Natural and Sustainable

Disposable batteries are a great option for any appliance that takes batteries, but when their charge is over, where do they end up? In landfills, and even in our drinking water supplies. They contaminate the ground with the chemicals held inside, so what are the other options?

Eco Trends is a great alternative to the one-time use disposable batteries on the market. Over at Gain Saver there is the option of electrical plug-in chargers or a solar powered option like the one pictured below.

It requires no electricity and recharges the batteries with solar powder and stores the solar energy in the form of the recharge to the batteries. It comes in eco-friendly packaging and comes with four “AA” batteries that can be used again and again. The Eco Trends rechargeable batteries come in the color of green and black.

These batteries work great for digital cameras, remotes, children’s toys and any other type of electronic that takes “AA” batteries. You will get in the habit of replacing them as you use them and it will be come as natural as it is to grab the disposable ones from the carton and replace them. Plus, the added benefit, they are so eco-friendly and better for the environment. So now, no more plastic container of batteries that I know many of you have.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Don’t just assume that low or zero-VOC paints options are completely nontoxic. The regulations currently in use are guidelines that allow exemption of some toxins from being listed on the label of the paint. Of course low VOC paints are a better option over all and they are also lower in price now and are widely available as well.

Here are five tips to help cut your costs at home as well as help the environment in the process.

1. Leftovers at home are the number one way to cut your food cost and save you from using unnecessary resources as well. If your leftovers aren’t appealing for a second or even a third night, try adding them to a dish already prepared. Experiment with different left over food and you may make a whole new recipe and dish

2. Another way to save on food cost and help the environment out at the same time is to eat close to home. Why travel 50 miles to a fancy restaurant when there are many restaurants in your own town. Even if they are mom and pop stands, it’s nice to be giving back to your own community as well as eating at a place that you don’t have to drive so far to as well.

3. If you close up drafts around your home with things called draft snakes, you can make a few out of old fabric, you will save on energy cost that is slipping out the cracks. This technique works great for the winter and the summer as well. Install a programmable thermostat as well; program it to come on about 5 minutes before you come home.

4. Order your products online before heading out to shop for them. Yesterday was the infamous “Black Friday” and many of us could have saved a bundle, as well as the man’s life in New Jersey, if more of us had shopped online on Friday. Many of your regular products can be found in many online retailers and it cost less for you to pay online shipping then it is to drive from location to location. Many retailers have free or drastically cut shipping cost if you buy many products at once.

5. When you leave you home consider biking or walking to your location if it’s close. Even if it is a couple of blocks from your home, consider walking or biking there as well. The more you do it the easier it becomes and you will burn calories as well. We are a society of convenience, how convenient is it to head out on your own two feet and leave the same way you came without having to pay for parking or try to find your car in the parking lot of a large store? Pretty darn easy I say.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Large sized dog food bags can be made into a kitchen waste bag instead of wasting a plastic garbage sack. Just fill it the same way you would you regular garbage sack and save yourself that expensive of using yet another plastic bag.

1. Plug your computer, fax machine, copier, scanner, TV, DVD player, and even your Ipod and phone chargers onto a power strip and then simply switch it off when you are not suing them.

2. Replace 10 incandescent bulbs in your home or office with CFLs. Carpool to the office; donate used gear and sporting goods and even well worn older shoes that are good condition as well.

3. Turn down your water heater, air-dry your dishes and even use rechargeable batteries when you can.

4. Replace your clogged car filter; recycle plastics, paper, metals and glass no matter what. Look for recycled products as well and keep them in circulation.

5. Remove your car’s roof rack when you aren’t using it, drink filtered tap water instead of water that has been bottled and BYOB, bring your own bottle to places and refill it. Eat vegetarian twice a week at your home or at the office. Turn off the lights with you leave a room and turn off the ceiling fan when you aren’t in a room as well. Bike to most of your in-town errands and walk to places close like a friend’s house, or the library.

6. Cut down on your car washing, and sweep your driveway off instead of using the hose to spray it. Accelerate your speed gradually in your car to help save gas as well. Use the cruise control on the interstate and open highways. Always drive the speed limit, it’s better to be late then over-use your gas and even get a ticket.

7. Take a Navy shower by turning off the water while you soap up. Shave in the sink and not in the shower to help save water as well. Don’t overfill the bathtub.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Use environmentally friendly insulation on your home. It will help cut your heating and cooling cost as well as helps with your impact on the earth as well.

• 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.

• Use passive solar: It will help capture the heat in your hose and all you have to do is open the curtains during the day and close then at night, except in the summer when you should close your curtains during the hottest parts of the day.

• Eliminate those Drafts: You can eliminate the drafts in your home just by caulking and weathering stripping the storm windows and upgrading your insulation and removing and storing your window AC in the winter time when you aren’t using it.

• Upgrade your furnace: It’s the single most important energy saving advice you can get, by upgrading your furnace you can save so much in home energy loss.

• Adjust your furnace: If you keep your furnace 2° lower in the winter and 2° higher in the summer you will end up saving more energy than if you allowed your thermostat to stay at one temperature. Also set your water heater at 120°.

• Reuse: If you reuse most everything in your home that falls into a jar, bag, or food container category you not only save move on energy cost that is used to make them you also save yourself money in the long run.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tips: This Halloween give a better option than the normal sugar-laden candy. Try a better option like the suckers from College Farm. Their suckers are made of everything good. They contain no gluten, no nuts, no soy, no dairy ingredients, no GMOs and nothing artificial. Visit the homemade and order your bag now for the Halloween season that is right around the corner.