6/19/11

Your refrigerator uses fans to circulate cold air inside, so if anything blocks the airflow, it works harder and uses more energy. One easy way to keep it cool and costs low is to fill one or two water jugs with water and place them inside the fridge; they will act like cooling blocks to keep the temperature low.

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.