Natural and Sustainable

• Collect rainwater from downspouts and use it to water your won garden and plants.

• Say no to carpeting. Carpet contains more contaminants and pollen and dust than anything else in your home.

• Buy green power when you can and ask your utility company to off it if they don’t already. The typical U.S. household uses about 10,000 KWH a year.

• Repair, and don’t replace appliances. Each fix means your won’t be buying a new one and it will keep your old one out of landfills. IF you feel you must replace, then donate the broken or semi-broken one to a company that refurbishes or repairs then and resells then.

• Buy energy-efficient appliance when you do replace. Energy Star appliance use 10 to up to 50% less energy and water and must meet EPA efficiency guidelines.

• Dry your dishes on the dishwasher rack and if your dishwasher offers the air dry option, use that as well.

• Buy secondhand clothing or household items as tag sales and save the carbon cost of new production.

• Hang your laundry out to dry on a clothes line and eliminate one dryer cycle per week or more.

• Clean AC filters or replace them when necessary to keep your AC unit running smoothly.

• Run ceiling fans instead of the air conditioner in hot climates; this can save you more than a ton of CO2 waste within your won home.

• Use cold water to wash and rinse your clothes, only use hot water when the laundry is very dirty and always wash your bedding in hot water to kill bed bugs and dust mites.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Go for low flow showerheads, this switch can save you 1800 in eclectic cost and 43o in natural gas depending on how your water is heated. Not to mention the savings in water cost and waste as well. Consider putting in a low-flow toilet as well.

Wildlife Birdfeeder

What you will need :
• 2-liter plastic soda bottle with the plastic screw top in place
• A Hammer
• A Nail
• Duct Tape
• Wooden Dowel
• Funnel
• Bird Seed
• Twine or Hemp String
• Paints or permanent markers

What you need to do :
Using the hammer and the nail, punch two pencil-sized holes on opposite sides of the plastic soda bottle. Make sure you punch them, just before the curve of the bottle begins near the top. Push the wooden dowel through the holes to form a perch for the birds to sit while they eat from your feeder.

Next, punch two larger holes about 1 in half inches from the perch, just above where the birds will sit. Be sure and make these holes large enough for the birds to be able to pick out the bird seeds while they are eating, but not too large that the seed falls out.

Finally, Punch two to four more holes into the bottle of the soda bottle so you can be able to feed the twine through the holes and hang your feeder from a nearby tree. Once the holes in the bottom are made, feed the twine through. Kids can now help paint or use a permanent marker to place whatever they want to on the outside of the bottle. Once the paint is dry, place a small piece of duct tape over all the holes so you can feed the birdseed into the soda bottle through the top using the funnel. Once your birdseed is in, screw the top back on, flip upside down and hang your feeder outside and remove the duct tape.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Making more for the birds. Preparing nesting supplies for your local birds is such a simple process. All you need is a mesh cotton grocery bag and fill it with items such as shredded paper, fabric strips, cotton balls, feathers or batting. Dry grass or pine needles. Hang this in a spot that is out of the way of predators and is easy accessible to many birds.

Shopping more green for your household may be a bit confusing. Here are some simple suggestions to help reduce your impact when you shop.

• Always Choose Recycled: This should be no matter what. Remanufactured fibers require as little as 30% of the energy needed to produce first time fibers.

• Always Buy Local: Shipping any product requires petroleum of some kind. And at times it requires quite a lot of petroleum. So buying local is definitely reducing your carbon load and the plus side is, it keeps the money in your own community.

• Don’t Buy Things in Packages: It is hard to avoid this sometimes, but other times it’s not. All the cardboard and even the plastic ends up in the trash when you get home.

• Always Buy in Bulk: Food, fuel and other essentials are often much cheaper in bulk then they are in the regular packaging. And the benefit of bulk is there is less packaging which reduced landfill waste and even reduces your carbon footprint.

• Maintain Your Gear: The main reason is, your gear will last much, much longer that way. If you can keep your gear from falling apart, it will hold out for more and more years and seasons ahead.

• Reduce the Shipping Cost: Make sure when you order something it comes from a company that helps reduce and has efficient distribution centers and that have a smaller carbon footprint than regular shipping methods.

• Never Use Disposable Bags: Use your own tote or even make your own tote bag made of bamboo or even canvas is a great choice. You will end up saving trees and a lot of petroleum.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Shut down everything you your house when you go to leave on a weeklong or longer trip. Turn off all appliances except your refrigerator and if it’s an Energy-Star approved refrigerator you will acquire much less of a carbon footprint while you are gone from your house.

1. When it’s trade-in time opt for a hybrid or the new water ran vehicle.

2. Reuse your hotel towels.

3. Offset your travel with carbon credits.

4. Choose close-to-home adventures and cut your driving distance can save your big.

5. Travel by bus or train whenever possible. Air travel and driving long distance alone have very high carbon costs. Pubic transportation is almost always the most efficient way to go with traveling.

6. Rent a hybrid or a biodiesel car at your destination city or country.

7. Carry a fork and travel mug in your car and say no to the plastic utensils, disposable cups, and paper napkins.

8. Use the sun to help recharge your electronics when you can.

9. Borrow, rent or share sleeping bags or even a tent.

10. Use an efficient camp stove. Recycling used canisters also keeps your carbon costs lower.

11. Reuse the sip-lock baggies.

12. Buy foods in bulk and package it yourself in reusable, glass containers or the like.

13. Take a low-carbon vacation. A 4-0day backpacking trip saves over a golfing trip of the same duration.

14. Maintain and repair your things so as to replace less and less to go to the landfill.

15. Donate your used gear when it’s time to get something new or take on a new adventure.

16. Wipe with natural material such as snow, leaves, or even moss when out in nature.

17. Use a cotton bandana that can be rinsed and reused,. not baby wipes when you need to wipe something off of you or your child. They can even be used as napkins.

18. Replace your old gear with greener gear as it wears out. An old polyester fleece with a recycled poly or even one made from hemp or bamboo is a great start.

19. Use rechargeable lithium batteries instead of the throw away one-time-use standard AA or AAAs.

20. Give up on the gas-powered lanterns in favor of candle lanterns or an LED rechargeable lantern.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Wear leather hiking boots instead of synthetic ones when looking for hiking gear and apparel.

It maybe hard to find a yarn to match your values if you are a knitter. You may want to try working with sustainable fibers., There is no need to limit yourself to organic cotton and wool, as you will also find many yarns made from bamboo, corn, hemp, soy and even seaweed in some areas. Eco-friendly bamboo knitting needles are also available in many place like local knitting shops to name one.

In order to live a more earth-friendly lifestyle and incorporate your beliefs with your hobbies or practices, you first have to change the way you think. A polyester blended fabric is not all that environmentally friendly as would company that sells 100 percent hemp and hemp blended thread or materials needs to knit with. There are many hemp blends that come in an assorted colors and styles. There is also companies that carry unique and recycled silk yarn from saris, made by otherwise impoverished women and children in Nepal. There is also companies that have sustainable yarns, organic cotton yarns, milk fiber yarn and soy and bamboo yarns. These same companies also carry yarns made from corn and hemp.

Try these sources for your next knitting task:

• Blue Sky Alpacas.

• Earth-Friendly Yarns

• Vermont Organic Fiber Company

• Paivatar

Here is also some reading to further your knowledge on a sustainable knitting practice.

1. The Knitting Sutra: Craft as a Spiritual Practice by: Susan Gordon Lydon

2. No Sheep for You: Knit Happy with Cotton, Silk, Linen, Hemp, Bamboo and other Delights by: Amy R. Singer

There are also many knitting groups that have the same beliefs as you and are more than happy to add another membner that believes in a sustainable world to their ever-growing practice and membership meetings. Try Knitting Meetup.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: To cut down on water waste in your own home during shower time, use a shower timer. Ones from companies like Ripple Products come in fun shapes and designs so they don’t look so much like a timer.

Americans throw away enough office paper to build a 12-foot-hgh wall from Los Angeles to New York. Recycling one time of paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, a 380 gallons of oil. Making new paper from recycled paper used 30 to 50 percent less energy than making paper from trees, and it produces 95 percent less air pollution. Encourage everyone in your office to print and photocopy only when necessary, use both side of the paper when you do print, and try to reuse paper. Fro when you must print, here are a couple of accessories and ideas to help you work more green:

1. Recycled paper with 30 to 35 percent post consumer content, which is available at Office Depot stores.

2. Paper from nonwood fibers, such as Ecopaper made in Costa Rica from agro-waste. Paper made from agricultural residue is pricey, but this does encourage careful paper usage. The price will come down as production increases.

3. Recycled paper with 100 percent post consumer content, processed without chlorine, from The Green Office. Locating a green paper resource near your office will minimize pollution from transportation.

4. Use refillable pens made from recycled plastic.

5. Recycle your printer cartridges-for every ink or laser toner cartridge that is recycle, two quarts of oil are kept out of landfills.

6. Chlorine free and tree-free papers are the most ecofriendly choices to go.
(Source: Organic Gardening 2008)

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Always turn the lights out in a room or closet when you are finished. What’s the point of leaving the light on anyway?

VERY GREEN HOUSE: Building a new home or redecorating a room? Visit the Green House at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. It’s a 7,00-suare-foot re-creation of the Glide House, a low maintenance, affordable modernist home. Guests can check out 60 eco-friendly products from countertops to carpets. If you can’t make the trip visit the website for ides to use in your own home.

If you have a complex health condition or you don’t respond to remedy after two or three doses, you might want to consult with a qualified homeopath. It’s important to look for an experienced provider who has been certified by an accrediting organization, such as the Homeopathic Academy or Naturopathic Physicians or the National Board of Homeopathic Examiners.

Expect to spend at least an hour during your first visit answering questions about your medical history, current medications, physical complaints, state of mind, lifestyle and stress levels. While you might think many of these questions have no relationship to your current medical problem, such deep probing is essential in order to have a through understanding of you and your medical problems.

Here are a few homeopathic remedies for a certain aliment:

• Sore Muscles:
Pain, inflammation due to overexertion—–Arnica Gel

• Bruises:
Inflammation and skin discoloration due to injury—–Arnica Pellets

• Allergies:
Sneezing, itchy or watery eyes, burning nasal discharge—–Allium Cepa
Burning, water eyes—–Euphrasia

• Cold:
Early stages of a cold—–Aconite
Sore throat, earache, fever—–Belladonna
Watery basal discharge with stuffy nose. Head sold that travels to the chest—–Bryonia

• Flu:
Headaches, body chills, even weakness—–Gelsemium
Aching stiffness. Dry, racking, painful cough. Sore throat and chest—–Bryonia
Shivering, cramping abdominal pain, nausea, dry heaving —–Nux Vomica

• Fever:
Useful during the first 24 hours of a fever—–Aconite

• Headaches:
Made worse by the sun, heat or even reading—–Natrum Muriaticum

• Nausea:
Digestive upset due to overindulgence of food or drink—–Nux Vomica

• Flatulence:
Pain, distension and offensive gar—–Carbo Vegetabilis

• Indigestion:
Heartburn after eating fatty foods—–Pulsatilla

•PMS:
Indifference, aversion to sex, oily skin—–Sepia
Cramps, breast tenderness—–Cimicifuga
Severe cramps with nausea migraines or depression—–Pulsatilla

• Menopause:
Anxiety during hot flashes, vaginal dryness and indifference—–Sepia

• Anxiety or Depression:
Fatigue, restlessness, clammy skin and racing pulse—–Arsenicum Album
After a breakup or the death of a loved one—–Ignatia

• Insomnia:
Over stimulation, sensitivity to noise—–Coffea
(Source: Herbs for Health 2007)

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: A shade tree can help you save 15 to 50% on air-conditioning. Plant a shade tree off the southwest corner of your house for the most shade on hot summer afternoons.

Material:

1. Solid Wood:

• Pros: Is widely available; FSC certification ensures sustainablity; Comes in an infinite cariety of styles.

• Cons: Rewuires felling of trees; Stock FSC-certified cabinetry is not usually available. (Custom orders are more expensive.)

• Cost: Medium to high in cost.

2. Wood Sheet Products (medium-density fiberboard or MDF, plywood, particleboard):

• Pros: Are inexpensice and widely available; Some sheet goods have high recycled or waste-wood content; FSC certification is available.

• Cons: May contain formaldehyde or binders that emit VOCs; FSC-certified products are used by few cabinetmakers.

• Cost: Low in cost overall.

3. Bamboo and Biocomposite Boards (made from wheat, sorghum, rice or sunflowers):

• Pros: Are made from rapidly renewable sources; Agricultural waste is used; Has an unusal, attractive grain; I susually formaldehyde free with low-VOC binders.

• Cons: Is slightly more permeable and prone to warping than wood; There’s little certification available yet for organic or pesticide-free biocomposites.

• Cost: Medium to high in cost.

4. Reclaimed Wood:

• Pros: Is widely available is a variety of species and textures; Can be acquired from local sources; SmartWood certification ensures sources.

• Cons: Some new wood may be sold as reclaimed; May be shipped long distances or imported.

• Cost: Medium to high in cost.

With Valentine’s Day coming up more and more people are headed to the supermarket for Valentine’s Day card retailer to grab “mass-producted” valentines. At our home we make eco-crafts whenever we can. From dehydrating fruit rings and making our own homemade potporri to handmade crads made with all-natural materials. Here is one craft that I love to make and it doesn’t just have to be made for Valentine’s Day, it can be made for any occasion when you just want to tell the one you care for that you love them.

Materials Needed:
• Freezer paper
• One cup of water, in a bowl
• Paper towels
• Iron and ironing board
• Towels
• Cardstock and envelopes
• Craft glue
• Scissors
• Soy Silk Fusion Kit
• Embroidery floss and needle
• Small paper punch
• Glitter
• Sewing machine and thread (optional)
• Decorative all-natural paper

To make the soy silk for projects:
1. Place a sheet of freezer paper (about 18″) shiny side up, on a flat surface. As if your were pulling apart a cotton ball, seperate the Soy Silk fibers. Lay seperate pieces out on the paper, overlapping and crisscrossing each layer while taking care to leave at least a 1″ border between the fibers and the edge of the paper. Make the final product about 1″ thick. You can also add some glitter or yarn scraps to the top layer.

2. Once you’re happy with the look of the fiber laid out, lay mesh over the whole thing. Mix one part medium to three parts water and sprinkle lightly over the fibers. Starting in the center and working outward, gently massage this mixture into the fibers, adding more water when necessary. Watch the fusion take place.

3. Slowly remove the mesh and set it aside. Keep the fiber backed by the freezer paper. Let it dry for several hours. Then, cover the fusion fiber with a towel and press it with a medium-heat iron for 15-30 seconds. Now you’re ready to create anything you want with the silk creation you just made.

To make a card:

Cut out soy sil in the desired shapes for your card design. Print out messaged in font on yoru computer on plain paper. You can cut a card out of a paper sack and what you don’t use you can print your messages on the discarded paper bag scrap. Use your imagination. To make a cupid’s arrow: Cut our a heart from the soy silk and attach it top a card front with your sewing machine. Just follow the edges of the heart or sew an arrow shape through it in a contrasting color with the soy silk. Use a little glue around the edges if needed.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Replace your lightbulbs in your home and office with compact fluorescent ones.

Five Steps To A Greener Yard: (Source: Conscious Choice Magazine)

• Go Native: Native vegetation requires less water (if any) and attractsbeneficial bugs, butterflies and birds, and because native plants are adapted to the area, they are more resistant to disease and pesky insects, negating the need for pesticides. The EPA’s web page Green Landscaping with Native Plants and The Washington Native Plant Society’s page are great places to start in looking for great native plants that will work in your garden.

• Eat Your Estate: You have head the stat: grocery store produce travels and average of 1,5000 miles before reaching your plate. But what could be more local than replacing your front with food for your family and your neighbors maybe. Start at these sites to give you the push in the right “gardening path”. How to Turn your Yard Into a Garden and Your Neighborhood into a Community; The Edible Estates initiative, a national project designed to replace ther American lawn with fruit and vegetable garden.

• Keep The Rain: Growing in popularity, rain gardens are depressed areas of a yard that collect runoff instead of letting the water be carried to storm drains, collecting pollution along the way. In turn, the garden feeds native wetland plants, wildflowers and animals. Try Pond Appeal under their Eco-Friendly Rain Gardens to get started.

• Swap Your Shingles: If you live in an urban area and want a patch of green, or if you are looking to utilize the space on top of your house, consider swapping your shingles for a rooftop garden. Roof plants drink in storm water, mitigating runoff. They also absorb less heat, helping control temperaturs (particularly useful in metropolitan areas. Check out Green Roofs to get some ideas on where to begin.

• Give A Hoot: If you must have a lawn, don’t pollute. Reel mowers keep the air clean. Try organic fertilizers (the new generation of products on the market is far more effective). Gather your orange peels and grass clippings from composting. Rain barrelks can help with irrigation, or conserve water by using drip irrigation systems or watering by hand. With a few changes, you’ll be on your way to a more sustainable yard. Check out Safe Lawns and In Harmony to get a good idea of how easy it is to start a change for the positives right away.

**Find out the about the wonderful world of Apple over at Apple Reporter. Kristian Freeman, walks through the 2007-2008 year, at-a-glance with Apple Inc. Read it here.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: When lighting a fire use sustainable matches from a sustainable company or use a refillable variety so it won’t end up in the landfills later after the flame is out.

61. Trade your home: If you trade your home with friends around the country you can enjoy vacations and stay for free.

62. Go camping, or rent a cabin: Don’t over look state parks and national forests, they are often less crowded and less expensive than you think.

63. Tray a local vacation: There are several things in your own town or even own state. Check out your states website and look what’s right in your own backyard.

64. Ask hotels about discounted distressed-traveler rates: If there is inclement weather you may get a discount.

65. There is no law against haggling with a hotel on the room rate: You never know if you don’t ask.

66. Make your vacation pay for you: If you volunteer or do a little helping out while you are on vacation you may get a room or even a cabin for free.

67. Buy food at local supermarkets when traveling: It’s much cheaper than eating at restaurants.

68. Choose a vehicle with fold down seats: If you are traveling and need a quick nap or to snooze for the evening and can’t find lodging, if you have a rental car with fold down seats you have an instant bed.

69. Definately choose used clothes for babies: Unless you receive them as a gift only buy new clothing for special occasions.

70. Trade babysitting time with other couples: This is a great one to use especially on short notices.

71. During the holidays, draw names for gift giving: Use this one for large families or even do a dirty santa or white elephant gift giving way.

72. Invoke a gift giving spending cap: This is a good one to use if you draw names.

73. Give homemade gift certificates: You can even make ones that they can redeem for summer tasks as well, such as mowing the lawn or helping plant a garden.

74. Donate to a good cause: The Heifer International is a great one to give as a gift instead of buying a gift. You can even get that money spent back when you get your taxes done at the end of the year.

75. Swallow you pride and except help when you need it.

**Lessa over at Big Brother Craze has the top ten Big Brother moments for your. And some are quite laughable. Read them here.**

*Natural and Sustianable Living Tip: Buy recycled toilet paper.

46. Campaign for a national health care system: If more and more people demand it, in the future the demand has to be met.

47. For the college bound, take some general classes at a state school ort community college where the tuition is lower: Even if you plan to take most of your classes a a more expensive college it’s a good idea to take the basics at a community college. Just check with the college you plan to go to after the community college to make sure the classes will transfer.

48. Attend an in-state college: Establish residency for a year or two beforehand, if you need to. You will save more money in the long run then just jumping right into a college.

49. Buy you college books online: Don’t give into the cost of the books at the college bookstore, they are there to make money for the college not help you out.

50. Watch for unique scholarship opportunities: Even the ones that help you gain help from other sources than cash. You may even get into opportunities where you get something for making the Dean’s List, or something similar.

51. Audit classes if need be: Especially in classes where you just want the knowledge not the credit.

52. For lessons, try bartering: Such as doing some work in photography in exchange for some dance lessons. Or sewing in exchange for some computer lessons.

53. Discontue your internet service and take advantage of a wireless “hotspot”: You can go in some towns to an internet cafe or even take advantage of someone else’s unsecure wireless. Even the smallest towns are now getting free wireless for residence.

54. Rediscover the radical notion of the library: You can get almost anything at a local library for free with a signed up membership and card. Even DVDs are at the local library.

55. Volunteer to usher: Get into plays, concerts and other events if you ask to volunteer and help out. All you have to do is ask.

56. Find low-cost fun in your local paper: Take full advantage of free concerts, events and even some movies.

57. When at a concert or movie, avoid buying anything to eat or drink while you are there: Some place will even let you bring in your own snacks or drinks.

58. Take turns entertaining with friends or neighbors: Potlucks and parties are a great way to entertain and get others involved.

59. Occasionally, go ahead and spend money: Spend money on things you know you will benefit from in the long run.

60. Volunteer: Organizations such as Willing Workers on Organic Farms

**JM over at Fiction Scribe has her “Thirteen Goals for Next Year”. Read her goals and while you’re there leave her a message and tell her your goals for 2008.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: If your shelves are overstuffed with books you’ve already read, check out BookMooch, a free service that help you trade books with others around the globe. You rack up points for each book you give away. Make a wish list and redee3m your points when a book you want becomes available. And here’s the cool thing: BookMooch has a list of charities it works with, so you can donate your points and shre in the literacy wealth with someone in need.

31. Do as Many Errands as Possible with Each Car Trip: Especially if they are around town. You will save a lot on gas.

32. Book any Airplane Trips Well in Advance: You will get the lowest possible fare.

33. Don’t go Into Stores Unless You Need Something: Always write up a shopping list. Most stores are designed to get you to buy things you don’t really need. The best thing I enjoy doing is window shopping. I can see what the stores carry without going in and I can also get birthday and Christmas present ideas that way as well.

34. Hit The End-Of-The Season Sales: When colder seasons hit, summer items will be on sale at the time and when hotter seasons hit, winter items will be on sale.

35. Before You Ship, Try Borrowing: Share large items with a family, friend or even a neighbor. Set up a borrowing co-op with your tools and large farm equipment, such as lawn mowers or Bushhog® tractors.

36. Try to Find it Used: If you shop yard sales, estate sales and thrift stores you may be able to find what you need and it probably will be ten times cheaper. Even though it’s used, it will be new to you.

37. When Buying New, Choose High-Quality, Durable Items: Think long term not quick and easy and cheaply mad. Even if the item cost more, if it last twice as long as it’s cheaper counter part then it will be worth the extra cost.

38. Instead of Shopping Scavenge: Watch the curbs are the end of a semister in a college town. If you live near a school, talk to the janitor the last day of school when the lockers are being cleaned out.

39. Buy Clothing Used Whenever Possible: You may have good luck finding clohtes at garage sales even too. Consignment shops are a great place to find well-made, and even some name-brand clothing.

40. Have a Clothing Exchange Party: It will be fun to trade clothes with friends and family and tell stories behind the clothing you are trading.

41. Try Sewing: Look for cheap material in thrift stores. Or if you get or are really good at sewing turn your outfits into something new.

42. Watch the Clearance Racks: Some stores may mark down even more off the price just to get it out of the store.

43. Ask a doctor or dentist if they have sliding scale fees: Some may even give you a break if you just ask.

44. Look for free or low-cost clinics: Maybe even a medical school. But be careful sometimes you get what you pay for.

45. Do preventive maintenance on your body: Exercise and eat well, try yoga for stress management and quit smoking or using tobacco chew products.

**Over at WWE Daily you can watch a tribute video to John Cena. Scooter has the whole scoop here.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Green Buy: Ship your next package in a recycled box from Used Cardboard Boxes. The online store rescues trash-bound boxes and packing materials and sells them at a discount, so you will save money and trees.

Mixing your own cleaners at home almost always will save you more money than buying then. You are not only paying for the cleaner, you are also paying for advertisment, packaging. Here is a list of cleaners everyone should have on hand to make yourself and save that extra money:

• Baking Soda: This mild alkaline powder can be used for a variety of household cleaning purposed, such as absorbing odors, cleaning the inside of the refrigerator, loosening baked-on food from pans, and removing stains from tile, glass, oven doors, and even fine china. It also acts as a stain remover for fruit juices and other mild acids.

• Castile Soap: A mild soap in liquid or bar from that can be used for general purpose cleaning. It was once only made from olive oil, but now might even include vegetable oils. It is a great cleaner because it is free of petroleum-based ingredients.

• Hydrogen Peroxide: A mild alternative to chlorine bleach, its oxidation abilities make it useful in stain removing and sterilizing.

• Lemon Juice: This familiar acidic ingredient can be used to lighten stains and cut grease. It also can be used to remove tarnish on brass, copper, bronze and aluminum. Never use it on silver or sterling silver though.

• Washing Soda: A stronger slternative to baking soda, washing soda can be used as a water softener in conjunction with laundry detergents (gloves are recommended as it may irritate the skin; do not use with solks, woolens or vinyl). It’s also good when trying to lift oil or grease.

• White Vinegar: Good for a variety of household cleaning tasks, vinegar may be used to help kill germs and deodorize, removes some carpet stains, and clean coffee makers, chrome, cookware and coutertops. It’s acidic enough to clear minor drain clogs. Vinegar has an odor when it’s wet, but once it’s dry the odor is gone. Don’t use vinegar on some delicate fabrics because it will eat the fabric.

**Pushing Daisies wins satellite award. And over at the Pushing Daisies blog here at 451 Press, Lira Cruz has the whole story behind the award winning show. Read it here.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Buy Fair Trade products whenever you can. If you can’t buy Fair Trade, at least buy organicly grown products. It’s better for your health and the environment.

There have been trace amounts of antimony, a toxic metal found in several brands of bottled water. Because water in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles have a considerable amount more antimony than water in glass containers. It’s been suspected PET is the problem the bottles have been tested by adding water to PET bottles. The longer the water sat in the bottles, the more antimony was released. While levels were still below drinking water guidelines, it’s not currently known what the long ter, effects might be. One more reason to do away with plastic polyethylene bottles all together.

More information for you:

• Kids with asthma and dogs don’t play well together. While it’s not surprising that they have more severe symptoms than kids with nop petsa. they also farced worse than cat-owning children.

• Eating lots of carrots, tomatoes and leafy vegetables reduces your chances of having asthma. A daily diet containing at least 90 grams of leafy veggies has a risk 22% lower than the viggue-averse person who consumes less than 40 grams of leafy veggies.

• Conserve energy by using power strips (many electronics suck power even when off-but power strips in the off position don’t.)

**Over at Watching KVille, Lulu Mcgrew has the latest “Writer’s Strike” update for you. Read it here.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Carpool whenever you can.