Sustainable building techniques are becoming increasing popular. What does that mean? Here’s an interesting video that shows how one architect is using green home design techniques to inexpensively build a house that heats and cools itself.
In honor of Arbor Day (April 25 this year), take a few minutes over the weekend to plant a tree. It doesn’t even have to be in your own yard. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that you sneak into your neighbor’s messy yard, but if you don’t have a yard of your own or have no room in your landscape there are other ways you can grow a tree.
You can give one (or several) to someone who does have a yard. (I just gave one to my MIL last week.) Or you can plant a tree in one of the country’s national forests through the Arbor Day Foundation. Every year these forests are damaged by wildfires and just a one dollar donation replaces one of the lost trees.
Or here’s a really easy way to plant a tree that I found on GreenisUniversal.com. Send an e-tree to a friend for $1 and Mokugift will work with Sustainable Harvest International to get a real tree planted.
Happy Arbor Day.
You can give one (or several) to someone who does have a yard. (I just gave one to my MIL last week.) Or you can plant a tree in one of the country’s national forests through the Arbor Day Foundation. Every year these forests are damaged by wildfires and just a one dollar donation replaces one of the lost trees.
Or here’s a really easy way to plant a tree that I found on GreenisUniversal.com. Send an e-tree to a friend for $1 and Mokugift will work with Sustainable Harvest International to get a real tree planted.
Happy Arbor Day.
Since today is Earth Day, I’m taking a moment to consider my carbon footprint —the impact that I personally have on the environment—and I have to admit that I could be doing more to conserve and recycle. The funny thing is, if I did do more, it would probably save me money on my gas and electric bills, making it good for my wallet as well as good for the environment.
If you need a little help to jump start you on your way to reducing your carbon footprint, a few small steps can make a big difference. Start by taking the ENERGY STAR Pledge and sign up to make a few easy changes. According to the people at the Environmental Protection Agency, if every American household took part in this new Energy Star pledge, we would save more than $18 billion in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 18 million cars.
Take the pledge to:
- Replace at least one light bulb in your home with an energy-efficient alternative
- Make sure your home heating and cooling systems are working efficiently
- Make sure your home is well sealed and insulated
- Set your computer and monitor to sleep or shut down when you’re away from them
- Choose an Energy Star qualified refrigerator, dishwasher and/or clothes washer when you replace old appliances
After 52 days, I’m a little surprised that my little pots of grass are doing so well. I water them regularly, though, and give them a trim once a week (usually on Fridays), which are good things to do for your grass, potted or not.
Here are a few more tips for growing healthy grass. This time they come from golf legend and golf course designer Jack Nicklaus and the experts at Lawn-Boy.
Get your equipment into shape. After sitting unused for several months, spring is the perfect time to check and change your mower’s oil, air filter, and spark plug or plugs. Check your blade to see if it needs sharpening or replacing. You may want to contact your local dealer to schedule a spring tune-up.
Use the right mower. Today’s mowers combine professional-level effectiveness with lots of user-friendly features to make mowing easier on the body. “In golf, there are dozens of technology and equipment choices. The same is true when people are trying to find the right lawn mower,” says Nicklaus. Check out Lawn-Boy’s mower guide to see which features you need in a lawn mower.
Fix bare spots. You probably don’t have divots in your backyard, but you might notice a few unsightly bare spots that need fixing due to disease or pets. They’re easy to repair. Just clear away the dead-looking patches, sprinkle grass seed on the newly exposed soil, add fertilizer, and keep the area moist.
Aerate. Golf courses aerate regularly to loosen the soil and to let water, air and fertilizer make their way down to the grass plant’s roots. Home lawns can benefit from this procedure as well. Mature lawns can often become compacted, reducing the ability of critical nutrients to reach grass roots.
Get more lawn, and golf, tips and advice from Jack Nicklaus.
The other day I went to a fun event for OxiClean with one of my coworkers, Anne. You may remember Anne, since she used to write this blog before I came on board. That’s her in the photo below with Clinton Kelly, from TLC’s show What Not to Wear. Clinton was at the event giving styling tips and he told Anne and I a story about how OxiClean saved his new couch after he spilled General Tso’s chicken all over it. A quick spray and blot later and OxiClean’s Laundry Stain Remover took that stain right out. Pretty cool. So cool in fact that I’m going to try it on my rug, which between my husband and dog is just a few stains away from being tossed in the trash.
