Green & Clean

I think we’d all like to benefit from going green by cutting down on our monthly energy bills. The average kitchen has counter tops and cabinets full of gadgets and small appliances. Here is a list of energy sucking kitchen appliances should you ditch (donate away) and which should stay.

First, let’s consider at the materials and resources that use energy to prepare a meal. While the term “cookprint” is often used to remind us to eat more plant-based, locally grown and sustainable food, it also represents which appliances and gadgets to cook with. Consumer Reports chose “cookprint” as a top buzzword to describe the energy needed to prepare the food we eat.

Ditch These Kitchen Appliances and Gadgets

1. Coffee Grinder
OK, it’s early in the morning and it’s awfully easy to plug in the coffee grinder to pulverize fresh beans. Just think how much faster you’ll wake up if you have to do it yourself. Bodum makes preparing and drinking coffee a stylish experience. Check out their hand-crank coffee-grinding beauty.

2. Can Opener
Electric can openers are convenient but they don’t save time or effort when compared to a quality manual can opener. Classic swing-away can openers like grandma used to use still get the job done.

3. Electric Knife
Some cooks swear that the electric knife must come out when the Thanksgiving turkey is ready to carve. But really, why use an electric one when a nice sharp knife can do the same job? Try a hand-held knife sharpener and a good knife.

4. Juicer
Are you surprised to find an electric juicer on the list? This is an easy switch that won’t screw up your healthy juice regimen. Hand-held juicers require a little muscle, but they produce big energy savings.

5. Electric Mixer
An electric mixer has a single mixing attachment, so in order to make something like whipping cream, a hand-held mixer is your best bet. Old fashioned hand mixers works like a dream.

Keep These Appliances and Gadgets in Your Kitchen

1. Rice Cookers
Although rice cookers use electricity, they are an eco-friendly alternative to firing up your stove to make rice. Finding a rice cooker with a stainless steel–not “non-stick”–insert is the healthiest choice, because most “non-stick” pots are made with Teflon or aluminum. Teflon contains PBDE, a prevalent contaminant known to cause to the human body and the environment.

2. Counter top Grills
These grills are inexpensive and an energy-saving solution to turning on a stove when you want to just make, say, a grilled cheese sandwich. Be aware that George Foreman and similar grills can be coated with Teflon. What’s an eco-cook to do? Get a stainless steel countertop grill.

3. Waffle Irons
The same advice applies for waffle irons as grill pans, especially if you eat waffles often. We have an old, old cast iron waffle iron that makes the best waffles. If you can’t score one of those, I would suggest finding a secondhand waffle iron with cast iron inserts.

4. Hand-Crank Blender
Again, the older “historical technology,” does a fine job.

5. Mortar and Pestle
A mortar and pestle can be a manual food processor. It’s been used for centuries to make everything from ground spices to mayonnaise. The mortar and pestle’s best feature: It will never require replacement parts.

Are you seeing a trend here? The oldies-but-goodies are making a strong comeback. And making these small changes can significantly lower your cookprint and pave the pathway to a green life stlye.

Did you know a sprinkle of cayenne pepper can stop a cut from bleeding and actually relieve the pain? (I’ve also been told time and again that cayenne pepper improves circulation and helps relieve the intensely-cold-fingers-and-toes syndrome, an unofficial name that anyone out there who is affected by it will understand. I haven’t found it to be a miracle cure, but I do wonder if my fingers would be even colder if I didn’t give it a chance.)

EcoSalon has a great guide for DIY home medicine, which in addition to the cayenne pepper surprise, has handy recommendations for common health ailments, all using ingredients you’re likely to already have in your house (or can get at any supermarket).

For burns—if you don’t have aloe on hand, which…seems likely—EcoSalon recommends rubbing a freshly-sliced potato over the burn, and/or applying honey (it’s an antibacterial agent) as a topical treatment. (And it’s not vouched for it personally, but apparently mustard may also help. Who knew!)

Instead of conventional antihistamines, try 2-3 cups of green tea per day for the same effect, and garlic oil or white vinegar for ear infections. Try apple cider vinegar or aloe vera gel as natural alternatives for dandruff shampoo, though I’d supplement those suggestions with neem, which is truly a wonder-herb.

If you’re into alternative medicine and holistic skincare, you’ve probably heard the oatmeal shpeel before, but that one’s covered (and explained) here as well.

Check out EcoSalon’s original list for even more exciting possibilities, and next time you’re in pain, instead of laying out cash at a chemical-filled drugstore, try simply turning to your kitchen.  Please share any home remedies you may have in the comments section below

Not that being part of a trend is ever a good reason to start or learn something new, but if it helps you move forward by being part of the “in” crowd, then you really need to plant your own edible garden this year.

That’s right, having your own vegetable garden is now trendy. In fact according to the 2009 Edibles Gardening Trends Research Report conducted by the Garden Writer’s Association (GWA) Foundation, over 41 million U.S. households, or 38 percent planted a vegetable garden in 2009. So, aside from its popularity, do you need some other reasons to grown your own food?

* The GWA’s survey found that the main reason given for increasing or maintaining edible gardening last year was to supplement household food supply — to help them save money on food. That alone is a very powerful reason.

* There is nothing more local than food grown in your own backyard, your windowsills, or on patio containers.

* Growing your own fruits and vegetables means that you know exactly what does and does not go into your food and exactly where it comes from.

* You will get healthier in a number of ways. Not only will you end up eating more fruits and vegetables, but you will be getting added exercise. Did you know that you can burn as many calories in 45 minutes of gardening as you can in 30 minutes of aerobics? And, working in the garden reduces stress.

* You will get a bigger variety of your favorite fruits and vegetables because you can choose from hundreds of different varieties and you can grow the things you like the best.

* You can teach your children or grandchildren where their food actually comes from and that it doesn’t come from the supermarket but from the soil, the earth that we all depend on.

Already have a garden?? Check out our 15 Homemade Organic Gardening Sprays and Concoctions That Actually Work

You already know if newspapers, tin cans, or plastic bottles get picked up on your curb for recycling, but what about similar items?

Chances are phone books, aluminum foil, and other hard-to-know-what-to-do-with items can be mixed in with your curbside recycling.

Every town has different rules so you’ll need to check with your local waste or sanitation department to find out the specifics for your area.

In most cases, it’s easier to recycle these five unexpected items than you might think.

1. Phone books. If your city takes mixed paper, then phonebooks can generally be recycled, according to Jennifer Berry at Earth911. Be sure to remove magnetic inserts or any other non-paper elements before you toss. Has the Internet rendered the yellow pages obsolete in your home? You can choose not to have directories delivered in the first place or limit how many you receive. Here are 17 creative things to do with phone books for those who prefer to reuse or can’t easily recycle.

2. Aluminum foil. It’s just as recyclable as aluminum cans, but not accepted by all municipal programs. Check with your local waste department before you throw foil in with your metals. Make sure it’s clean first. Many people wash foil off with soap and water and reuse it for storing food. Or try crumpling up old foil and throwing it in the clothes dryer to reduce static cling.

3. Aerosol cans. You can include EMPTY aerosol cans with other metals. If it has any product in it don’t toss it in your bin. Ask your local recycling center if they’ll accept partially filled cans or bring them to your local hazardous waste facility.

4. Labels. Labels aren’t a problem on bottles and cans, says Berry, because recycling facilities are already set up to handle them so no extra steps are needed. It’s also okay to throw slightly dirty glass, plastic, and metal containers into your bin. So don’t let that lime wedge or last bit of peanut butter stop you from tossing a container into your recycling bin.

5. Metal clothes hangers. Some communities, such as New York City, Phoenix, Houston, and Portland, OR, accept metal clothes hangers in curbside bins. In most cities there are plenty of recycling centers where you can drop them off. Better yet, bring them back to your local dry cleaner so hangers can be reused.

By Lori Bongiorno
More from The Conscious Consumer blog

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The microwave has become a must have appliance, especially for those who live a fast paced lifestyle.  Nowadays, about 90% of Americans have a microwave and use it at least once a day.  With that in mind, you should think twice before cleaning it with products that could be harmful to your health.

The easiest way to green clean your microwave is to simply fill a microwave safe bowl with 2 cups of water and heat it in the microwave for 5 minutes.  Let it cool for 2 minutes and carefully remove the bowl using a oven mit.  Then all you have to do is wipe it clean with a cloth.

Why this works:
The steam from the heated water loosens all the food particles stuck to the walls of your microwave.

Leave a comment with any other green cleaning tips you would like to share!

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Whether you chose linoleum flooring for its no fuss functionality, the soft feel underfoot, its distinctive look, or its green attributes, you definitely want to clean and maintain your floors in an eco-friendly while protecting the indoor air quality in your home.

Real linoleum—as distinct from synthetic versions or vinyl—is made from all-natural materials, including wood flour, rosins, ground limestone, powdered cork, pigments, jute and linseed oil. As such it is one of the greenest flooring options out there today. The GreenFloors.com website reports that old linoleum—including scraps and remnants from the production process—can be recycled to create new sheets of the stuff. And given that it is made from natural materials, linoleum is practically carbon neutral, and the energy created by incinerating it at the end of its useful life is almost equal to the energy needed to create new linoleum.

Given how green linoleum is, cleaning it with harsh synthetic chemicals and maintaining it with polymer-based waxes just wouldn’t be right. Luckily there are alternative ways to help keep your linoleum floor looking good for decades without compromising the environment or shortening your own life span in the process.

When green cleaning linoleum it’s best to sweep, dust-mop or vacuum your linoleum floor frequently in order to cut down on the amount of abrasive dirt around that can build up and compromise the finish. As for actual cleaning, use a damp mop with a mild all natural liquid dish soap and warm water. Adding a half cup or so of vinegar to the rinse water will increase shine if that’s the look you’re going for. The best way to deal with tough stains is not by scouring; instead make a paste of baking powder and gently wipe with a wet rag until the stain fades away.

To get rid of scuff marks, dip a sponge in jojoba oil and rub lightly before wiping up completely. Pencil erasers can also work wonders on linoleum scuff marks.

As for what to avoid, stay away from solvent-based products which can soften and damage linoleum and typical floor cleaning solutions will leave a sticky residue behind.

In terms of wax, there are several greener varieties now available. Livos’ BILO is a paste wax designed for wood, cork, tile and—you guessed it—linoleum. It is derived from beeswax and linseed oil and produces a semi-gloss finish after buffing. Like all Livos products, BILO is made from organic ingredients and is 100 percent biodegradable and safe for humans, animals, air, water and soil.

For those willing to commit to periodic occasional maintenance, linoleum flooring should last decades if not longer. And given its relative low-cost and ease of installation, some consider linoleum the “green flooring for the masses.”

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In the developing world, access to potable water is a big issue, but it’s not just staying hydrated that proves difficult. Even access to washing water can be limited, requiring women and children to carry heavy loads of laundry across long distances. Enter the Swirl.

A multi-colored, multi-functional device, the Swirl, designed by designaffairs STUDIO, is meant to make doing laundry just a little easier. For washing, the ball is loaded with dirty laundry and carried to the water source. Once filled with water, washing happens simply by rolling it home; as the user walks and rolls the ball, the rotation washes and scrubs the clothes. Put the ball in the midst of a congregation of children, and the laundry might get done as part of a soccer game.

But it’s not all fun and games. The Swirl also doubles as a water carrying device, making a positive impact on the daily livelihoods of those that live in remote areas far from water; the device is both functional and empowering.

Photo courtesy of www.designaffairs.com

Design STUDIO also designed the Swirl with the community in mind, making the aim of the device to “enhance a social cultural relationship between women and children.” Making a stronger connection within communities is an essential part of sustainable development and makes this simple design certainly an ingenious one.

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