and drop the ball like that. Hire the services of bookkeepers Melbourne for professional advice on your finances and the right input where you need it to see what you are wasting your money on every month. Having someone to take care of your tax and your budget is ideal because you might end up with a surplus that can come in handy with your sustainable living endeavors.

Obviously growing your own food is a great way to save money and energy. You will experience the joy of eating homegrown veggies and it won’t cost you as much as it would if you were to buy it at a fresh produce market. Not only will you love the taste you will also love the gardening experience and the achievement to successfully grow your own food. While you are at it you can also make your own compost heap. Click here to learn how. You will be surprised how much you can save by implementing these small steps in your life.

Sep 8th

The Top 6 Crazy Sustainability Ideas

Don’t get the title wrong. We are all about finding great ways to meet our sustainability needs. After all, fossil fuels are being readily, and daily, depleted exponentially. Food products are becoming less food and more product. And people are beginning to wonder if they might be able to avoid diseases like cancer and diabetes by growing their own foods.

We get it. The world around us is hugely uncertain. There are deals being made with terrorist countries and while people like Mark Dubowitz are in our corner trying to fight the bad guys, there are some things we’ve just got to do for ourselves. Iran is a relatively small country but it’s too big for you or I to handle, so we need to do the best we can with what we’ve got.

However, as with any good thing, people can sometimes take it too far. That’s the basis behind this piece. Remember, we think sustainability ideas, projects, and products are great. But, we know when to say when on things that are just way too out there for any real purpose. Here’s the top 6 crazy ideas:

Clay Pot Refrigerators- Sounds crazy, but it could actually prove to be quite beneficial. The problems we see are the fact that clay is easily broken and then you might run the risk of shards or dust getting in and on your food. You can learn all about these innovative creations here. Then you can make an informed decision about their validity in the sustainability landscape.
Solar Powered Hearing Aids- Conceptually, a brilliant idea, as having a battery die in your hearing aid could mean abrupt silence in your life. And since they are “hearing aid specific” these batteries are sometimes hard to find. However, how to ensure the panels get enough sun for full charge might be a challenge especially if the wearer has long hair.
Artificial Islands- They are self-sufficient and 100% sustainable, but they are really impractical. And, some think they might disrupt the natural eco-systems in which they are located. Besides, you’d have to be super rich to afford one.
15 Year Light Bulb- Sure, we all get tired of changing out light bulbs and no one wants to pollute the landfills with excessive bulbs. However, this lovely creation exuded enough radioactivities to make people really wonder what the value of that light might be. Length of life or length of light? Supporting evidence is here.
Bacteria for Cow Farts- Seriously? This is for real. Kangaroos have bacteria that make their flatulence methane free. Researchers are considering infecting cows with the same bacteria to decrease the methane produced when they let one rip. Do they actually think infecting cows is a good idea? You can click this to read all about the new flatulence goals designed to decrease global warming.
Geo-Engineering- So, this is a totally crazy idea. Basically, in an effort to adjust the effects of global warming, some scientists are suggesting we figure out how to get volcanoes to erupt. They want to mess with God’s weather design and initiate their own (not-natural) disasters. Why? Because when Mt. Pinatubo erupted back in the early 90s all the massive amounts of sulfur dioxide created a cooling effect they would like to emulate.

With some ideas verging on brilliance and others very near madness, these are definitely the top 6 craziest sustainability ideas we’ve ever seen!

Sep 7th

Simple Sustainability for Everyone

With this relatively new movement towards green living and sustainability, it seems prudent to determine how best to jump on the bandwagon. Most of us don’t have a lot of money, thanks to the present state of the economy, and therefore we need simple sustainability ideas that everyone can participate in.

Turn on the TV and you’ll find any number of bad news pieces. You might see Mark Dubowitz addressing negotiations of Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Or you could see the plummeting of the S&P 500. Perhaps you take note of the skyrocketing price of gas and all you can think is, “I need to be able to take care of myself if something crazy happens.” That’s the real reason to learn some of these sustainability steps.

4 Steps to Sustainability

Depending on where we are in life, most of us will need a bit of a push towards sustainability. Sometimes that push comes in the form of simple advice, which is what we plan to offer here. Let’s face it, if Iran really has serious nuclear capabilities our sustainability intents will be pretty wasted. However, in the meantime, these are some steps we can all take:

Gardening- Even if you live in an urban locale there are ways to grow fruits, vegetables, and/or herbs. Do a little research and you can learn about pallet herb gardens, hydroponic stacking gardens, and raised bed gardens. These are all means in which to eat healthier, non-gmo, pesticide and herbicide free foods. You can control what happens to the things you grow. And, many of these options can be set up in very small spaces with big payoffs. Learn more about these options here. Of course, if you’ve got the space then feel free to till and plow and all the necessary things to really gets a vegetable farm going.

Composting- Again, this doesn’t have to be relegated to people living on multiple acres, or out where the cows roam. You can compost in your subdivision. There is a number of composting containers and things of that nature available online. Click this to check them out. But, the real reason you want to compost includes eliminating a lot of trash from your garbage can. You can utilize food waste (non-dairy) to further fill your compost pile with much needed nutrients. And, compost makes for excellent all natural fertilizing material for your garden!

Xeriscaping- Although slightly counterintuitive, when your goal is to reach real off the grid sustainability, xeriscaping some areas of your lawn (or farm) could save you some work in the long run. It will also help you conserve water. You don’t need your “landscaping” designs to overdraw on your water usage. Hopefully, if you’re planning on doing some rain water collecting (which we recommend) then with xeriscaping you’ll be better prepared to focus your water expenditure on your food producing plants rather than just plain ole flowers and shrubs.

Recycling- In case you didn’t know, cardboard and newspaper make for excellent weed barriers for all your planting needs. When you use them you are actually fulfilling the fourth simple sustainability step, recycling. You can also reuse plastic jugs and bottles for watering methods in your raised bed gardens. Holes drilled in the sides along the bottom will allow water to flow into the soil as needed. Read this to learn more.

You can practice real sustainability no matter where you live. These 4 steps will help you get started.

Sep 2nd

Items You Should Always Have at Home

You know that when you wake up in the morning, your first thought is not what you are going to purchase when you go to the grocery. You do not usually desire to purchase your needed toiletries as well as the various food that you need at home.

There are some things that you know you can live without but there are some items that can cause your life to stop for a while because you cannot function without them. Do you have an idea about the things that you should always have at home? You do not need to wait for the next attack from terrorists as detailed by Foundation for Defense of Democracies before you go to the nearest store to purchase the items that you need.

Some of the things you would most likely need are the following:

Toilet Paper

You know that this is one thing that you should stock up on. Aside from the fact that it will never rot even if you do not use it for a long period of time, you know that this is something that you can use around your home. You use it in the bathroom and you use it to clean up different spills from all over your home. They also go on sale so if there are some good deals, do not miss out on these deals.

Non Perishable Goods

You do not know what may possibly happen. There might be a hurricane that will leave all the stores closed. You may not have enough electricity or other forms of energy to do different things around your home. It will not be good to be stuck at home with nothing to eat. For example, you may want to have a supply of cereal, some canned goods and even noodles. This will keep you full when you do not have other food products available.

LED Light Bulbs

You may not have gotten around to replacing the different lights that you have at home but you should stock up on the LED light bulbs that you are going to use if ever. Why choose LED and not other types of light? LED is best known to last for a long period of time. There are a lot of deals on LED lights so you can be sure that you can purchase more than one.

Office Supplies

There will be days when you just have to find your stapler but no matter where you look, you have already forgotten where you placed it last. It is best to purchase all of the office supplies that you need especially when they are on sale because the time will come when you will use them and you will be thankful that you have them.

Batteries

You know that this is something that you ought to have all the time. Even if a lot of the items that you have right now may not use AA or AAA batteries anymore, you still need them for emergencies. You can have a few that you can get whenever you need them.

You can learn more about items that you need from here. There are still a lot of items that you are supposed to have at home. Feel free to share what you think are the items that you should have at home.