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Author Archive | Jennie Lyon

How to Host A Stuff Swap Party

August 7, 2020 3

Are your closets and cupboards overflowing? Invite your friends to do some spring cleaning of their homes, closets, and garages and bring the items that they never use to a stuff swap. Open a few bottles of wine and try on each other’s clothes or swap other household finds. Your best friend may have a cocktail dress that she never wore that would be fabulous for an upcoming event you have. You might find a lamp that doesn’t match your friend’s decor but that would look lovely in your living room.

This is a super fun way to get together with your friends, have a couple of glasses of wine, and go home with a new wardrobe, fabulous piece of furniture, or a great book without spending a dime. If anything is left over at the end of the night, arrange to donate it to your local women’s and children’s shelter.

Would you host a clothes or stuff swap?

5 Ways To Green Your Transportation

August 6, 2020 2

You have to get to work, school, and run your errands one way or another. The decisions that you make about your daily mode of transport has a huge impact on your ecological footprint. There are a lot of things you can do to lessen this impact. Here are my favorites from Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style by Christie Matheson. Remember to leave your favorites in the comments for a chance to win a copy of the book.

1. Drive Less, Walk More

For every mile that you don’t drive, you keep almost a pound of CO2 out of the atmosphere.

If your job, school, or favorite coffee shop is less than a mile each way, you should try to walk. If you are going to a friend’s house that is nearby, walk or ride your bike.

If you live in an area where everything is within walking distance, you could live without a car or if your family has two cars downsize to one. (I absolutely agree – our family only has one car and it’s easier than you would think.) You can walk, ride your bike, take public transportation, or telecommute.

So what if you need a car to get somewhere outside of the city or to go away for the weekend?

You could get a ride with a friend, rent a car, or take the train or bus. For trips where public transportation isn’t an option, check out ZipCar. You reserve the car online, go straight to the car, open it with your passcode, and drive away. Gas and insurance are included in the price.

2. Keep Your Tires Pumped Up

Check your car manual for the pressure that your tires should be at and fill them to that point. For every 3 pounds of pressure less than what is recommended, you lose 1% of the fuel efficiency.

3. Replace Your Air Filters

Make sure to check your filters monthly and change them every 12k miles. Clean filters can increase your fuel efficiency by 10%.

4. Drive Right

Going from 0-60 in 3 seconds flat can cause you to lose up to 30% of your fuel efficiency. For every 5 miles that you exceed 60 miles an hour, you lose 5-6% fuel efficiency as well.

5. Don’t Be Idle

If you are sitting still with the car running, you are getting 0 miles to the gallon. You can burn through 3/8 of a gallon in a 1/2 hour. If you are going to be sitting idle for longer than 30 seconds, kill the engine.

How do you green your transportation?

Plastic Recycling by Number: What Do Those Numbers Mean?

August 6, 2020 4

Have you set up a garage recycling center? We live in a community where our local recycling center picks up almost all recyclable material for us in a single bin. Some of you may not be so lucky and have to sort by plastic-type. I have broken down the 7 types of plastic to help you sort it out.

#1 Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET):
2-liter soda bottles, microwaveable food dishes, boil in a bag food pouches, egg cartons, and other food containers.

#2 High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE):
Hard thick plastic such as shampoo & conditioner bottles, milk jugs, laundry detergent bottles, and OTC medication bottles.

#3 Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC):
Plastic piping, nonfood packaging, and cooking oil bottles.

#4 Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE):
Bread bags, plastic wrap, squeezable food bottles and grocery bags.

#5 Polypropylene (PP):
Yogurt containers, straws, and syrup bottles.

#6 Polystyrene (PS) A.K.A Styrofoam:
Styrofoam egg cartons, hot beverage cups, and packing peanuts.

#7 Other:
Any plastic made with a resin that isn’t listed above. Check with your local recycling center for more information.

Do you recycle?

9 Organic Natural Beauty Remedies that You Can Make at Home

August 4, 2020 2

You can pick up organic beauty products at home – but let’s face it, they are expensive. Especially considering that you can make many of them at home using organic ingredients and they will cost you a fraction of the store-bought options. Try these 9 simple, organic natural beauty remedies for sweeter chemical free skin. These will make you look and feel refreshed, all while avoiding harsh chemicals, read on, gather your ingredients and get started.

1. Organic Facial
Whip 1 organic free-range egg for 10 minutes, add 1 tbsp. organic honey and apply to your face for 15 minutes, rinse and pat dry. 
 
2. Organic Exfoliating Scrub
Mash 5 to 7 organic strawberries and massage onto damp skin, rinse, and pat dry.
 
3. Organic Moisturising Bath
Add 1 cup hot water and 2 tbsp, organic honey, to your bath, pat dry. 
 
4. Organic Foot Moisturizer
Soak your piggies in 1/2 cup organic baking soda and water for 10 minutes, rinse and pat dry.
 
5. Organic Moisturizing Facial Mask
Mash 1/2 organic banana and apply to your face for 15 minutes, rinse and pat dry.
 
6. Organically Brighten your Nails
Soak your fingernails in the juice from 1/2 organic lemon once a week.
 
7. Organically Whiten your Smile
Mix equals parts sea salt and organic baking soda and applies to your teeth to whiten and brighten, rinse and then brush as usual.
 
8. Organic Eye Makeup Remover
Use 1 tbsp. organic castor oil, 1 tbsp. organic olive oil and 1 tbsp. organic vegetable oil to a cloth and remove makeup easily, wash, as usual, rinse and pat dry. 
 
9. Organic Facial Scrub
Use either 1/2 cup finely ground organic almonds and 1/2 cup organic soy yogurt or 1 organic avocado and 1/2 cup organic mayo to make a facial scrub. Scrub your face, rinse and pat dry.
 
What natural beauty remedies do you use?

Green Wash: 6 Simple Ways To Make Your Laundry Eco-Friendly

August 3, 2020 2

Most American families use the bulk of their energy consumption doing laundry. This is not a major problem at our home, since there are only three of us. We typically do two loads of laundry a week, but for those of you out there with larger families, there are things you can do to lessen the “load” of your laundry. Read on for my favorite ways to green your laundry.

1. Be Selective
Wash only full loads of laundry and try to wear items like your jeans and jackets more than once. If it isn’t dirty, don’t just toss it in the wash.

2. Wash in Cold
Since cold water generally comes out of the tap at 80°, you can almost always wash items in cold, this will save 75% more energy than hot water.

3. Hang to Dry
I save energy by partially drying our clothing and then hanging them to completely dry. This also prevents me from having to iron, since the clothes almost always dry perfectly wrinkle-free. This is a good thing too since I can not stand to iron. If it is a sunny, warm day take advantage of the sun and wind to dry your clothes.

4. Clean the Lint
Removing the lint from your dryer makes the machine run more efficiently and also prevents it from becoming a fire hazard – clean the lint drawer before every single load.

5. Think Energy Star
When it is time to purchase a new washer or dryer, consider an Energy Star front loader. You can save over $100 a year in energy costs and ours holds much more per cycle and spins faster than a conventional model all while using 1/2 as much water.

6. Get Unplugged
Since washers and dryers are major energy vampires if possible pull the plug when not in use.

How do you green your laundry?

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