Garbage in its Place Written by Lillian & Dave Brummet Garbage in its Place (352 words) There is nothing worse than seeing garbage blowing down street of your neighborhood, or finding broken shards of glass at local swimming hole where children play. Wildlife is just as vulnerable to garbage and many have lost their lives after becoming tangled in waste or mistaking garbage for food. It is up to each of us to make an effort to minimize this unsightly, and sometimes hazardous, problem. Animals, wind and traffic breezes put legs to loose garbage and are able to distribute it great distances from original source. The first thing that we can do to prevent this is to ensure trashcan and dumpster lids are secure. Metal and plastic trashcans are more preventative than bags - leaving a bag out over night or even for several hours, is an enticing invitation for stray animals to wreak havoc. When taking a load to dump, be sure that it is securely covered by tightly tying a tarp over load with some rope or bungee cords. Carry plastic shopping bags on your walks to clean up litter that you find along way. Often, people are rewarded for their efforts by deposits returned from bottles and cans. Those who have noticed your efforts will begin taking up same habit once they realize impact it has. Energy Aware and Waste Wise Written by Lillian & Dave Brummet Energy Aware and Waste Wise (583 words) Constantly bombarded with negative information about environment, finances and natural resources? Feeling overwhelmed? Each and every one of us can do something to help our world - starting right where we are, right now. Though not everyone can afford to donate cash or time to a cause, there are endless tactics that will decrease an individual’s contribution to landfill and their resource consumption. Mirrors, placed strategically in a room can be used to make use of natural lighting more efficiently, and reduce energy use as well. When placed near indoor plants, mirrors act like a second window creating better growing conditions while giving illusion of increased space and greenery to ambiance of a room. When loading clothes dryer, fluff wet and tangled laundry before tossing into machine. This allows for immediate and more efficient use of dryer energy. Very hot settings (which can actually shrink clothing) can thus be avoided. Typically, heated air from a clothes dryer is pumped outside and wasted. Consider purchasing a dryer vent converter - available at most hardware stores. These are little boxes that divert heated air from dryer into house during cold and dry winter months – making better use of your energy dollar while saving a little on heating costs. Be warned that this air is moist, and this may not be appropriate in all situations. Homes with dry static air or wood heat would benefit from moisture, but buildings that already have a moisture problem (evident by mould and mildew or sweating and frosted windows) will only have their issues compounded by doing this. Instead of buying disposable dryer sheets for static control, consider using a liquid fabric softener with a reused rag or sock. Pour a Tablespoon of liquid on rag, roll it up and squeeze (to soak up all softener) and toss in dryer. Wash rag periodically by throwing it in with a normal load. Just imagine number of dryer sheets, packaging they came in, along with costs, energy and resources to produce them that can be avoided by this one simple act. Cont'd on page 2 ==>   ImproveHomeLife.com © 2005 Terms of Use