2/6/14

Cigarette butts are some of the most commonly littered items around the world. If you do a litter cleanup in your neighborhood, save used cigarette butts to create a free and easy DIY nicotine insecticide for your plants. Nicotine is toxic to harmful insects like aphids, gnats and leafhoppers, but is relatively harmless to good insects like bees and ladybugs. To make a nicotine insecticide, simply soak 1-cup cigarette butts in 1-gallon warm water with 1/4-teaspoon soap flakes for 30 minutes. Strain and put the mixture in a spray bottle and spray away.

2/5/14

According to the United States Department of Energy, about 14 percent of total air filtration in a home enters through a fireplace chimney. Cold drafts can enter a chimney even if the flue is pulled shut, which can make your home less energy-efficient in the winter months. There are products in the marketplace called chimney balloons that you place inside the chimney that act as draft dodgers. They stop the cold drafts, but can be expensive. One DIY solution: Rip open a cardboard box and tape it inside the chimney as a draft stopper. It will do the trick and help you save up to 30 percent on your heating bill. Just remember to remove the box before starting a fire!

2/4/14

If you choose only one room in the house to invest in green cleaners, choose the bathroom. Many conventional cleaning products contain chemical artificial fragrances and ammonia, which can be irritating to the skin, eyes and lungs. Since bathrooms are some of the smallest rooms in the house and get the least amount of ventilation, cleaning with toxic supplies can lead to an unhealthy environment. But before you buy green cleaning products at the store, consider making your own to save money. You can find a whole host of natural solutions online that use nontoxic ingredients like white vinegar, baking soda and rubbing alcohol.