Rain Barrel Safety
Thinking of getting a rain barrel to collect water for gardening use? You’ll want to be selective in how you use collected water.
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Let’s Talk about Borax (Baby)
Posted on January 21, 2010 by
Photo credit: Pattyanne:made
Any time I’ve done any digging for information on safe, natural ways to clean, the same few magically versatile ingredients come up again and again. Baking soda. Vinegar. Castile soap. Borax. That last one I’ve often skipped over, because frankly, I had little idea what it was or how it’s used. I decided it was time I finally remedied that.
What I knew about borax was thus: it is sold alongside the bleach at my local Target stores, it is a white powdery substance of unknown (to me) origin, and it can apparently be used to clean and freshen many of the same things in many of the same ways that baking soda can.
Do you know any more about borax than that? If so, I apologize for what may be a “Thank you, Captain Obvious” sort of post. If not, let’s learn a little more about borax, shall we?
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Bring Your Compost Pail Inside
Posted on January 5, 2010 by
I know we all have the best intentions when it comes to recycling and composting. I tend to recycle everything I can get my hands on at home … until the recycling bin gets full (my roommate and I are top-notch procrastinators when it comes to taking the recycling to the the appropriate drop off.) I like to compost … until it gets so cold outside that any extra opening of the door seems wasteful.
So what if you brought the compost pail inside? I know it might sound crazy or smelly, but stick with me.
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Making The Grade
Posted on December 15, 2009 by
It’s the end of the semester. Certain things go by the wayside in the frenzy of grading papers, writing recommendations, and handing out tissues to failing students whose most creative work all semester is a sob story worthy of a Lifetime Movie. I haven’t had time to shave my legs in almost a week. On the bright side, I no longer need to wear long johns to walk to work. I’ve also found that the stubble keeps my socks from falling, thus preventing those nasty blisters you get when the heel of your sock bunches at the back of your shoe and rubs, rubs, rubs all day. I would say that not shaving this week has been a win, but my cat, Not a Dingo, has found another use for my gorilla like leg locks — scratching posts. Sometimes the Dingo household can take the whole recycle/repurpose mantra too darn far! But I digress. What I want to talk about is food.
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It’s a Wrap!
Posted on November 17, 2009 by
Like many of you, I am dreading looking forward to the upcoming holidays. Who doesn’t like the chance to get together with people we’d never associate with if we weren’t related by blood? Actually, Mr. Dingo and I play our holidays pretty low key. We simply stay home and avoid the madness. Thanksgiving? We’re thankful 365 days of the year. We don’t need no stinkin’ holiday! Christmas? We want peace and love every day of the year. We don’t need no stinkin’ holiday! New Year’s Eve? We get drunk, dress like idiots, and are too loud every day of the year. We don’t need no stinkin’ holiday! And best of all? Sanctimony and self-righteousness has no carbon footprint and keep you warm during the long, cold winter months. So, turn off that heater and turn up the judgmental snark. That rosy glow you feel? That’s environmentalism at work, folks: you’ve just saved 35 acres of rain forest by staying home, turning down the heat, and basking in the warm, cackling glow of your inner judge and jury.
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I’d Like To Buy The World A Non-Carcinogenic, Responsibly Packaged, Healthier Alternative To Coke
Posted on October 28, 2009 by
During college I developed a nasty Coke habit. Yes, that’s Coke with a capital C because I’m referring to the carbonated beverage, not the illegal drug. It became my go-to drink at home, during class, while driving, you name it. It had the caffeine to keep me awake during those reeeaaalllyyy long nights when I was studying (or chair-racing down the hallways with my friends, whatever) and was more portable than coffee.
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Recycling Is In The Bag
Posted on October 23, 2009 by
Since I last wrote about my efforts to find inexpensive ways to go green, there have been many changes around Casa de Dingo. First of all, there’s the landfill in the kitchen. Although both Mr. Dingo and I did not think we had much to recycle in the way of glass, cardboard, and aluminum, we crammed a recycling bag into a tight space in our Lilliputian kitchen. Once we decided to recycle, I become maniacal about it. The first week, we filled two bags. Two! We patted ourselves on the back and cooed to each other, “You’re so Green! No, you’re so Green!” We even engaged in Public Displays of Environmentalism, asking stores and restaurants we frequent whether they recycled. It was actually quite sickening. But environmentally friendly! Until the pile of refuse came crashing down.
New York City collects recyclables only one day a week. So, for several days we were stepping over jelly jars, cans dispossessed of their chickpeas, and boxes siphoned of yummy sugary cereal goodness during late night snack attacks. And the wine bottles? Let’s not go there. Let’s just say that I use it for cooking. You know how that goes:
1. Mix dry ingredients. Take a sip of wine.
2. Add four eggs, mixing after each. Mix. Sip. Mix. Sip. Mix. Sip. Mix. Chug.
3. Add 1/3 cup canola oil. Hold measuring cup at eye level. Wonder why it won’t stop shaking. Pour 1/4 cup 3/4 cup Oh, hell, just eyeball it and have another drink.
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Vinegar: It’s Not Just for Salads Anymore
Posted on October 22, 2009 by
Photo courtesy of cafemama
I like to think of myself as a frugal, savvy girl. Mind you, I said “like to.” Unfortunately, wanting to be frugal and actually maintaining the discipline to be frugal are often two very different things for me. I’m weak. I admit it. So I make concessions. I try to prioritize. I justify one purchase by avoiding another. It’s not a perfect system, but my bank account and I haven’t had a falling out just yet, so I must be doing relatively OK.
One thing I have a hard time spending money on is workout clothes. When I go to the gym, I’m there to work out, not to impress anybody. There are those who say the gym is a great place to meet people, but I do not live in an episode of Sex & the City. Anyone who thinks I’m going to find a date during my workouts has never been to my gym. That being the case, if I’m going to spend money on a new outfit, I’d much rather it be one people other than doughy, late-middle-aged suburban men in nylon track suits are going to see. New workout clothes might motivate me off to an extra gym visit or two initially, but new boots or jeans motivate me off my couch into a more active social life. I know where my money is best spent; this is not rocket science to me.
As a result, I’ve had some of the same cotton tank tops in my gym bag rotation for five years or more. They’re not holey or threadbare just yet, but I have to admit—five years of workouts has left them a bit, er, ripe around the edges. Ordinary detergent was no match for the stank. Even baking soda, miracle odor eliminator that it is, couldn’t lift it out. I was about ready to admit defeat and cut the non-stinky parts into cleaning rags when I remembered that my friend the Internet knows everything and I’d yet to ask for advice on this one.
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Green Your Halloween Party
Posted on October 12, 2009 by
I was just thinking about whether or not I’d host a Halloween party this year when it occurred to me that in all of my efforts to be green, I’ve never thought much about being green on holidays — especially on Halloween. Halloween is one of those especially consumer-driven holidays, so at first glance I thought it might be hard to ‘greenify’ a spooky party, but I started searching around the internet for ideas and found some great ones. Read more…
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Abby’s $50 Project
Posted on October 7, 2009 by
Please welcome today’s guest poster, Abby.
Hello, Greenists, and thank you for inviting me to guest post today!
A few months ago, I moved in with my boyfriend of two years. About a month later, both of our roommates moved out, and we found ourselves the residents of an enormous, beautiful, and mostly empty flat in San Francisco. I was reluctant to fill our lovely home with poorly made, generic-looking items, so I began to brainstorm ways to furnish our apartment with interesting, beautiful pieces … without breaking the bank.
Enter Craigslist. Craigslist was founded in San Francisco, and you can find anything by searching through its pages. I’ve also sourced items from a few yard sales, a thrift store or two, and most popularly, from the sidewalks around San Francisco. The catch is this: no item can cost more than $50. If the item needs to be refurbished, the costs of the project can exceed the $50 limit, depending upon the value of the completed item. My first project, a mid-century arm chair, was initially a $15 expense. I spent $36 on cushions, $5 on fabric, and $10 on other supplies. Had we gotten an arm chair at IKEA, we still would have spent around $150, so the value of the project was worth it to us.
My most recent project started out looking like this:
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Saving Money With “The Internet.”
Posted on October 1, 2009 by
Did you know that you can save money and be green by using the internet to look up stuff? (Yeah, I thought you might know that) But! I’m excited to share three problems I recently solved thanks to the wisdom of the masses.
Problem #1: My clothes smell like mildew.
During the humid days of summer, my closet got a mite fester-y. My unworn long-sleeved shirts and heavy pants stank after sitting dormant for months, and I had to wash everything. After doing a little Googling, the consensus was that cedar is the wood to use to keep mildew at bay. I sprang $6 to get a bag of chips. The problem? How do I use cedar chips in the closet?
Tip of the Day
