Here are some useful green tips that you can practice everyday.

1. Salt

Salt can be used for a lot of things in the home, including yourself. You can use it to test an egg’s freshness, extend cheese life and shell nuts easily. You can treat mosquito bites and ease sore throat using salt. You can keep ants away, repair walls and tame barbecue flames. You can clean sink drains, clean greasy pans, refrigerators and glass coffee pots. Feel free to share your other uses for salt at home.

2. Moving Homes

Moving homes can be such a hassle. Trying to figure out which goes and which stays, packing the ones staying in boxes and hauling them from the old to the new house. When you’ve figured out which ones are not coming with you, consider placing an ad on Craigslist, Freecycle or eBay. Or just have a good old-fashioned garage sale. Pack the stuff you’re bringing in reused boxes you can purchase for a small price or for free. Pay it back by offering it up for the other movers. Lastly, use one large moving van and make sure everything is done in one trip.

3.  Baking Soda

Like salt, baking soda can also be used in numerous ways around the house. You can use it to freshen your mouth and use it as a facial scrub and body exfoliant. You can use baking soda to freshen sponges, clean the microwave, oven, floors, furniture and shower curtains. Use it to deodorize your refrigerator, sink drains, trash cans, lunch boxes and dish washers. You can also use baking soda to extinguish fires and scrubs fruits and vegetables.

4. Vegetable Garden

Gardening is hard work and if you don’t pay attention, your plants will die. But there are some vegetables that you can easily grow in your garden that even the laziest or clueless gardener can do. Asparagus needs a full sun and non-soggy, and a little sandy oil. Kale will grow in many climates. And bunching onions will grow even in cold climates.

5. Bathroom

There are a million ways to “prolong the life” of your bathroom products. For shampoo, just use a small amount for your hair. Short lengths only need to use a nickel-sized amount. Longer lengths will need a little more. For toothpaste, only a pea-sized amount is needed, the most important thing is how you brush your teeth anyway.

What other green tips can you recommend to our readers? Share them in the comments below!

How can one practice a green lifestyle? Start at home first! Once you’ve perfected this lifestyle at home, going out will seem quite easy.

Kitchen

Stock up your fridge with organic food. Buy from the farmer’s market or natural and organic grocery stores. Replace your old dishes and bakeware with eco-friendly products. Replace your dishwasher with an energy-efficient machine that uses less water and energy. Use teflon pans for cooking environmentally friendly recipes.

Living Room

Paint your living room with a vibrant color using non-toxic paint. Use environmentally-friendly glass cleaners to clean the glass in your house. Buy environmentally-friendly furniture. If you can’t afford to buy it all yet, start buying it one at a time. Buy furniture with reclaimed wood. Or choose one with unfinished wood and just finish it yourself.

Bedroom

When choosing wood from your bedroom, be sure to choose from the following materials:

• Bamboo
• Cork
• Concrete
• Forest Stewardship Council Certified Hardwood, Softwood, Laminates and Reclaimed/Salvaged Lumber
• Linoleum
• Recycled Tile and Stone

Bathroom

Use green cleaners to clean the air in your bathroom. Be aware of the chemicals in your cosmetic and beauty products. Use environmentally friendly paper products and bath towels. Use water-saving toilets or properly maintain the one that you have.

Office

Try to invest in solar chargers. Charging with the sun lowers your electricity bill by eliminating plug-in chargers. Balance your time and try to work from home sometimes. It lessens the amount of carbon footprint you create by traveling to work. Don’t just discard your old papers. Reuse and recycle them.

What other ideas do you have to practice a green lifestyle starting at home? Let us know all your ideas!

Many vegetarians will tell you that the number one way to save the Earth would be to stop eating meat because of the amount of cows that are on this planet. One of the biggest uses for ground beef is for hamburger meat. So, what would happen if we all decided to eat vegetarian burgers versus ground meat hamburgers? Well, I really cannot answer that question, but I will take the time to tell you some general facts to try to convince you of buying veggie burgers.

Vegetarian burgers are also known as garden burgers. As one could assume, veggie burgers are not made of meat.  They may be made from vegetables, legumes, nuts, dairy products, mushrooms, soy, wheat, eggs, or something else.  If you want to make your own veggie burgers, you definitely could add in so many other options, but these are just your typical ingredients.

Some people do not like veggie burgers because of the texture and taste. I personally enjoy the taste of vegetarian burgers more than like meat burgers, and they are also a lot healthier than meat burgers. A regular hamburger has about four to seven grams of saturated fat– compare that to the recommended daily limit of 15 to 25 grams! Most veggie burgers contain about zero to 1 gram of saturated fat.

Where did the veggie burger come from?  Some say that the veggie burger may have been created in London in 1982 by Gregory Sams, who called it the ‘VegeBurger’. Of course, now-a-days almost every restaurant that sells burgers also sells a vegetarian version of the meal. Even Burger King added Veggie Burgers to their BK menu back in 2005! Veggie burger patties can be found in stores and are just as easy, or perhaps even easier, to make as hamburgers. If you have not tried a vegetarian burger before, I would give I would give these patties at least one chance. You may find yourself supporting the environment, making the world a better place, and leading a healthier lifestyle.

Every time I see a pumpkin, I remember not Halloween but my grandmother. She used to grow her own veggie garden with lots of pumpkins in her backyard. She used to make pumpkin soup. Now that I’m living far from her, I wonder if I can grow my own veggie garden, too. Here’s what my granny told me:

1. Place your vegetable garden near a water source and with access to sunlight. Vegetable crops need a lot of water and sunlight everyday.
2. Plant only vegetables that you and your family like. My family likes pumpkin, okra, tomato and eggplant. All of these can be seen in my grandmother’s vegetable garden.
3. Fertilize your garden. If you want to use commercial fertilizer, always remember to follow the label instructions. My grandmother used organic fertilizer because according to her, her veggie crops thrive better with organic than commercial fertilizer…and most of all, she can save money when she uses organic fertilizer.
4. Choose the best location for your garden. If you have a spacious backyard, that is better. Make sure to put your garden away from a pathway, so that family members can’t accidentally step on the crops. If you have dogs at home, it is best to put a fence in your veggie garden to prevent dogs from getting into the garden and destroying the crops. My grandma’s dogs loved to dig and destroy her crops, so she put a fence in her garden.

With food prices getting expensive nowadays, having a vegetable garden can provide a family with fresh vegetables at no cost at all! And if you’re creative in the kitchen, you can make different kinds of vegetable dishes, too. My grandmother can make different dishes from those vegetables she had in her garden, and one of my favorite is her pumpkin soup.

Growing a vegetable garden is so much fun! Not only will it can keep you busy, but it is also rewarding to feel that you have grown your own crops. So, plant a garden today and enjoy this healthy, fun and rewarding activity!

]]> http://www.begreeninfo.com/grow-a-veggie-garden/feed/ 0 http://www.begreeninfo.com/grow-your-own-greens/ http://www.begreeninfo.com/grow-your-own-greens/#comments Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:05:37 +0000 Lisa Stauber http://www.begreeninfo.com/?p=36

Recently, Be Green Info brought you a story about locavores – consumers committed to eating locally grown food, in an effort to reduce carbon emissions from long distance trucking and the overpackaging that accompanies food from far away. Sometimes, though, there isn’t any local produce available, or farmer’s markets are held at inconvenient times and places.

What’s an environmental foodie to do? Forget about buying carbon credits – it’s easy to grow your own salad! Even an apartment dweller can plant a few greens in a container on a patio.

Lettuce and other greens are easy to grow and make a great fall weather crop.

You’ll need something to plant in – a container at least 6” deep. Make sure it has drainage, and then fill it with dirt – a mix of compost and peat works well. Scatter some seeds: lettuce blend, spinach, and kale are all great cool weather plants that can tolerate a brief frost.

Keep it watered, and put it in the sun and in a week or so, you’ll see sprouts. Spinach looks like grass when it comes up, so don’t mistake it for weeds! As the leaves mature, simply pick enough for dinner from the outer edges, leaving the plant to continue growing. Your garden will last longer if you don’t let the lettuce head. Lettuce and spinach will eventually bolt, meaning they stop producing leaves and start producing seeds, but you can delay this by constant gleaning.

If pests become a problem, they usually can be controlled by simple organic methods. The most effective is to simply handpick any worms or pests, and squash them. A soap spray, made by adding a few drops of organic soap (Dr. Bronner’s is often recommended) to a bottle of water, will keep bugs at bay. The soap makes the leaves taste bad to insects but won’t harm the plants at all.

Enjoy your cheap, earth friendly salad!

When cooking: Before you decide to throw out something, take a second look at it. Can it be recycled? Generally, if it’s labeled as a number 1 or 2 plastic, the item can be recycled. (Don’t forget to recycle all paper products as well.) Can it be reused? Perhaps a container that can’t be recycled could come in handy as a temporary container or mixing bowl for a different meal. Can it decompose? Leftover vegetables, bread crumbs, fruits, and other foods can be put in the compost. If you have a garden, but not a composting system, it might be time to invest in one. A composting system can help spare your landfill of needless waste, meanwhile it also will help build a soil-like material that can enrich your garden and make it more beautiful than ever.

Also, when using an oven, open your windows to let the hot air leave the house. Remember to turn your oven off as soon as you don’t need it anymore. Plan your baking so the oven is always in use while it’s on. Better yet, try to use recipes that don’t involve the oven at all!

Appliances/Lights: A dishwasher may seem like a waste of energy, but they are actually very efficient and tend to do a better job than simply washing by hand. A lot of water can be wasted if you continuously rinse and wash plates one by one. If you don’t have the room for a dishwasher, make sure you wash a good amount of plates/silverware at the same time. Especially while rinsing off that major residue, allow the entire load to use the water. If you do have a dishwasher, make sure to wash full loads. (Just like laundry!) If you’re ready to get a new major appliance, be sure to remember the Energy Star. Additionally, in a previously posted article, CFL Lighting, Pros and Cons, you can read all about compact fluorescent lights. I’m sure you’ve become familiar with these lights. Don’t forget to make them a part of your kitchen! As always, remember to turn those lights off when you’re not in the room.

Nothing says summer more than a barbecue! It is important that you be kind to the environment when you go outside to fire up the grill. Read on for some eco-friendly tips for your next barbecued feast!

-Charcoal briquettes give off plenty of carbon monoxide that is bad for the environment. Combine that with lighter fluid, and you are now affecting the ozone at ground level. Try lump coal instead. It is better for the environment but still gives you the smoky barbecue taste you love. Another option is hardwood charcoals. In this case, make use of an electric fire starter that you can bury as far into the coals as possible. One brand that contains no pollutants whatsoever is called “Wicked Good Charcoal”.

-If you must use charcoal, then buy lump brands that derive from sustainable managed forests or invasive tree species. Be aware that briquettes are choked full of coal dust and/or other types of additives such as binder.

-Stop using lighter fluid to start your barbecue. Instead switch to a chimney starter.

-Gas grills are more eco-friendly than charcoal grills because there are fewer fumes dispelled into the environment. You also might want to consider purchasing an electric grill.

-To be as eco-friendly and as green as you can be, buy a solar oven or stove so emissions stop being a problem altogether.

-If you must cook meat, choose lean meats and always trim the fat off of the meat before placing it on the barbecue. Barbecue organic, hormone-free meat (and preferably local) as well as fish. For added variety, grill a selection of fruits and vegetables.

-Veggie burgers are greener than hamburgers or hot dogs. Veggie burgers do not produce the same carcinogens as meat burgers, and they are better for the environment.

-Make your veggie burgers from scratch instead of buying them prepackaged. Make them out of soy, chick peas, black beans, lentils and other types of legumes.

-Better yet, grill veggie burgers in a sun oven. Barbecuing in this manner uses 10 times less energy, and it uses 100 times less water than cooking burgers made of meat.

-When you are choosing items for the picnic table, it is best to go with reusable dishware and silverware, as well as cloth napkins. Another excellent option if this one is not available to you is to use biodegradable or recycled-paper dinnerware, as well as recycled paper napkins and unbleached cups.

Organic foods are hot and trendy. They are the cream of the crop, pampered and babied from the grower to the table. Studies have indicated that organic produce is more nutritious, and this niche market has exploded as consumers try to avoid commercial pesticides and other chemical contaminants in their food.

There is a down side, however. Organic food is pricey. It costs more to grow food without chemicals, and farmers pass the increased cost on to their customers. What’s a health conscious greenie on a budget to do?

You don’t have to buy everything organic in order to eat healthier. Foods with thick peels that will be discarded, such as bananas, oranges, and watermelon, are less likely to contain pesticide residue.

Save money by buying organic only when it really counts. The most chemically contaminated crops, most likely to be subject to heavy spraying, include strawberries, peaches, spinach, potatoes, nectarines, grapes, and celery. Peel your fruit and vegetables when possible, buy organic when it’s not.

Know what you’re getting. Fruits and vegetables generally are marked with a four digit code, and foods that are organic will have a number that begins with 9. Watch out for foods with a code beginning with 8 – they’ve been genetically modified.

Read Labels. A food may be labeled “all natural” and “organic”, but that doesn’t mean it’s chemical free. High fructose corn syrup, and monosodium glutamate are examples of problem chemicals that could be hiding behind a “natural” label.

Do your research. Did you know the most pesticide contaminated “natural” food isn’t a plant – it’s non-organic butter? Browse natural foods websites online, or see if there is an email loop for organic eating in your city. Aim to learn one new thing per week, and you’ll be an expert in no time!

Knowledge is power, and a little know-how will go a long way towards stretching your budget!

There’s a new trend among environmentally conscious eaters: become a locavore. What’s a locavore? It’s someone who eats food grown within 100 miles of their home.

There are several advantages to eating locally. You’ll be supporting local agriculture and pumping money into the local economy. Your food will be fresher, and some studies have indicated that local, conventionally grown produce may contain more nutrients than organically grown food trucked in from far off lands.

Eating from nearby farms can reduce the number of trucks on the road and conserve energy in the form of packing and storing. Fresh eggs, for example, generally have more nutrients and are often cheaper than a dozen Styrofoam packed ones and don’t need to be kept in energy-hogging refrigerated open shelving at the grocery store.

You’ll cut down on your trash while reducing pollution.

How do you get started? Visit local farmer’s markets on weekends. Discover what foods are local specialties, and put them on the menu. Choose locally grown blueberries instead of bananas from South America, and eat turnip greens from a community garden instead of spinach from another state.

Some locavores pledge to eat food grown within 100 feet of their home, and plan big gardens. That may be extreme, but anyone can grow at least some of their own food. Tomatoes grow well in containers, even on apartment balconies, and the taste can’t be beat. Grow fresh herbs in a windowsill, or choose edible flowers such as nasturtiums and violets for your landscaping.

Extend your local eating plan throughout the year by learning to preserve summer’s bounty, and freeze or dry fruit for the winter.

Make just a few small changes, and you’ll be saving the earth while eating more nutritiously in no time!