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Eco-responsible lifestyle recommendations are the main topic of many publications and Internet sites created in the last years. Though being a realtor in Toronto gives me plenty of occasions to talk about the many ways of eco-friendly living with my clients, my topic today will be a bit more specific. My aim today is not to cover the whole area of environmentally conscious living, giving all the tips you’ve probably heard already. Instead, I would like to contemplate on groceries, water and electric current – as the three basic resources that we, who live in industrialized countries, tend to use without further thinking.

Food

As I believe that most people don’t just throw away paper, glass and metal waste but recycle it, the rest of your household rubbish will be mainly food. The majority of this food rubbish is often still in its original packaging and in a good state. The shocking reality is that between 20 and 30% of all food purchased by Canadian households is dumped eventually. Together with the food thrown out in stores and restaurants, it makes between 7 and 14 billion tonnes of food dumped annually. Speaking in money language, it means annual waste of $3 to 5 billion {in Canadian dollars).

Surprising, what we have just calculated, isn’t it? The main paradox is that we throw out so much food every day and at the same time so many philanthropic organizations are working hard, trying to help people who don’t have enough to eat. Whereas it wouldn’t be too smart to pack unused foods and send it to countries hit by famine, there are other ways to avoid food being thrown out uselessly. 1. Do you have any food left from yesterday? Try to incorporate it into today’s lunch. For instance you can stuff some peppers with some leftover rice. 2. A good way of preventing food going past the expiry date is arranging your food cabinet by this criteria: older food, that is going to expire soon, is placed in the front, while the longer lasting products can stay in the back of the shelves. 3. If you know you will not eat food that’s just about to expire and would consequently throw it out, just bring it to your local charity or soup kitchen or similar place while the food is still in good condition. If you cannot eat all the food you have purchased, there are enough people even in your community who will be grateful to consume it – hunger is not limited to Africa. 4. If you have some leftovers anyway, try mulching it instead of just dumping it. Maybe you will contradict that you don’t own a garden. But your neighbour might own one and may be able to help you to get rid of your leftovers.

Water

There are a lot of ways to avoid wasting water and you can probably name many of them yourself. One issue that occurs to me when thinking about sensible water usage is the way we manage human waste: toilets. Nowadays, toilets are absolutely fundamental – when they are functioning alright, we don’t even need to pay any attention to them. But do the math: find out how much water your family used in the last month through flushing. You might be astonished by the big number you get out of this. Now suppose you could reduce that by simply decreasing the amount of water your lavatory uses every time you flush. There are two different methods to achieve that. 1. There are new types of toilets available, that are using just the minimum volume of water necessary. You might think that there is not much to choose from when buying a new lavatory, but just stop by at your nearest store and see for yourself, you might be surprised! 2. If you insert a couple of plastic bottles full of water into the tank of your lavatory, it will help you to save some water for flushing too. It may take some time to find out just how much is the minimum volume of water for your lavatory to keep functioning.

Electric energy

Just like with water, many advices on electricity waste prevention are available only and elsewhere. But one of the machines that needs vast amounts of energy is one that you might be using daily: a tumble dryer. Nowadays, people are not used to waiting before they get something they want or need at the moment, and they sometimes need too much energy getting it, just because it will be done faster. It is quite obvious that in our current lifestyle, there is not enough time for washing our clothes manually, and that dishwashers do really save some water. Though the pluses of a tumble dryer might be less clear. Would it be such a great trouble if we just waited 1 – 2 days for our laundry to get dry? For people who are trying hard to make their lives less of an ecological burden, using a tumble dryer is acceptable only in emergency cases. Even a better decision is to get rid of the dryer at all, or sell it. Not only the nature will be grateful for your decision, but also you will pay less for electricity.

Tags: electricity, environment, Food, Green Living, Water

Establishing and using a home greenhouse is a great way to save money on food, follow a healthier and more nutritious diet, conserve on energy, and benefit the environment at the same time. But greenhouses don’t grow on trees – they have to be built. We don’t all have a professional builder in the family, and we don’t all have the budget to hire a specialist.

This is where greenhouse kits can be useful. If you aren’t looking for a fancy design but you need a simple and basic greenhouse for your home, this is a great way to get started without a huge investment of time or money.

Greenhouse kits vary widely in cost and design. A very simple and economical type of greenhouse can be found for under $40.00 or $50.00. This small greenhouse might consist of nothing more than a two-foot square tent of fabric where you can house a few plants and extend their growing season.

In this price-range, you can also find a basic enclosure for a greenhouse, which will provide a framework and support that can then be covered in the material of your choice.

Moving up the line, you can find larger set-ups for anywhere between $400 and $900, which would include either fabric or glass walls, and provide sufficient space for growing a full set of vegetables or other plants. Larger greenhouses, from 10 to 20 square feet in size, cost a few thousand dollars. But this may still be far simpler than building the entire structure from scratch.

Once you’ve found and purchased the greenhouse kit that’s right for you, you will need to assemble it yourself, just as you would with any other kit. But you will have step-by-step instructions, and all the parts you need, cut and sized to fit, and tested by the manufacturers.

While setting up a greenhouse requires an investment of time and money, you should be able to gradually recoup your investment, providing that you actually use your greenhouse. The amount of money that can be saved by growing one’s own food can be easily underestimated – particularly where large families are concerned.

Growing food inside a greenhouse is extroverting, fun, and educational. It can make it possible for you to grow your garden at all times of the year, instead of being limited to certain seasons. It can be very frustrating to go out and buy gardening equipment and seeds, only to get so busy with work that by the time you’re ready to work on your garden, it’s too late.

A greenhouse can give you the extra leeway you need, and make it possible to have fresh home-grown vegetables year-round. It might also make it possible for you to grow those plants which normally wouldn’t grow in your climate at all. Such as – who knows, jalapenos in Nebraska?

About the author: Megan Barlow helps others understand how they can live cleaner and more environmentally-friendly lives by using green living techniques. To find out more, visit her blogs on Building Green and Sustainable Life.

Original Article: Different Types of Greenhouse Kits

Tags: environment, Family, Food, Garden, green, Greenhouse, Greenhouse Kit, Home, vegetables

A lot of books, articles and web pages have already been published to display information on eco friendly lifestyle. Even though being a Toronto realtor gives me plenty of occasions to talk about the many ways of eco-friendly living with my clients, my topic today will be a bit more specific. My aim today is not to cover the whole topic of eco-friendly living, giving all the advice you’ve probably heard before. Today I would like to consider the three very common things which people from the developed countries usually take for granted: food, water and electricity.

Groceries

Suppose that the majority of people are used to recycling part of their litter – at least paper, glass and metal, then we can say that most of the remaining household garbage is comprised of groceries. The bulk of the food that we throw away is in most cases in perfect condition and in some cases even in the original wrapper or box. We can find out that out of all the groceries that Canadian households pick out and pay for in stores, 20 to 30% eventually ends up in the dustbin. If we include all the food that is dumped in stores and restaurants, we come to the conclusion that some 7 to 14 billion tons of food is thrown away every year. Speaking in money language, it means annual waste of $3 to 5 billion Shocking, what we have just calculated, isn’t it? The main paradox is that we throw away so much food every day and at the same time so many charity societies are working hard, trying to help people who don’t have enough to eat. Whereas it wouldn’t be too clever to pack unused groceries and send it to countries hit by famine, there are other ways to prevent food being thrown away in vain. 1. Try using leftovers. For example if you had some rice remaining from yesterday’s supper, you could have prepared stuffed peppers today. 2. In your food cabinet, always store food that’s closest to the expiry date in front of food that last longer. 3. It may happen that you know beforehand that there is some food you are not going to be able to eat before its expiration date. Instead of throwing it away, try to find a local charity or soup kitchen and bring your food there when it’s still serviceable. If you cannot use up all the food you have purchased, there are enough people even in your region who will be happy to eat it – hunger is not limited to Africa. 4. Have you thought about mulching the leftovers instead of wasting them? If you do not own a garden, find somebody who does. Food just doesn’t belong to dumping grounds.

Water

You probably already know many tips on how to prevent using more water than necessary in your home. But now let’s focus on lavatories, as they are an important part of our home and also may be of key importance in how much water is used in the household. We got used to using toilets so much that we no longer think of them – as long as they work the way the are supposed to. But try to calculate the amount of water your household uses every month just for flushing the toilet. You might be astonished by the big number you get out of this. But it doesn’t need to be that much, there are some methods of lowering the amount of water needed for every flushing. There are two different methods to achieve that. 1. Replace your old toilet by a new type that has been designed to use as little water as possible. Go and check out the assortment in your local shop, it is amazing how wide it is nowadays! 2. Another way of decreasing the amount of water for flushing is to place some plastic bottles filled with water into the tank of your toilet. You might have to keep trying a bit before you determine the right volume of water needed for the toilet to keep functioning fine.

Electric energy

You have probably already read many tips and tricks on how to save electric energy. What I personally regard as being the biggest electricity waster is the commonly used tumble dryer. Nowadays, people are not used to waiting before they get something they want or need at the moment, and they sometimes need too much energy getting it, just because it will be ready faster. Of course we no longer want or have the time to wash our clothing manually, and it is true that by using dishwashers we can waste less water. However, think about tumble dryers. Is it really socially impossible to wait a day or two for the laundry to dry? For people who are trying hard to make their lives less of an ecological liability, using a tumble dryer is acceptable only in urgent cases. Even a better solution is to get rid of the dryer at all, or sell it. Apart from the environment, you will save some money on your electricity bills as well.

Tags: electricity, environment, Food, Green Living, Water

Establishing and using a greenhouse for the home is a very good way to save money on food, follow a more nutritious diet, conserve on energy, and benefit the environment at the same time. But greenhouses don’t grow on trees – they have to be constructed. We don’t all have a trained builder in the family, and we don’t all have the budget to hire a specialist.

This is where greenhouse kits can be useful. If you aren’t looking for elaborate design but you need a basic and simple greenhouse for your home, this is a great way to get started without a large investment of money or time.

Greenhouse kits vary widely in their cost and their design. A very simple and economical type of greenhouse can be found for under $40.00 or $50.00. This small structure might consist of nothing more than a two-foot square fabric tent where one can house a few plants and give them a longer growing season.

In this price-range, you might also find a basic enclosure for a greenhouse, which will provide the framework and support that can then be covered in the material of your choice.

Moving up the line, you can find more serious setups for anywhere between $400 and $900, which would include either glass or fabric walls, and provide sufficient space to grow a full set of vegetables or other plants. Larege greenhouses, from 10 to 20 square feet in size, cost a few thousand dollars. But this may still be simpler than building the entire structure from scratch.

Once you’ve found and purchased a greenhouse kit, you will need to assemble it yourself, just as you would with any other kit. But you will have step-by-step instructions, and all the parts you need, sized to fit, and previously tested by the manufacturers.

While setting up a greenhouse requires an investment of money and time, you should be able to gradually recoup your investment, providing that you actually use your greenhouse. The amount of money that can be saved by growing one’s own food can be easily underestimated – particularly where large families are concerned.

Growing food inside a greenhouse is invigorating, fun, and educational. It can make it possible for you to grow your garden at all times of the year, instead of being limited to certain seasons. It can be very frustrating to go out and buy gardening equipment and seeds, only to get so busy with work that by the time you’re ready to work on your garden, it’s too late in the year.

A greenhouse can give you the extra leeway you need, and make it possible to have fresh home-grown vegetables year-round. It might also make it possible for you to grow those plants which normally wouldn’t grow in your region at all. Such as – who knows, chilli peppers in Nebraska?

About the author: Megan Barlow helps others understand how they can live cleaner and healthier lives with green living techniques. To find out more, please visit her blogs on Green Building and Sustainable Living.

Source Article: Information on Greenhouse Kits

Tags: environment, Family, Food, Garden, green, Greenhouse, Greenhouse Kit, Home, vegetables