Unclutter Earth

Food Inc.

admin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:28:23 +0000

Have you had lunch yet? If you have, did you really know where your food was coming from? If you bought it at the grocery store, chances are you don’t know how it got there. And that’s the way the food corporations want it to stay. But if you want to find out what’s really going on in the food process today check out the video Food, Inc. that was released June 12, 2009. Hopefully you’re lucky enough to have it showing in a theatre near you but if not, at least preview the trailer at http://foodincmovie.com/index.php and spark your curiosity. You might just rethink your next meal…

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Lawnmowers Can Be Gas Hogs Too

Caylin — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:11:05 +0000

Think your car is the only gas hog in your garage? Not unless you have an electric or a push lawnmower. Lawnmowers use 800 million gallons of gas a year making them responsible for 5-10% of our smog pollution. Also, the EPA has estimated that we spill a collective 17 million gallons of gas while we’re trying to refill our lawn equipment every year. That’s more than the Exxon Valdez oil spill! Look into an inexpensive push mower and as added bonus burn some calories while you mow.

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Is Your Dry Cleaner a “Green Cleaner”

Caylin — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:50:35 +0000

Did you know that by drycleaning your clothes at a traditional drycleaner that you end up wearing the toxic cleaning chemical perchloroethylene? This chemical will most likely do little to your health but is a real hazard for the environment and the workers that are exposed to it. It can make workers sick and too often creeps into our water supply. Try finding “greencleaner” near you. the question to ask is if they are using a “carbon dioxide cleaning process”. The “Dry Cleaning Station” is one greencleaner in Pittsburgh and they have franchises all over the US http://www.drycleaningstation.com/.

Also always remeber to return your extra wire hangers and decline the plastic bag and try not to purchase dryclean only clothes – who wants to pay extra for the drycleaning anyway!

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Smart Thermostat Settings Save Money

Caylin — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:22:15 +0000

Buying EnergyStar approved appliances is a great way to be green – but not unless you use them correctly! According to the Honeywell, 70% of programmable thermostats are not used correctly. It has always been a debate whether maintaining a consistent temperature in your house or having it fluxuate throughout the day was more efficient. Better Homes and Gardens Magazine claims that adjusting by only 7 or 8 degrees makes a huge difference in your energy bill. There are thermostats like The Prestige that are easy to program yourself because it asks questions like: what time does the first person in your house usually wake up? When does the last person leave in the mornings? When does the first person return home? When does the last person go to sleep? But you don’t need to have a $200 dollar device to help you. Instead, save money by getting out your thermostats manual and asking yourself the same questions. This is a basic guideline for what temperatures to use throughout the day. The temperature when you are sleeping or out of the house should be about 7 or 8 degrees in the less comfortable direction :

SETTING:        TIME:       HEAT:                                            COOL:
wake                6am         70 or lower                                78 or higher
day                   8am          turn down at  least 8              turn up at least 7
evening           6pm         70 or lower                                 78 or higher
sleep               10pm        turn down at least 8              turn up at least 7

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Smart Power Strip | An Easy Energy Solution

Caylin — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:53:50 +0000

Even when they’re off, today’s electronics continue to draw electricity we pay for but don’t use. This revolutionary power strip prevents that waste. Plug your main device (computer, TV, etc.) into the primary outlet and its peripherals (printer/scanner or VCR/cable box, etc.) into the others. High-tech sensors know when you shut down the main device, and they cut off everything else. Saves up to 72% of the energy your systems use, eliminates 640 lbs. of CO2 per year and offers state-of-the-art surge protection. With 6′ cord, six no-idle outlets and three always-on outlets. 16″L x 6¼”W x 2″H.

Find them now at: http://www.gaiam.com/product/13-0062.do?SID=WG098SPRTAPEMACS&GCID=C18376x014&keyword=’13-0062

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Greening Your Battery Usage

Caylin — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 02:42:27 +0000

We use batteries often in our everyday lives. Think of how many batteries we have gone through in our life time. Hopefully you have been recycling yours to keep them our of landfills and heavy metals out of our water supplies. Communities are now required to have hazardous waste resources in place so check in with your local recyclers to see how to correctly dispose of them. To lessen the quantity of batteries you go through try using rechargeable batteries, they still don’t last forever but are a much better for your pocket and wallet. It is important to keep in mind that you may defeat the purpose if if you leave the charger plugged in 24/7. Plug them in to charge them and unplug the charger when it is not in use!
When they expire use Earth911’s recycling search to find a place near you: http://earth911.com/hazardous/single-use-batteries/ and also check out Battery Plus: http://www.batteriesplus.com/ which is a great resource for rechargeable batteries of all sorts.

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How to Buy Milk

Caylin — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:37:31 +0000

Are you trying to do your part by purchasing organic and local groceries? The best way to do both is to frequent your local farmers market. Even if a not all of the venders are certified organic they use better practices than industrial farmers just because they are smaller scale. They might even be organic but not certified because certifications are expensive. Some products are harder than others to find at your farmers market, milk for example.
Try drinking “raw milk” it is untreated which may seem scary but humans owned their own goats and cows, drinking their milk straight from the udder for centuries before industrial farming took over. Many people argue that skim milk, which has become the milk of choice by most American’s, has hardly any nutritional value because it has been so processed and watered down.
Many brands advertize themselves as organic and paint a pretty picture of free range cows that have “access” to acres of pasture but usually they are using sneaky wording to create a false image. Make sure that the extra money you’re spending to get the organic label is money well spent. The Cornucopia Institute created a rating of dairy producers: http://cornucopia.org/dairysurvey/FarmID_153.html and I was surprised to see that the top rated milk producer was in my own sate of Pennsylvania. Find out how the milk you’ve been drinking compares.
If you want to experiment with raw milk find a distributor near you: http://www.realmilk.com/where2.html and remember that it tastes great!

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Paper Retrievers

admin — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:37:13 +0000

We all know the wonders of recycling, and most of us can recycle our cans and bottles at the curb, but it can be inconvenient to recycle paper products. Paper Retrievers are becoming more popular across the United States, now in 19 major cities, and can usually be found locally at schools or churches. Use this link to find the one closest to you http://www.paperretriever.com/form/search_us.asp?ID=267. Recycling your paper here actually benefits the location you choose. If you get really inspired, you can offer to collect your neighbors too, you’ll be amazed at how much can be recycled! Don’t forget to double check the back of papers first to make sure they can’t be reprinted on!

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What is Unclutter Earth?

admin — Fri, 29 May 2009 03:11:52 +0000

This blog is dedicated to helping readers SIMPLIFY LIFE and discuss ways to get rid of the clutter in their lives in ECO-FRIENDLY ways. So many people want to learn more about being GREEN and that education will impact everyday decisions. Changing the way people think little by little- will bring change. Presenting ideas, resources and statistics will empower people to make better decisions.

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Hello world!

admin — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:59:06 +0000

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

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