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6 Simple Ways To Make Your Home Eco-Friendly

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Many people are trying to be more environmentally conscious these days in every aspect of their lives- including their home. Turning your house into an eco-friendly oasis is easier than you think, there’s no need to build a new home. There’s many small, simple ways to make your home more efficient, and improve the environment.

Use Friendly Paint

If you’re rebuilding or renovating, consider purchasing paint that’s low in VOCs (volatile organic compounds) which are compounds high in toxicity that can cause air pollution and even cancer to those who breathe it in. VOCs are unstable compounds that vaporize into the air still seep out even years after painting. Paint the second largest VOC contributor into the atmosphere, second only to vehicles. Choosing a paint that is low in these compounds will help reduce your carbon footprint, and could save your health! Regular exposure to paint emitting these vapors has been linked to many different cancers.

Try Composting

Altering your lifestyle to include a compost pile is a simple way to help out the environment. Putting all organic food scraps, such as banana peels and eggshells, into a bin and then using the resulting compost on your yard will not only improve your land, but the environment by reducing waste that is sent to landfills. Many cities have a composting service that will pick up your compost if you don’t have an area to use it in.

Install Solar Panels

Solar panels will reduce your electric bill by providing clean, natural energy to your home. Solar water tanks are also out there, to replace water heaters. Harnessing solar energy reduces the need for non-renewable fossil fuels that we currently use to produce most of our energy. Solar panels may be pricey to first install, but the change in electric bills will make up for initial costs.

Use Low-Wattage Light Bulbs

A really simple way to improve the eco-friendliness of your home is to switch out basic light bulbs with low-wattage, energy efficient ones. It’ll not only save you energy costs, but they last longer than traditional bulbs as well. This is one of the simplest ways to reduce your carbon footprint.

Find Low-Flow Alternatives

Another fairly simple step to making an environmentally friendly home is to invest in low-flow toilets and showers. These do the same job as regular appliances, but use less water- protecting the environment and saving you money.

Clean Green

Eco-friendly cleaning supplies are important to protecting the environment and yourself from toxins. Most eco-friendly cleaners contain grain alcohol, coconut oil, or other plant oils instead of toxic chemicals that you shouldn’t be ingesting and that shouldn’t be released into the air. You can also make a change by making your own cleaning products using simple ingredients around the home like soap, water, baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, and borax to save money and go green.

It’s not hard to take these steps to improve our environment. So, take a trip to the hardware store and get started on making your home and eco-friendly oasis today.

Fahreed Tulbah is the owner of Caden Roofing, a professional roofing company in Austin, Texas that prides themselves on having competent, experienced workers that provide top-quality roofs made with inspected materials for both residential and business buildings.






Tips For Composting On A Balcony

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Many people are starting to move away from using artificial fertilizers to fuel their garden. They’ve realized that they can fertilize their gardens much more cheaply by making their own compost. Homemade compost also has far more nutrients than the fertilizers normally sold at home improvement stores.

At the same time, many people have faced some challenges when making compost on their own. They have found that it is often spoiled by bugs and other vermin. Heavy rains can also ruin the quality of your compost. Fortunately, there are ways to eliminate these risks while composting: consider creating compost on one of your balconies.

Why Compost on a Balcony?

Many gardeners have started to use their balconies as a place to create compost. Many of these people live in urban areas and don’t have access to a garden to make compost in. You need to be more resourceful when you are trying to garden in the city and your balcony can be one of the best places to do it.

There are a couple of other benefits to using your balcony for composting. For example, you won’t need to worry about animals and other vermin getting into your compost pile.

What Do You Need?

You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment to start composting. You can get started with the following:

  • You will need something to hold onto the waste you intend to compost with. A medium-sized garbage can will do. You will be keeping it on your balcony so a stationary bin will serve best.
  • You will need a large bin for your kitchen that you will throw your waste in before moving it to your compost bin. You will need to make sure there are some holes to keep your compost pile from retaining water and provide proper ventilation.
  • You will need some soil, but it doesn’t have to be the same quality that you normally use for plants.
  • You need worms to facilitate the composting process. You would have plenty of worms available if you were storing your compost in a garden. However, you won’t have that option when you are doing your composting on a balcony. You will need to buy a handful of worms to add to the bin. Red worms tend to work best.

What Do You Put in Your Compost?

You will be collecting organic waste and storing it in your compost bin. There are a number of different things that you can use to generate your compost, but it can include:

  • Leaves
  • Egg shells
  • Coffee grounds
  • Vegetables and fruits you didn’t eat
  • Shredded newspapers
  • Grass clippings
  • Animal waste

There are many different composting strategies you can try. Some people create specific mixtures to ensure their compost gets all the necessary nutrients. In general, you will probably want to alternate between layers of plant material and soil to ensure your compost ferments evenly. You can try a number of different strategies, but the important thing is to get started.

You will need to be a little more careful when you are composting from a balcony. Compost can give off some unpleasant odors or risk drawing bugs to your home if you don’t do it properly. You may want to reduce the odors and risk of drawing critters to your house by mixing similar levels of kitchen waste with leaves and grass clippings.

Start Your Composting Today

Your balcony can be a great place to create your own compost pile when you don’t have a garden available. You may have to wait a few weeks or even a couple of months before your compost is ready to use. However, you should have some high quality fertilizer to add to your plants after it has finished.

About the Author: Kalen is a consumer advice columnist who writes about green living for http://www.stockpkg.com/.

Backyard Composting Tips

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There are many benefits to composting your household wastes like kitchen scraps, leaves, grass clippings and so on. One of the main benefits is that you can use the compost that you’ve created on your own garden or perhaps your lawn if you don’t have a garden.

Our plants and trees can gain much needed nutrients when we amend the soil around them with compost.

Here in Toronto we have what is called “Green Garbage”. Those who don’t compost can add their kitchen scraps and a few other materials to their green bins for collection each week. The city then combines this green waste with shredded, and I presume composted yard waste (leaves and plant trimmings and such), and gives it back to the residents of Toronto each Spring on certain days. Residents can pick up compost for their garden at special depots set up in various communities on specific days.

We usually try to pick up a large garbage can worth of the cities compost each spring, but we don’t rely on it as we have our own composter in our backyard.

If you’d like to learn how to set up your own composter why don’t you have a look at these videos.

Backyard Composting

Learn the basics of garden composting. Create some great nutrient rich compost for your garden from scraps and yard waste. Improve your soil the organic way.

Garden Girl TV: Simple Easy Compost Bin

Patti, the Garden Girl, shows you a simple and easy way to make a compost bin for your organic lawn or garden.

So if you haven’t already done so, go ahead and start your own backyard compost bin. Your plants will show you how much they enjoy having their soil amended with compost and your kitchen garbage won’t be as smelly!

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