Energy Saving Products Fall Short With Packaging

Can Someone explain to me why energy saving products such as GE's CFL light bulbs is packaged in #3 plastics? While some of their products are packaged in cardboard, not all are and I don't understand why. Most curbside recycling programs do not include #3 plastics. If we're honest, most don't search outside their curbside recycling to find areas to recycle other plastics. Some areas don't have it even if you did seek it out.

You can find out more about recycling GE's light bulbs here -AND- you can contact GE about your packaging concerns here. I know I'm going to.

If you've noticed this same problem with other energy saving/Eco products, please feel free to comment.

Saving on Gasoline and Energy

So Gasoline has went down, but it's still sucking us dry. Huffington Post has a list of "66 ways to Spend Less On Gasoline". Here are some highlights not previously mentioned on my blog (How to get the most out of your fuel):

5. Got shade?
Buy a good windshield shade. A windshield shade blocks sunlight and helps to keep heat out of the inside of your car. This will help reduce air conditioning use in the summer.

8. Tighten that cap.
Gas will evaporate from your car's gas tank if it has an escape. Loose, missing, or damaged gas caps cause millions of gallons of gas to evaporate each year.

9. Wait until you're near empty.
Don't fill up until your tank is near empty; this will extend your gas because you are hauling a lighter load as the tank nears empty.

Also I heard you should only keep it half full at all times for the same reason...the lighter the better.

33. Lose the racks.
Remove ski, bicycle, or luggage racks from your roof if you don't need it. They also cause air drag.

35. Trucks, drop the tailgate.
You will get more mileage if you put down the tailgate due to less wind resistance.

61. Forward only.
Park your car so that you can later begin to travel in forward gear; avoiding reverse gear maneuvers will save gas

While on the subject of cars and energy, I found this great article on "Greening Parking Lots With Solar Trees". It's a very intriguing idea, using the waste of space as an opportunity to harvest energy. In the future, these "solar trees" will supposedly be lining the streets as well. It's just amazing to think of what the future will hold.

This, Not That: Part Deux

As I mentioned in a recent post about "Greening up your dishwasher", using dishwashers are actually better than washing dishes by hand.


Along the same lines, car washes are better than doing it by hand. Earth911 explains it best:

When we home wash, the run-off water goes untreated into storm drains, and eventually ends up in rivers, streams and wetlands. The dirty water may contain soap, detergent, residue from exhaust frames, gasoline or motor oil. Car washing
soap often contains phosphates and other nutrients, which spur the growth of algae. Excess algae not only block sunlight and prevent photosynthesis, but they use up oxygen.

Commercial car washes are required to drain wastewater into sewer systems, where the water is treated. For this reason, commercial car washes have less of an environmental impact than home-washing. Also, high pressure nozzles and pumps minimize water usage. The average home wash uses 80-140 gallons of water while the commercial average is 45 gallons.

Read the whole article on eco car washing here.

Some car washes supposedly have ways to recycle and re-use the water. Even better, Treehugger has an article about a waterless wash called No Wet. There are others as well, but I have not used any myself...yet.


Hanging your clothes to dry is obviously better for the environment than using a dryer. Now, I don't currently do this. I'm in the process of getting my house ready to sell, so I don't see the point in putting in a clothesline, but I fully intend to put one at my new house. I know they have folding/retractable ones now that don't have to be a huge eye sore like the old ones were.

I believe we have to be realistic about what we're willing to do. Not everyone is Ed Begley. Maybe it's what we aim for, but that's something you have to work up to. Even if you don't put all your clothes out, some are better than none.

Green up your Dishwasher

Studies show that using a dishwasher is actually greener, in most cases, than washing dishes by hand. Now, for those of you who don't have dishwashers and still want to be your greenest, here's an article on how to make washing dishes by hand as eco-friendly as possible.

• The first step, no matter how you wash your dishes, is to try and use as few dishes as necessary. That may mean reusing the same drinking glass through the day, etc.
  
• When using a dishwasher, scrape plates clean rather than rinse before washing. Supposedly most dishwashers now are able to do the dirty work for you, allowing for less prep before cleaning
  
• Load around prongs rather than on them to maximize space
  
• Don't run the dishwasher until it's completely full
  
• Set to light cycle
  
• There are eco-friendly dishwasher tablets and detergents out there now, but that one should be pretty obvious along with getting a energy star dishwasher to begin with
  
• Finally, turn off the heat dry and open door to let air dry

Good things to know about Batteries

I was looking over an article about batteries over on earth 911 and thought I'd summarize some good tips I found.

1. Invest in a battery tester so you can test multiples in a set. Maybe only one battery needs to be replaced instead of 4.
   
2. Get a cooling pad to set under your laptop when using on soft surfaces so that the battery doesn't overheat.
   
3. Wait until you have a good signal on your cell phone so your battery doesn't waste more energy searching for a signal.
   
4. Get your car battery an insulation blanket if it doesn't already have one.

Click here for full article.

Remove Wallpaper Steam Free

After moving into an older home, in which every room was wallpapered, I consider myself somewhat of an expert on removing it. I just started my last room in the house and thought I should share a very small, but useful tip. You don't need a steamer to remove wallpaper. I know because I bought one in the beginning and used it until I realized a spray bottle, filled with water, does the exact same thing. The water doesn't even have to be hot. Just peel the initial layer of paper off by hand, some is easier than others. Then, use the bottle to remove the back layer of paper that sticks to the wall.

Not using the steamer saves me time because I don't have to wait for it to warm up, but more importantly, it saves energy. And, if you don't want to waste water, this is a great time to use rain water instead of tap water. Then, after you're done, save the bottle for other projects or please, recycle it.

This, not that

My husband and I went out with some equally environmentally conscious friends the other day and they mentioned that we should take the stairs instead of the elevator. It may sound completely stupid of me, but I'd never thought about the energy the elevator takes. It's just one of those things you're so used to doing without thinking about; but now I know and can't blame ignorance any longer. So, I'll be taking the stairs from now on. It's not like I can't use the exercise anyway.


Another thing we may not think about but you should really use the microwave over the oven--it uses much less energy.


Use plastic milk containers over cartons because the plastic can be recycled and the wax cartons cannot.





Speaking of milk jugs, Family Fun has some interesting ideas about re-using them for Halloween, among other things. Check it out here.