6/18/11

Squeezable plastic jars that pantry staples like honey, ketchup or mustard come into can be upcycled for rainy day craft projects. Wash and dry them out completely and fill them with leftover latex house paint. Squeeze them like a store-bought craft paint to decorate a canvas, unfinished birdhouse or anything else you want to embellish.

6/17/11

Dry cleaners that advertise themselves as "organic" cleaners don't necessarily mean they are eco-friendly. The term is used to describe organic chemicals (petroleum is technically organic, for example); it does not, however, mean "organic" in the way that fruits and vegetables grown without pesticides are organic. The greenest cleaners are "wet" cleaners that use perchloroethylene-free (or PERC) methods.

6/16/11

Some of the hardest places to change light bulbs can be outdoor spotlights, since they are often placed at corners of the house to bring light to dark areas at night. One way to make the changing process less frequent is to invest in LED flood lights, which use a fraction of the energy of compact fluorescents and can last for years if on for just 3 hours a day. Using motion sensors or timers on these lights may extend the life span even longer.