How to Dispose of Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs — Are You Recycling Your CFL's?

photo by Nioxxe

Compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFL's, have become popular over the past several years as the eco-friendly alternative to incandescent light bulbs, which use the majority of their energy to produce heat, not light. According to the US Department of Energy, Energy Star qualified compact fluorescents use 75 percent less energy then your typical incandescent bulb and they last up to ten times longer. While CFL's themselves are more expensive, they can greatly reduce your electricity bill — by as much as $40 for the lifetime of one CFL bulb.

Green, eco-friendly and a positive step towards more energy efficient lighting. There is a catch however. CFL's contain mercury, and when they are not properly disposed of, they can become hazardous. Polluting landfills with tiny doses of mercury (about 4 milligrams per bulb), which can eventually end up in local groundwater, is not exactly eco-friendly. The mercury is not released when the bulbs are used, but when the bulbs are broken. ("Eco-friendly light bulbs switch on problems." The Washington Times, July 20, 2009).

The solution to eco efficient light bulbs potentially becoming eco hazardous is recycling. In some states in fact it is the law to properly dispose of your CFL's. So, how can you recycle your compact fluorescent light bulbs? You can look up a list of local waste collection agencies and recycling opportunities at Earth911.com. Also, many stores that sell the bulbs, including Home Depot and Lowe's, have CFL recycling programs. Another option is to mail the bulb back to the manufacturer to be recycled and disposed of properly. Check the website of your CFL's manufacturer for more info.

Two Recipes for a Natural Homemade Kitchen Floor Cleaner

photo by Alan L

Regularly cleaning the kitchen floor is important for getting rid of bacteria and dirt that can easily find its way onto your floor. While conventional cleaners can certainly kill bacteria and remove dirt, they also come with a negative side — harsh chemicals. It is possible to use natural products, or even to make your own to avoid the introduction of chemicals into the air, your home and the environment. Natural ingredients such as lemon juice, vinegar and essential oils also have anti-bacterial properties. They leave a fresh scent after cleaning as well, and unlike conventional products, are completely non-toxic. Try these recipes for a natural homemade kitchen floor cleaner.

Lemon and Baking Soda Natural Floor Cleaner

• 1 fresh lemon
• 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
• 3 tablespoons of baking soda
• 1 gallon of warm to hot water

Fill a small bucket with the warm water. Add the fresh lemon juice, vinegar and baking soda and then stir. Use to wash the kitchen floor. You can also use it as an all-purpose cleaner for countertops, the stove and refrigerator.

Homemade Floor Cleaner with Essential Oils

• 15 drops of essential oil
• 1 gallon of warm to hot water

Simply add the essential oil to the water. Great essential oils for cleaning include lemon, orange, lime, peppermint, pine and tea tree. Blend the citrus oils together, using five drops of each for an uplifting homemade kitchen cleaner. Peppermint, pine and tea tree make a more invigorating blend. As with the lemon, vinegar and baking soda blend, you can use the antiseptic power of essential oils on kitchen countertops and other surfaces.

The Pros and Cons of Home Gray Water Recycling

photo by Sarah Flemming

Clean water is a finite resources, yet many of use use water in the home without much regard for the long-term consequences. According to the EPA, the average American uses 100 gallons of water a day, the biggest offender of home water use being the toilet flush. There are of course many things we all can do to conserve water, but what about actually reusing the water?

Maybe you have heard of gray water recycling before — its the reuse of 'gray water,' mostly for home landscape irrigation. Is this eco-friendly practice really a good idea? With all the graying substances that we add, anything from laundry detergent to fruit and vegetable residues, do we really want to put the things we rinse off and wash with into the soil?

There are many pros of gray water recycling. If of course saves water, and money. It allows households to irrigate shrubs and flowers without taxing the local clean water supply. Practicing gray water recycling also cuts down on your own environmental waste.

On the other hand, gray water is, well, dirty. It can be difficult to collect and move the used water without having a gray water system installed — and its really only well-suited for one household

photo by Robert S Donovan

purpose, watering the plants you are not going to eat. Its not for your vegetable garden! Also, you have to be careful what you use, making sure not to use 'black water,' or water that is too contaminated.

If you use natural cleaning supplies, pesticide-free organic fruits and vegetables and have a lovely landscape to water — it may be a great idea to reuse water from the shower, bathroom sink and kitchen sink. Having a gray water system installed may even be worth it if you live in an area with little rainfall; this allows for an easy transfer of the used water from great gray water sources, the bathtub and washing machine, directly to the landscape. If gray water doesn't fit your specific lifestyle, there are still dozens of ways to cut down on your home water use.

5 Easy to Grow Vegetables

photo by Medved

Spring is here and you're ready to start your organic vegetable garden — but what should you plant? Which vegetables grow well together? What about easy to grow vegetables for the novice gardener?

Growing your own veggies is a great way to:

• Save money
• Eat organic
• Cut down on the eco effects of food transportation and packaging

Organic fruits and vegetables are increasingly expensive. At the same time, the sustainability and health benefits make going organic an important green living step. If you haven't already, this is the year to start your own little plot of sustainable, eco-friendly, organic food — may as well go for the vegetables that are easier to grow and work well together in terms of companion planting.

Start your cop with these 5 easy growing veggies:

photo by CDC

1. Beans
2. Lettuce
3. Carrots
4. Beets
5. Cucumbers

If you want to plant a couple companion herbs, consider borage, which has lovely little purple flowers that attract honeybees and predatory insects, and sage, which repels bean parasites.

5 Uses for Castile Soap

photo by Max Edmands

Simplify all your cleaning needs with eco-friendly castile soap. Available in bar and liquid form, with some brands such as the popular Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps using essential oils for extra cleaning and a beautiful aroma, castile soap is an excellent natural alternative to commercial and conventional self-care products and cleansing supplies. Exactly what is castile soap? Why is it so environmentally-friendly?

Castile soap is really a dream for anyone interested in living a more sustainable lifestyle, as well as for those who wouldn't mind saving a few dollars each month. It is a blend of natural oils, such as olive oil, coconut, hemp and jojoba. This gives the quality of moisturizing as well as cleansing. Other possible ingredients include vitamin E, citric acid, and essential oils. No dyes, chelating agents, fragrances or other synthetics are used. This natural soap also tends to be more concentrated then many commercial liquid soaps, so only a small amount is needed for use.

Using castile soap is of course an eco-friendly decision, simply because it is a natural, toxin-free product. This means significantly less toxins that you and your family will be exposed to, as well as that you will be contributing to the environment. With a very simple soap-making process (Dr. Bronner's uses a no-waste, glycerin-retaining, one step reaction), the manufacturing process for castile soap is also infinitely less harmful to the environment then is the production of conventional soaps and cleaning supplies.

One of the unique benefits of using castile soap is the versatility. Go even more green and reduce your expenses by purchasing liquid soap in bulk. You will be able to use it for all of these castile soap uses:

1. Body cleaning — both bar and liquid soap can be used. With all of the natural oils it is great for helping the skin retain moisture.
2. Shampoo — use instead of your normal shampoo, except reduce the amount you would usually use by about one-third.
3. Shaving cream — for your own natural shaving cream use a tablespoon or two of liquid castile soap.
4. Laundry — use from one-quarter cup to one-half cup for a normal-sized load of laundry.
5. All-purpose kitchen cleaner — dilute in warm water, 1 part soap to 40 parts water, and use to wash floors, counter surfaces and stove tops.

How to Compost Kitchen Scraps for Your Organic Garden

photo by Andrew Taylor

The warm weather is moving in, the soil is thawing — time to fold in a rich layer of organic compost to improve the quality of your soil. If you don't already have a compost pile sitting out back, filling with decomposing organic refuse, now is as good a time as any to start.

An easy to way begin is by using kitchen scraps for compost. This way you can reduce your own personal contribution to the waste stream and at the same time provide nourishing, bioactive matter for your growing plants. Instead of tossing citrus peels, broccoli stalks and tea bags in the trash, gather them together throughout the day and then move them to your compost bin or pile outside.

To make composting kitchen scraps more efficient, and less messy, use a compost pail to store scraps in between trips to the outdoor pile. They are relatively inexpensive, they can be stored under the kitchen sink and they have a lid to hold in decaying vegetable scrap odors.

What kitchen scraps can you use for your compost pile? All,

• Fruit rinds, peels and cores
• Vegetables
• Sea greens
• Grains, cereals and pasta
• Egg shells
• Tea bags
• Coffee grounds 

photo by Steven DePolo

which have not been processed, cooked in oils or salted. Animal products, oils and fish are not good compost scraps. Stick with the fresh, unadulterated, natural, plant-based foods. Also, if you want to keep your garden organic and chemical-free, try to minimize non-organic kitchen scraps as much as possible.

Knowing how to compost kitchen scraps you can really take advantage of your own waste and take a step in the sustainable direction. Be patient with your decomposing pile, turn it every three to four days at first and then once a week and don't forget to add your yard clippings once the grass starts growing.

How to Make a Homemade Natural Air Freshener with Essential Oils

photo by Anita Ritenour

Make your own air freshener with essential oils and water. Those commercial products that you buy are not cleaning the air — they are adding chemicals and causing indoor air pollution! Popular products such as Febreze contain dozens of air contaminates, including acetaldehyde, a known carcinogen, and ethyl acetate, which is toxic to the brain and nervous system, according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

If you are interested in a more natural (and less expensive) alternative, you can make your own homemade natural air freshener with a spray bottle, clean water and a few drops of essential oil. You can make your house smell like a real field of lavender, not a synthetic chemical attempt at nature's aromas.

What are the benefits of using aromatherapy oils instead of commercial products?

1. Essential oils are highly concentrated extractions of plants — this means natural beneficial properties instead of dangerous synthetic properties.
2. Making your own freshener with essential oils will truly clean the air — essential oils have anti-bacterial properties.
3. Aside from neutralizing bacteria and freshening with a pleasant aroma, essential oils also have a positive effect on the nervous system. Some such as mandarin, bergamot and lemongrass are uplifting. Lavender, rose and sandalwood calm anxiety. Rosemary, sage and peppermint are mental stimulants.

To make your own natural air freshener you will need:

• A plastic spray bottle, any size is fine
• Clean water
• 2 drops of essential oil for every ounce of water that you use (so if you fill an 8-ounce spray bottle with water use 16 drops of essential oil)

photo by Francois

Add the water and then the essential oils to your spray bottle. Shake gently and then spray to freshen the air, carpets and even the couch your dog or cat loves to nap on. Excellent blends include neroli and rose, lavender with frankincense and peppermint with thyme.