Trash Talk’s Best Tip Picks for 2005

Dave and Lillian Brummet, authors of the book Trash Talk, offer a free service called Tip of the Month where visitors can learn new reduction and reuse ideas that will save money for the household and office on their website (http://www.sunshinecable.com/~drumit). Listed below are the favorite Tip Picks of 2005.

May 2005
Cardboard works great for weed control in the yard or garden. Lay out the flattened cardboard first making sure to overlap it by at least six inches. If the weeds are very established or if your weeds are more like small shrubs, do a double or even triple layer to ensure nothing grows through. We found that it is best to wet the cardboard with a sprinkler to soften it before applying the top layer of bark mulch or gravel so the cardboard will settle in and smother all the weeds completely. In as little as one year the cardboard will have composted into a rich loamy soil while the weeds have been killed off by lack of sunlight and air. Simply top off the bark mulch periodically as it too breaks down over the years.

July 2005
Vinyl shower curtains reused make good drop cloths for painting projects. In the garden they can be used as row covers for tender spring plants (when a cold night threatens). Like costly landscape fabric use curtains to control weeds in garden beds. Cut an X at each plant location, plant, then close the X around the plant stem. Cover the entire sheet with rocks, gravel or bark mulch.

October 2005
Promote reading in your community, reduce clutter around your home and your contribution of waste in the landfill, save a buck or two and benefit a charity while you are at it. Just how are you supposed to do all this?
Management of used books and magazines is a very environmental and community conscious thing for people to participate in. Extending the life of books and magazines is easily accomplished by taping the binding and edges of the covers.
Go through your closets and bookshelves and look for all the used books and magazines that you no longer read. Any library, shelters for the disadvantaged, hospitals and missions are all places to consider for donating. Use the key words ‘book donation’ in a search engine to find places to donate to. Here are just a few sites:
http://www.betterworldbooks.com/
http://www.asiahousinternational.org
http://www.sabre.org/books/bookorg/bkdn_toc.htm
http://www.loc.gov/rrr/amed/afs/alc/bkdncte.html
http://www.ala.org – lists contact information for organizations that distribute used books.
http://www.nationalbook.org/bookdonations.html – lists places that accept book donations.

How to buy a green Fridge Freezer

Many items that we take for granted in the home have undergone major design changes in recent years. Our understanding of those changes has sometimes failed to keep pace. Take the humble fridge freezer, for example. How should you go about examining the features of the various models that are available.

To begin with, you need to understand the various features that are advertised by sales people in high street stores or described online. In the UK all fridge freezers are given an energy rating for starters but what do these ratings really mean?

Fridge freezers will probably be one of the largest users of energy in your home - possibly second only to your central heating. This may come as a surprise!

The reason why fridge freezers use so much energy is because they are switched on all the time - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Having an energy inefficient fridge freezer not only costs you money but also has an environmental impact.

Until the last 5 years or so many popular brands were extremely inefficient. The new energy ratings, however, aim to show the consumer how various machines compare. They also help to name and shame brands who do not take the environment seriously.

The ratings scheme grades every fridge freezer on the market, with an A++ rating being the most energy efficient rating available. The ratings scheme then moves down to A+, A, B and C (with C being the least environmentally friendly).

So, put simply, aim for an A++ or an A+ energy rating if you want to be kind to the environment, while also saving some money on your electricity bills.

How can you save money on your grocery bill?

Title: How can you save money on your grocery bill? Word Count: 421 Summary: An article showing you how to save 30% - 40% on your grocery bill. Keywords: working at home, health, products, wealth, networking marketing, save money, earn money, alternative, environment Article Body: I work part-time at a widely known drugstore. I wanted to do an experiment and I asked my manager for his help. We picked a week randomly from his log. We added up the sales from the cosmetic counter and the first register. That way we could get varied items including personal care, cleaning items and food. We took the totals from items that were only cleaning and personal care products. The average order turned out to be 25.00 for that week. Now I would like to address an issue I have heard from others that requested information about switching stores for better safer products but said they couldn’t spend $50-$60 a month. I know for a fact, ( I see the same people on the days I work) that these customers come in every week spending an average of $25 dollars a visit. Now if you changed your store and purchased similar items for 30%-40% off, you would be saving money. So let’s get the money facts. Say you spend 20.00 a week on average for personal care, cleaning products of all kinds and some nutritious snacks. This is being very frugal. 20.00 times 4 weeks is 80.00. Take that 80.00, put it aside and switch stores. Purchase only the items you need and you will have an extra $20-$25 at the end of the month. Now times that $20-$25 by 12 (a year) and you will be saving $240.00 - $300.00 a year. Wow that’s a good amount of money. Now wonder if you got paid to refer others like a restaurant or book. Say you refer 8 friends and family and you do this in a month. Now you are earning almost $500.00 for that month and saving an average of $270.00 a year. Add those two figures and you now have an extra $770.00. Let’s look at a bigger picture. Say you help 8 every month for a year. It’s 6,000.00 for helping others, then 13,200.00 in bonuses and 7600.00 in residual income equaling 26,800.00. That is not including others helping others. That could add another 26,800.00 making the total 53,600.00 in part-time work, not to mention a $400.00 car payment every month. So now you can see the advantage of residual income and the idea of saving money and helping others. It is very simple and easy. Email me and I can show you how you can start today. That's just the money side. I can show you how our everyday household products can help clean your home environment. I can show you how they can help you and your family have healthier lives. Email me for more information.

Fuel Economy And Personal Choices

Copyright 2006 Donovan Baldwin

I used to be an over-the-road, long haul truck driver.  For a while, I even owned and drove my own truck.  As an owner-operator, I became interested in fuel economy, and very aware of how personal choices can affect fuel economy and fuel costs.

I'm off the road now, although I still travel a great deal, mainly by car.  Like everyone else, I have listened to, and watched, news stories, discussions, and interviews on the present and future state of energy and energy sources.

As a business man and private citizen who travels extensively by car, both for business and pleasure, I am concerned about present costs and those which might be expected in the future.

Even more, however, I am becoming concerned about what might be my future, if I live long enough, and what will almost certainly be the energy future of my grandchildren, if not my children.  As a result of these concerns, I have begun to think more about the changes that I and others can make to alleviate some of the coming ecological and economic problems related to fuel.

Because of my experiences past and present, I have some thoughts on the subjects of travel, the operation of vehicles, and the modern driver.  I would like to make a couple of points, particularly as these subjects and fuel economy meet at the nexus of choice.

For years, I have watched drivers drive far in excess of the posted speeds or rational speeds for the conditions in which they found themselves.  I have witnessed several situations in which the driver created or arrived at a dangerous situation as a result of this need for speed and I have had several opportunities to view the sad results of these choices.  Many of these individuals will eventually either grow up or remove themselves from the gene pool.  In the meantime, they will continue to drive in this manner, and many will drive this way into old age.  I remember one long traffic jam in Utah that resulted from a driver's attempt to find out what his new Porsche "could do".  In the words of another truck driver on the scene, "It could kill him.  That's what it could do."

However, let's just talk about speed from the viewpoint of fuel economy.  I regularly see interviews with "the consumer" on TV.  Often these people are bemoaning the money they have to spend on fuel.  Daily, these people, or those just like them, blow down the road at high rates of speed when driving a few miles more slowly could result in appreciable real money savings, especially at today's fuel prices.  Many of these cars are hardly fuel efficient in the first place, and, when operating at such high speeds become super-gas-guzzlers!  Many of these people also rush up to stop signs and stop lights, maintaining their speed or accelerating until the last minute before treading heavily on the brake.  They seem to give no thought to the fact that accelerating to a place where you are going to have to stop is equivalent to throwing money out the window, not to mention simply wasting fuel and causing the next expensive brake job to arrive more quickly.  For many, the simple act of looking at what is happening ahead of them and removing their foot from the accelerator before arriving at a point where they HAVE TO STOP could result in savings in fuel and money.

There are many fuel efficient cars available, including a wide and growing range of hybrid cars, such as the Toyota Prius I recently bought.  But, there are a great many people who insist on purchasing gas-guzzling SUV's or so-called luxury vehicles, even when they are not needed!  I recently took a trip in my very comfortable Prius and averaged approximately 56 miles per gallon.  Interestingly enough, on the second day of my trip, I was passed by another Prius going about 70 miles per hour.  The owner had possibly bought a hybrid vehicle in hopes of saving money by improved fuel economy, but apparently chose not to change his or her driving habits (they went by too fast for me to see if it was a man or a woman driver) to get the maximum possible fuel economy.

I am sure that many SUV owners, as well as the rest of the public, wish they could save even a few cents on fuel.  Properly inflated tires can help do this as can properly maintained cars in general.  Every day, I see several cars with obvious low tires, and believe I can accurately assume that many drivers do not perform regular maintenance checks on their vehicles nor do they have regular oil changes done.

In an article I wrote about a year ago, I mentioned how a service station owner had pointed out to me years ago that his number of towing calls, tire sales, and vehicle repairs had increased since the advent of self-service gas stations and convenience stores.  Relatively few people then, and probably not so many today, performed the regular maintenance chores necessary for optimum vehicle life and efficiency, as well as fuel economy.

These are just a few choices each of us has almost every day.  Each is an opportunity to save money, lower personal expenses, and help, at least in some small way, to extend the dwindling resources available to all of us.  Accepting the responsibility to make these decisions and act on them as a mature and responsible individual is a way to reduce out-of-pocket fuel costs, as well as the depletion of a diminishing supply of petroleum for fuel and lubrication of our beloved vehicles.

Other choices we might make could include the use of synthetic lubricants, alternative fuels such as ethanol, particularly E85, or biodiesel.

Rather than simply demanding that the government should "do something", we should tell them what to do!  We can demand that they choose to help expand the development of renewable energy technology, synthetic petroleum substitutes, and alternative fuels while ending the appearance of collusion between government and oil interests.

Our choices, and those of business and government, will determine the future conditions of life on this planet, as well as the current condition of our personal finances.

How to buy a green Fridge Freezer

Many items that we take for granted in the home have undergone major design changes in recent years. Our understanding of those changes has sometimes failed to keep pace. Take the humble fridge freezer, for example. How should you go about examining the features of the various models that are available. To begin with, you need to understand the various features that are advertised by sales people in high street stores or described online. In the UK all fridge freezers are given an energy rating for starters but what do these ratings really mean? Fridge freezers will probably be one of the largest users of energy in your home - possibly second only to your central heating. This may come as a surprise! The reason why fridge freezers use so much energy is because they are switched on all the time - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Having an energy inefficient fridge freezer not only costs you money but also has an environmental impact. Until the last 5 years or so many popular brands were extremely inefficient. The new energy ratings, however, aim to show the consumer how various machines compare. They also help to name and shame brands who do not take the environment seriously. The ratings scheme grades every fridge freezer on the market, with an A++ rating being the most energy efficient rating available. The ratings scheme then moves down to A+, A, B and C (with C being the least environmentally friendly). So, put simply, aim for an A++ or an A+ energy rating if you want to be kind to the environment, while also saving some money on your electricity bills.

Holiday Decorating Ideas And The Environment

Title: Holiday Decorating Ideas And The Environment Word Count: 317 Summary: Have you thought about how your holiday decorating affects the environment? What can you do about your holiday decorating to improve your happiness and at the same time be kind to the environment? The good news, taking action to decorate your home and office for the holidays, while keeping respect for the environment, makes your workload easier. Conquer holiday stress with simplicity. Keep your decorations to a minimum. Simple holiday decorating makes your life easier t... Keywords: holiday decorating ideas,holiday decorating,holiday stress,environment,environmental psychology Article Body: Have you thought about how your holiday decorating affects the environment? What can you do about your holiday decorating to improve your happiness and at the same time be kind to the environment? The good news, taking action to decorate your home and office for the holidays, while keeping respect for the environment, makes your workload easier. Conquer holiday stress with simplicity. Keep your decorations to a minimum. Simple holiday decorating makes your life easier to manage. Simple decorating doesn't mean no impact. You can use Environmental Psychology strategies to achieve a stunning display with less work. At the same time, you can save money on new holiday decorations. Eignt Environmental Psychology Holiday Decorating Tips 1. Too many small items in a small space tire the eye and overload the brain. Don't go over the top with holiday decorations. Don't spend your money foolishly on a lot of cluttering ornamentation. 2. Choose a few large holiday decorations to make a bold statement. Bright and deep colors take up more visual space. 3. Make a gorgeous framed note on parchment that says: "We love the earth and choose to celebrate with nature." 4. Work with the holiday decorations you already have. Renew tired ornaments with non-toxic craft paint. 5. Decorate with consumable food, like nuts, fresh fruit, and cookies. 6. Decorate with Mother Nature. Cuttings of evergreens bring respite to tired eyes and fresh aroma to enclosed stale air. 7. Increase your office productivity and business prosperity. When people feel happy, they accomplish more. Take a tip from music therapy expert Enicia Fisher: Play easily-recognized soft music without voices. This encourages signing or humming to oneself to fill in the lyrics. 8. Instead of hanging lights all over your home, concentrate on the front entry to attract the eye and make all feel welcome. Defeat holiday stress this year. Use holiday decorating ideas that protect the environment and yourself. Happy Holidays! © Jeanette Fisher

Foreclosures Caused by Rising Energy Costs

Almost daily, you hear news reports about the increasing numbers of homes in foreclosure.  What you don't hear reported is how increasing energy costs are so often the cause of this devastating problem.

Are you losing your home because your can't afford to pay your energy bills and your mortgage? If you aren't facing foreclosure can you afford temperature settings that keep you feeling comfortable inside your home?

During the recent U.S. housing boom, builders completed homes quickly. Interest rates were low and investors eager to cash in on high returns on investments.   Unless you were knowledgeable about energy-efficient home features and made sure they were included during construction, chances are your new home wastes a lot of energy.  It's also likely you don't feel comfortable in your home due to uneven room temperatures, drafts, cold floors, etc.

There was a time when home air conditioning was a luxury.  Now it seems more like a necessity. Average temperatures in North America have risen over the last 20 years, remaining high for longer periods and forcing people to turn on air conditioners powered by electricity to survive excessive exposure to heat. 

Rate caps that once held down electricity costs are ending countrywide.  Maryland residents recently experienced the shock of a 70% electric rate increase. Pennsylvania residents will receive the first of several rate increases starting in 2008.

The mortgage industry facing huge losses from foreclosures is working with homeowners to reduce monthly mortgage costs.  A reduction in mortgage costs may help, but this is only a temporary solution.  Moving to another home, unless it is energy efficient will not solve the problem.

The best solution is to implement energy saving features in your home as quickly as possible. This will not only be good for you financially, it will also be good for the planet.

©Siti Crook, 2007

Extend the Life of Books and Magazines

Promote reading in your community, reduce clutter around your home and your contribution of waste to the landfill, save a buck and benefit a charity while you are at it. Just how are you supposed to do all this? Well, it is actually quite simple. Go through your closets and bookshelves and look for all the used books and magazines that you no longer read. Families that have moved repeatedly know the curse of hoarding is best avoided if at all possible. Moving literally hundreds of pounds of them certainly prompted us to systematically read our books once each and then decide whether it was a "keeper" or not. Management of used books and magazines is a very environmental and community conscious thing for people to participate in. Extending the life of books and magazines is easily accomplished by taping the binding and edges of the covers. This repairs any damages, prevents wear and tear, and increases the value because it is nicer looking. There are many options for you to consider for used books and magazines: * Donating to any library is a good idea. Even well read publications are appreciated. If they do not make it to the library bookshelf, they will be sold in their annual fundraising book sale. There are many kinds of libraries to consider aside from public ones - including church libraries, retirement home libraries, coffee shops and mobile libraries. * Consider participating in Book Crossing (www.bookcrossing.com) - a charming way to encourage reading and create a connection with the community. This program requests that people register their used book, place an informative label on it and leave it at a common destination place (i.e. bus stop). Individuals that pick up the book visit the website and describe where they found it and where they decided to leave it for the next person to read. It can be quite interesting to see how far the book travels! * Operation Paperback (www.operationpaperback.org) accepts donated reading material for the military. * Trading in at the used bookstore is one of our favorite past-times. It feels good to support a local store that focuses on 'reuse'. The trouble is our shelf is filled once again when we return with bundles of 'new' books to read! * Get involved in exchange loops with friends, family or co-workers. By doing this, we have found ourselves exposed to all sorts of subjects and writing styles that we may not have picked up ourselves. * Using the Key Words "Book Swap" in a search engine reveals many places online where one can trade used books, including: - www.paperbackswap.com - www.titletrader.com - www.frugalreader.com - www.bookswap.com * Leave a box of books near your door for guests to riffle through and have their pick. This way you don’t have to remember to trot out the box when people are visiting. * Donate to any fund raising event held by schools, churches or non-profit groups. * Sell, or give away in a garage sale. We always offer free stuff when we have a garage sale. One day we set out a box of magazines, thinking we would be lucky to see half of them off. One of the first bargain hunters happily scooped up the entire box. She couldn’t believe her luck. * Many waiting rooms (doctor, lawyer, accountant and banking offices) and staff lunchrooms accept donated reading materials. * Consider hospitals - their patients have to do something healthier than staring at a TV. * A Local Literacy program. * Coffee shops are another great place to try. * Shelters for the poor or disadvantaged, Women's shelters and missions are other places to consider for your donations. There are a number of less-privileged areas (i.e. Africa) that are hungry for our used school and university books in particular. In keeping with this topic, using the key words ‘book donation’ in a search engine turns up pages of places to donate to. Here are a few of the sites: - www.asiahousinternational.org - www.sabre.org/books/bookorg/bkdn_toc.htm - www.loc.gov/rrr/amed/afs/alc/bkdncte.html - www.ala.org – lists contact information for organizations that distribute used books. - www.nationalbook.org/bookdonations.html – lists places that accept book donations

Things to Check for Pest Control

As far as possible, this article will focus on pest control tips that would help keep away as much pests as you can. Some of the advises given here will deal on specific pests but some may partly concentrate on the general guidelines. Food storage Disinfection of food items is required by the food authorities to limit the possibility of strayed insects thriving in goods like dog food, flour, and other grains. A good rule of thumb to prevent them from infecting your food in case they happened to be found on some is to completely seal them in air tight containers. This will not only lessen the exposure of food items but may also stop mice from contaminating them. Moisture It is a known fact that all living things need water to survive. This does not exclude rodents, spiders and all insects. For carpenter ants, they never live on extremely dry woods. They will look for materials that were currently damped or a site near to water pies where they may create their nests. Termites generally feed on hard dry wood but they need enough moisture and will most likely set their nests where sources of water are sufficient. Spiders feast on termites and other pests. Though they can practically wander and search for water as often as they want, they still have to live near the food source. And so they are most often sited near moist place where most insects thrive. With these, it is vital to inspect your home an fix it from any leaks. Repairs may be expensive but may prove worth the initial effort rather than expending on more thorough home repairs. Entry Points As already stressed out, inspecting your home is vital in pest control. It will not take big holes in order for pests to penetrate your home. Insects are rather small and they can easily gain entrance from tiny holes. Mice on the other are great escape artists and they would only require a quarter of an inch-sized hole to enter your house. Your house will have a host of entry holes and so you better check on them, inspect your cable lines, telephone lines, garage and especially the attic. Holes in these areas are often forgotten or taken for granted. This is now the best time to see them if you want to gain sufficient control over your notorious pests. Lightning and Screening Any house lights will attract insects and will commonly invite them into your own home. This in turn will lure spiders who will feed on them. Even though you have enough screening, chances are they may still penetrate your home. To get around with this problem, you may use yellow bulbs or any non-insect attracting lights and assure to it that your doors are always closed. All doors and windows and any large entry points must be provided with mesh screens. These should always be kept on their optimum state. If any holes are spotted, it is wise to repair them accordingly to prevent pests from entering your house. Aside from these things, other issues must also be addressed in the quickest possible time for two reasons. One is to prevent insects from entering your home and two to keep them from multiplying right inside your own territory.