Green Tips for March

1. Burning candles emit greenhouse gases! Most candles are made from paraffin wax, which is a byproduct of oil refining. Earth-friendly candles can be purchased or you can make it yourself with soy or beeswax! Here are some websites with instructions: EHow, and Care2.com.These candles are available try Bluecorn Naturals and PureLightCandles.com.

2. Recycle clothes. Buy clothing from stores such as Value Village, and Frenchy's! Re-use can be applied to clothes recycling too. Also - if you can find local vendors whose clothes have somehow been recycled buy there too.

3. Use green and/or recycled building supplies for home improvement. Try using natural paints, and sustainable products such as bamboo. When renovating instead of tossing unwanted cabinets, plumbing fixtures or lumber, donate it so others can re-use them. Cabinets can also be used for storage in other parts of the home!

4. Improve your indoor air quality. By having live plants and a well ventilated home, this can help better the air quality of your home.

5. Understand the impact of your travel choices. Airlines have a bigger carbon footprint than train or bus, so when you can, choose a bus or train over an airplane. Also, try and use public transportation while traveling, you'll get to see how local people live.

6. When traveling, buy local. Support the small, family-run restaurants, businesses and attractions, instead of national or international franchises. Not only will this help the local economy, but you will get to experience something you can't get anywhere but there!

7. Improve indoor office air quality. Buy-energy effieicnt HEPA air filters and open windows (if possible) to improve circulation. Buy non-toxic furniture to aviod off-gassing.

8. Curb the electrical use in your office. Switch off, or put copiers, printers and faxes in "sleep mode" when they're not being used. Encourage your organization to buy energy-efficient machines. Unplug any chargers when they are not in use.

9. Use 'GOOS' paper. Old documents, reports and junk mail that are printed on one side only is called GOOS paper (Good On One Side). Before recycling, see how much GOOS paper you can re-use.

10. Learn about Canadian R-2000 homes. These homes are certified and offer amazing efficiency using 30 to 40% less energy than a regular home! They are more costly up front, but you will save a lot of money in the long-run and the resale value will go up as well! Visit the NRCan's website and learn more about the benefits of these homes.

Green tips of the week- Jan 15

Here are some Green Tips for this week!

1. Host a clothing-swap. My sister and I do this a lot, as do my best friend and I. If you are sick of some of your clothes, go through your closet and put the ones you don't want anymore aside. Tell some of your friends to do the same, then get together and swap clothes! It's a great way to get new clothes (new-to-you) and be sustainable. Any leftovers can be donated to Big Brothers and Big Sisters!

2. Reduce your carbon footprint. There are many ways to reduce your carbon footprint - this includes using your car less or buying a more fuel efficient vehicle.  You can calculate your carbon footprint here: http://tiny.cc/49cd1

3.  Always carry reusable bags. This is one I really want to start working on, because Scott and I always forget our reusable bags at home! Some reusable bags fold up and fit in any size purse great. Invest in a few of those and you'll always have a bag on hand! Plastic bags can take from 50 to 1,000 years to decompose!!

4. Use biodegradable detergents for your laundry and dishes. Many chemicals used to make detergents "more powerful" cause damage to our Earth. By using biodegradable detergents we are helping out the Earth! It's also a good idea to use vinegar and water to clean the kitchen and bathroom. Vinegar acts as a cleaner for pipes, so not only will it clean those spaces but it will help clean your pipes also!

5. When printing documents - use recycled, non-bleached paper.  The number of trees cut down can be reduced and the chemicals used to making paper so white can also be reduced. Staples sells recycled paper, check it out: http://tiny.cc/qv7jj.

6. Buy local! For all of you who had Mrs. MacDonald for grade 12 geography can't you remember her telling us, "Local, local, local". She always tried to drill in our head how fantastic it was to buy local. Now I totally understand this reduces the shipping because it is not coming from far away! And we are able to support our local farmers.

Here are your tips for the week! Try them out and let me know how they're working out for you.