1. Having house plants not only look nice and add to your decor, they release oxygen and some of them actually clean the air of toxins. For example, Gerbera Daisies will absorb benzene (a known carcinogen found in plastics) and Golden Pothos will reduce formaldehyde, which emanates from new furniture and carpet. One thing to be aware of is that some plants (such as Aloe Vera and English Ivy) have defenses, and can be poisonous and so they should be used in places that small children and pets can't access.

2. Fireplaces are beautiful, but most are not energy efficient. About 85% of the heat a standard fireplace creates goes up the chimney. How can you fix this? Block the chimney, put in a gas fireplace and get some cement fireplace "logs." They look great , they even have glowing "embers," and with a direct vent all the heat stays in the house. This can save you money and is definitely easier on the environment.

3. Fix it, don't trash it. Obviously, sometimes something wears out and needs to be replaced, but is there is only one small part that needs to be fixed, it will often be cheaper to get the replacement part than to buy a new one. Check the cost of repair, before your throw it out. This can save you money and it will help keep many items out of the waste stream.

4. Giving gifts is fun. Filling landfills with gift wrapping isn't good for your wallet or the environment. So when you give a gift, wrap it with creativity. Use the colorful comics in the newspaper or consider left-over wallpaper or even kitchen cupboard paper. If you get a gift bag, re-use it. You can even recycle greeting cards into gift tags. Save money and go green. When you show people your creatively wrapped gift, and explain how you're helping to save the Earth, you'll find they appreciate the gift more and maybe they'll become a little "greener" too.

5. If it's broken, stained or wrecked, it still might not be trash. Don't fill your garbage containers with re-usable stuff. A stained shirt, can still be a cleaning cloth. A broken lamp can usually be repaired. An old-fashioned suit can be given to Goodwill. A broken baseball bat can be used as a garden stake or to prop up a saggy fence. Think twice before you throw it away and you'll be amazed at the uses you find for trash.

6. Donate things you don't use any more. Instead of throwing out items you don't use anymore, give them to charity. Old clothing, shoes, home dcor items, sporting goods and toys are all happily accepted by charities such as the Salvation Army. You'll have less clutter in your garage and your donation will help families in need.

7. How many trees are cut down for junk mail? Who knows - but who needs it? Not me and probably not you. Tell the post office you don't want junk mail and if it still gets through, tell the marketeers themselves to take you off their list. This archaic way of doing business is hrmful to the environement and if enough people tell them to stop it, they will.

8. Use rechargeable batteries. If yours is like most households, you have a lot of things that run on batteries. Everything from the TV remote to your camera. And if you have children you can add a seemingly endless number of toys to the list! Do the environment a favor and use rechargeable batteries. They cost more upfront but they generate significantly less waste and in the end will save you money. Solar powered battery rechargers are even available online.

9. A little education about what your community's garbage collector actually recycles will help you to make better decisions about what to buy and what to put in the recycle bins. Ask your garbage collection company for a list of exactly what they can recycle and, if something is not clear ask them about that. Soon you'll know which product and product containers can be recycled in your community and this can help you with your purchase decisions.

10. All households have some hazardous material that will eventually be thrown away. It is important that old tires, paint thinner, broken electronic items and even mercury filled thermometers be disposed of properly or they will pollute the landfill and can even pollute the water table that supplies drinking water. Fortunately, most communities have hazardous waste disposal days or drop off points and all citizens should use them. It's smart and it will really help save the world for your kids and grandkids.

These suggestions are only a few of the methods that yo can use to reduce your personal impact on the environment. There are many resources on the internet that can give you many more ideas.

Rylan Waverly has been "going green" for over 15 years. He writes blogs and participates in online forums and "real world" conventions that help create a green future. One of his favorite websites is gogreen.com-webnews. He says it has the most up-to-date news, timely information, blogs and videos that can help anyone who is seeking real knowledge about living a green life.

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© 2010, Rylan Waverly. All rights reserved.

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Hello again everyone. Today I am going to give you an introduction to melt and pour soap. This is one of the most popular methods of making homemade soap. This is the method that gives you those 'designer soaps' that everyone is paying the big bucks for at the specialty stores.

Melt and pour soap is one of the easiest ways to make homemade soap. You start out with a pre-made soap base that you can purchase at most craft stores or soap making supply stores online. Just make sure that what you are buying is 'melt and pour' base as there are several different types of soap bases available. You will also need some fragrance oils, soap coloring, molds, rubbing alcohol, a microwave safe measuring cup and of course, a microwave. Having a bit of a creative mind doesn't hurt either.

Basically, you just cut the soap base into chunks, put it in your measuring cup and melt it in the microwave. Once the soap base is melted, you add your fragrance oil and coloring and pour it into the mold. Once the soap is cooled and hardened, remove it from the mold and it is ready to go. I have included a couple of videos here to give you some ideas for the creativity part.

How To Make Dolphins in The Sea

Making Candy Cane Swirl Loaf Soap

Now that we have your creative juices flowing, don't you think it is time you made some homemade soap of your own? To purchase some step by step instructions and recipes click here or you can also click here. If you are like me and the type that learns best from videos, you can purchase step by step videos with some special bonuses by clicking here.

Next time we will be discussing the 'cold pour' method of making homemade soap. It is a little more involved and it is the method that you use to get those 'beauty bar' soaps that my wife is so fond of. Until then, keep it clean.

© 2009, joerickman. All rights reserved.

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Hello again everyone. Well, I think we have the website back up and running like it is supposed to. Today I want to talk about being frugal and going green at the same time. I know, the two usually don't go together. This time they do though. Have you been to the store lately and looked at the prices of the things that we use every day? I have and one of the things that got to me the most is how expensive soap has become. Yep, good old every day soap. It is soon going to be too expensive to take a shower, wash clothes or do the dishes. Worse than that, have you looked at some of the ingredients? Almost makes you feel like a lab rat. Well, today I am going to tell you about a way to change all that.

Today I am going to talk about making your own soap. I know, the first thing that pops into your mind when you hear homemade soap is some old pioneer lady in her long dress and bonnet, standing outside the log cabin with the big black kettle on the fire. You see her with the big wooden paddle standing out in the smoke and stink, stirring the mixture all day to make some chunky looking white bars of soap. Let me tell you a secret, it isn't like that any more. Some of the ingredients may still be the same depending on what type of finished product you want, but the process has changed a bit. There are enough different processes and recipes and such that I will probably turn this into several parts since it is going to be way too long for a single post.

First, lets talk about the hard milled type of soap since that is what we are all thinking about. The kind where you cook up the lye and oil and such. Yes, you still use lye. In its raw state, lye is a caustic compound commonly used as a drain cleaner. When you cook the lye and add such wonderful things as lard, there is a chemical reaction that takes place that changes the lye and lard into...you guessed it, soap. Note: you can use other oils in place of the lard, the chemical reaction takes place between the fat in the oil and the sodium hydroxide of the lye. Once the chemical reaction, called saponification occurs, the soap is usually precipitated from the mixture by adding some salt. The excess liquid is drained off and the soft soap can be spooned into molds to cool and dry. Homemade soaps are usually a lot more creamy and luxurious than commercial soaps because more of the glycerol, a product of the chemical reaction, is left in the homemade soap.

Well, there you have the 'hot process' of soap making  in a nutshell. If you want more information about soap making before my next installment, check out this Squidoo lens by clicking here. There are also several books and packages that will give you instruction and recipes such as the one you can purchase by Clicking Here. If you are someone that learns better by watching a step by step video, there are several of those also available such as the one you can purchase by Clicking Here.

One of the things I like best about making my own soap is that I can control what ingredients go into it and use natural substances instead of synthetic chemical ones.  Over the next several installments I plan to cover more processes, give you some recipes for making your own soap, tell you about a way to keep the kids busy and entertained in the process, and give you some tips on how you can turn making your own soap into work from home business that will put some money in your pockets. Until next time, keep clean.

© 2009, joerickman. All rights reserved.

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