11/4/13

Have a collection of old Halloween pumpkins, gourds, corn stalks and husks you’re wondering what to do with? If these items are unpainted and still in their natural state, you may be able to drop them off to be composted in your community. Your local parks and recreation department can refer you to a commercial or municipal compost facility. You may know these facilities already: In the summer months they take grass clippings, and in the fall they take leaves.

11/3/13

Have stinky bath towels? It's not because you're not washing them enough -- you're washing them too much. Because bath towels are so absorbent, when you use regular laundry detergent on them, they absorb the soap particles into the fibers of the towel. That buildup gives towels a musty mildew smell that gets worse the more you wash them. Instead, wash all of your towels with just a few cups of white vinegar and hot water. That's it. The mixture will rinse the soap buildup away and give you fresh towels.

11/2/13

It may seem like a green thing to do, but don't use used gift wrap to start a fire in the fireplace. The high levels of inks, dyes and metallic flecks in gift wrap can emit harmful chemicals into the air when burned. Many paper recycling facilities cannot recycle glossy paper, and adding old gift wrap to the used paper stream can contaminate it, making a whole load of recyclables useless. Instead, when disposing of shiny and colorful wrapping paper, either reuse it or throw it away. When wrapping presents in the future, think less is more: Simple recycled kraft paper can do the job and is totally recyclable and perfectly fine to use as a firestarter.