green

Kitchen Organizing Tips to Make Your Life Easier

December 10, 2013 by Becky Alexander-Conrad

It’s nice to have little tricks that help keep your home in order without too much effort. With the holidays just around the corner when life gets so much busier and you often have visitors to your home, it’s a must.

Family Calendar

The old saying “the kitchen is the heart of the home” still fits the busy lifestyles most of us have today. Maybe even more so. With each child and adult having their own busy schedules it’s easy to lose track of who’s doing what and where without a family message center.

Having a designated location where your family can record their daily activities is as easy as having a large calendar in the kitchen. I like the idea of a chalk board calendar which can be easily made by masking off a grid and painting the wall with chalk board paint or using chalk board contact paper cut into 35 equal rectangles and placed on the wall as shown above.

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Hardwood Flooring [INFOGRAPHIC]: Confident Choice for Eco-Friendly Homes

July 5, 2013 by Jennifer Parker

Hardwood floors are both eco-friendly and easy to maintain. In fact, hardwood growth in the U.S. has drastically increased over the last 50 years, making hardwood products like flooring a strong benefactor for a better, healthier environment. Because the rate of hardwood growth in the U.S. is now drastically higher than the rate of forest removal, hardwood products are big contributors to the long-term sequestration of carbon.

More on Hardwood Floors

Not only do hardwood floors come in a wide variety of styles, they also increase the value of your home by up to 70%. The three main types of hardwood floors are solid hardwood, engineered wood, and bamboo flooring; each comes in a wide array of styles and options. Hardwood floors require very little upkeep and do wonders at opening up a particular room. The Janka Hardness Test is used to measure a particular hardwood’s ability to withstand wear and tear, helping you to find the right type of flooring to suit your particular needs. The ecological and monetary benefits are just a few of the advantages of hardwood floors, making them a wonderful choice for your home.

HardwoodFlooringInfographic — Click Image to Enlarge

Make Your Yard Waste Work for You

March 28, 2013 by Ben West

Recycling Yard Waste

One of the problems of having a beautiful yard is what to do with the waste. Grass, leaves, and other garbage piles up quickly. But these items can contribute to the health and beauty of your outdoor space–composting, chipping and other uses can keep organic material out of the landfill and help you create a yard that will be the envy of the neighborhood.

Composting

Composting is an excellent way to reduce waste and reuse yard clippings. Composting involves sectioning off part of your property for waste. Usually, the types of waste you’ll be putting here are grass clippings, leaves, rotten vegetables, and other organic material that are easily broken down.

To make your compost pile, section off part of your property. You don’t need much space – about 3 feet by 3 feet. Chicken wire or a simple DIY fence made of something that won’t decompose works best. Lay a layer of nitrogen-rich green materials like grass clippings, plant-based kitchen waste (i.e. vegetable peels), or barnyard manure down. Shovel some garden soil on top of it. Put down another layer of green stuff, then another layer of soil. Keep doing this until you run out of compost material. Go three layers deep. Moisten the soil.

This process starts the breakdown of the green stuff into rich soil. You’ll have to periodically churn the compost and keep it moist (but not soggy). Eventually, you’ll have really great top soil you can use practically anywhere.

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Ten Uses for Grocery Bags

December 26, 2012 by Tyler Golberg

Have you been saving those grocery bags from trips to the store? Did you plan on reusing them but they have started to pile up? The list below might give you some ideas for using these bags and help you in your endeavor to reduce waste.

1.) Garbage Can

Line smaller garbage cans with the grocery bags. They won’t grab the edge well so it helps to tie the handles in a knot.

Also, keep a couple in the glove compartment of your vehicle. You never know when you’ll need to shield items from rain or need a makeshift garbage.

2.) Pets

Plastic bags are very handy for both cats and dogs when it comes to cleaning up after them. For cats, line the litter box with larger grocery bags. You can simply tie up the bag and toss it when it becomes too dirty. For dogs, use smaller bags to clean up after them. Make sure to tie up the bag before throwing it in a garbage bin to keep the waste contained.

3.) Storage

Even if you keep items in bins or boxes, grocery bags can help to further divide items within the container. Just make sure to add a cedar block into the container for storing cloth items. It will help ward off pesky moths.

4.) Cushion

Speaking of storage, squishing up bags to line a box is a good replacement for bubble wrap, which isn’t the cheapest item. Besides, how many people keep bubble wrap on hand?

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Going Green: NYC's First Solar Powered Restaurant

September 13, 2012 by Tyler Golberg

Habana Outpost

Located in the Forte Green area of Brooklyn, the Habana Outpost has put green technology to use in every facet. It is a splendid blend of technology, art, and education. The evolution of the restaurant has been a collaboration of ideas from visitors, environmentalists, employees, and owner, Sean Meenan.

Even if you are not interested in green technology, it is still worth stopping by for the Mexican-Cuban style food. The pinnacle of the menu is the roasted corn topped with Mexican cheeses. A testament to the popularity of their corn can be seen on busy nights when they have a separate line for corn and beer orders only.

Technology

Unlike some businesses that try to hide their solar panels from view, the Habana Outpost prominently displays their set of solar panels on an outdoor awning. Today, solar power is everywhere, but at the time it is was far less common. Sean mentioned that this was “New York’s first solar powered restaurant.” And the solar display is what sparked the collaboration of the community. Onlookers would be curiously drawn in by the large set of black panels and end up chatting with the friendly owner. Over time, fueled by Sean’s passion, it evolved into the green beacon it is today.

Everywhere you look there is some form of energy efficiency, recycling, or waste reduction. The large set of solar panels powers the entire restaurant. Rain water is collected by gutters and used to flush the toilets. The plates and napkins are made from recycled materials. The cups are made from corn instead of petroleum. Waste stations are clearly marked for segregating recyclable materials.

The most unique implementation of alternative power is the bicycle blender. “As you pedal it turns the blades,” said Sean. “It is fun for everyone to watch, kids or adults. It encapsulates what we are trying to do on the environmental side.”

Art

The environmental message at Habana Outpost is beautifully delivered to any visitor through pictographs. The murals are enjoyable just to look at, but you can also look closer to see how solar works or how water is recycled to the toilets. There are little paintings all over (even in the bathroom stalls!).

The artwork throughout the place is another example of how Habana Outpost ties into the community. Many different artists have contributed to bring the whole restaurant together into a spectacular visual display. Not one spot has been overlooked. Even the barbed wire on the top of the courtyard fence has been painted green and decorated with plastic flowers.

Education

You won’t hear any preaching or feel any guilt trips about environmental causes here. If you just want to get some food or a beer, that’s great. But if you want to learn more about Habana Outpost’s green efforts, there are plenty of opportunities. Between the pictographs, easy to see green systems, and kid’s activities, there is something everyone.

“We have what we call a kid’s corner every weekend to do arts and crafts. It has an environmental to blend to it. Some examples are a composting workshop, a lady bug release or making a Father’s Day present out of recycled material. I love kids. The kid’s corner, baby breakfast, and back to school event are all kid-centric. I don’t want to sound cliche, but they really are our future.”

Whether you live in New York City or you are just visiting, stop by the Habana Outpost. The great food, laid-back feel, and bright visuals draw locals and celebrities a like. And who knows, you may learn a thing or two about green technology.

Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner

August 31, 2012 by Tyler Golberg

Why use a Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner?

Convenience