10/18/13

With cold winter weather around the corner, one way to winterize your home is to seal up leaks around drafty windows. Doing a proper caulk job can help you save up to 14 percent on home heating and cooling costs, which can add up to $150 a year in savings. But one mistake homeowners make when DIYing windows is choosing the wrong type of caulk. When shopping at the home improvement store, look for silicone caulk, not acrylic; silicone is waterproof, flexible and won’t shrink over time.

10/17/13

We all know eating fresh fruits and vegetables is a tasty way to live a healthy lifestyle, but did you know that when produce is picked, it loses nutritional value? The further fruit or veggies have to be transported, the greater nutritional value is lost due to a chemical process that deteriorates the nutritional peak of that produce. To prevent this, try to buy much of your produce locally, so it takes the least amount of transport time to get to your kitchen. And if that isn’t always possible, consider frozen vegetables and fruit: Freezing right after harvest limits the nutrition loss since it stops the chemical deterioration process.

10/16/13

You’re going to turn the lights on in your kitchen anyway, so why not use a light bulb that gives you energy-saving illumination and neutralizes odor at the same time? New compact fluorescent light bulbs feature deodorizing titanium dioxide coating. When the CFL is on, a photocatalytic reaction is created that neutralizes strong odors, damp smells and stale air. So instead of using chemical air fresheners to mask smells, you are creating fresher, healthier air.