How often Should I Clean That?

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How often Should I Clean That?

Guest post by Kat Buckley

Some of the basic household tasks we will generally get done but other places in the home can go months or even years without being cleaned. This infographic from HappyCleans looks at how often you need to get all the different items around the house cleaned. For example, the fan vents are one area of the house that rarely get cleaned. The problem is that if they’re left too long dust, pollen, and other allergens will end up clogging them, and in some cases, can cause particles to be released into your home from supply registers.

If you have ceiling fans, they are another area of the home that can get really dusty and these can be quickly dusted with a pillowcase. Of course, if they’re high up you need to be extremely careful not to injure yourself. Using a duster with a long handle that is made for such hard-to-reach areas is usually the best way to tackle the problem.

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Addressing the Global Water Inequality Crisis – Infographic

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Addressing the Global Water Inequality Crisis – Infographic

Guest post by Tom Murphy

In a planet that’s 70% water, you’d be forgiven for thinking that there was more than enough of this precious resource to comfortably sustain its population. However, when you think through how much of this water is fit for human consumption, you realize that maybe there isn’t a whole lot to go around for more than 7 billion inhabitants. In the Western world, water scarcity certainly isn’t a problem for most (with some exceptions in pockets of the US, the EU, and Australia ), but delve deeper into impoverished Third World/Global South nations and it will soon dawn on you just how shocking the disparity of water availability is on this planet.

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Room to Grow: 8 things you need to do to make your container garden thrive this summer

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Room to Grow: 8 things you need to do to make your container garden thrive this summer

Updated August 7, 2023

Whether you have already begun your container gardening adventure or are just getting started, you’ve probably realized that container gardening presents many advantages over traditional in-ground gardening. Aside from being a great way to grow some of your own food in small spaces, as a container gardener you can exert more control over a number of variables that can sabotage an in-ground garden, like weather, pests, and soil quality. I covered these and other matters in last month’s post on container gardening. This post addresses some of the practical matters involved in not only starting your container garden, but helping it to thrive. Here are 8 things you should be doing to keep your container garden healthy, happy, and productive well into the fall season.

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Installing and Maintaining a Japanese Zen Garden in Your Backyard

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Installing and Maintaining a Japanese Zen Garden in Your Backyard

guest post by Craig Scott

Zen gardens were originally created by Buddhist monks as a place for meditation and contemplation. In earlier times, they became known as a space for the ruling elite in Japan – a place where they could find calm and peace while the country was in the midst of war or strife. But with the passing of time, Zen gardens became associated with a way of life deeply rooted in Japanese culture.

A traditional Zen garden is a miniature landscape of mountains and water. It is created using artistry infused with tranquility that can inspire a homeowner as well as visitors seeking peace and comfort in their lives. Installing and maintaining a Japanese Zen garden in your garden will not only add beauty to your premises, but will also add value to your house. Here are the steps you should take in building this type of garden in your home.

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Eco-Labels Around the World (Interactive Infographic]

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Eco-Labels Around the World (Interactive Infographic]

Guest post and infographic by Customlabels.net

Nowadays, people are more aware of the impact their purchasing decisions can have on the environment. In order to reduce their ecological footprint and negative impact on the natural world, a growing number of consumers have decided to buy products that will do less harm to the environment. They avoid buying bottled water, use their own grocery bags and choose eco-friendly products as much as possible.

Today, various products can have an “eco-friendly” or “green” inscription on their packages, but sometimes these statements can be false. So if you want to be sure that you are buying a product that is produced with a more controlled, less detrimental impact on nature, you should look for eco-labels on its packaging.

Eco-labels are certificates that mean that higher standards of environmental protection are upheld during all stages of the product's life cycle. Eco-labels are often mixed up with environmental labels, but they are actually a subgroup of environmental labels.

Check out the infographic below to learn more about eco-labels. It will give you an interactive overview of their meanings, managing organizations, and the industries they apply to.

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Short on outdoor space? Why you should try container gardening

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Short on outdoor space? Why you should try container gardening

Spring is here! For some of us, spring is finally here. Although the crazy weather patterns we’ve been experiencing in the mid-Atlantic region where I live have left many of us anxious to go out and dig around in the dirt, others may only be thinking about making this the year they grow some of their own food (or the year they grow more of their own food). If you’re ready to stop thinking about it and start doing but are challenged for space (maybe you live in an apartment of condo, or maybe you have a tiny yard, or your yard doubles as your dog’s bathroom), this post is for you. Maybe you have a healthy growing operation in place already but are starting to suffer from back problems because of all the bending involved in maintaining your garden. If so, this post is for you, too. Or maybe you’re just interested in trying something new or adding new elements to your garden. This post is for you, too.

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Why Are Today’s Homes Still Unhealthy?

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Why Are Today’s Homes Still Unhealthy?

Guest post by Will Sandford

Do you think your home offers a clean and healthy living environment? If you answered yes, you are thinking like the majority of people. However, unfortunately, you are wrong. Even in 2018, many houses and apartments are unfit for living, and we will explain why. So, let’s begin.

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Can you really go green when buying new electronics?

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Can you really go green when buying new electronics?

Guest post by Zack Gallinger/Revolution

I’m going to level with you. If you’re buying brand new electronics, which is a necessity in our day and age, it’s almost impossible to really go green.

Electronics are complicated items, containing thousands of different components constructed of hundreds of different elements. They are literally the most complicated stuff we know how to build and are also inherently difficult to recycle. So how can we do our best to keep it green? How can we minimize our impact and be good stewards of this Earth while still having the newest, fastest, highest resolution and most powerful handheld device ever conceived?

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Decluttering for your home and health - made easy

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Decluttering for your home and health - made easy

Blog post by Green and Prosperous, with infographic by EZ Living Interiors

Did you know that there are a lot more benefits to decluttering your home than just aesthetics?

Spring has officially been here since March 20th, even if the weather may not be cooperating where you live. Whether you’re still waiting for the winter thaw or enjoying the sunny days, you can do your part to usher in the spring by decluttering your home. Spring cleaning and decluttering has a long and storied history, but the 21st century benefits to this ancient ritual are many. In short, spring cleaning is good not only for the aesthetic improvement it brings to your living space; it also has several mental and physical health benefits. Our ancestors were well aware of this fact.

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Here’s Why You Should Recycle These Electronics (and How)

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Here’s Why You Should Recycle These Electronics (and How)

guest post by Tiffany Jersey

When you think about your smart phone or tablet, or even the batteries that you use in your remote, do you think about much more than their capabilities? Probably not: you’re mostly worrying about the Wi-Fi connection speed you have or the apps you want to download, or even just how long the batteries will power your remote.

But what goes in to all that tech is important because of what happens to it after you’re done using it. The U.S. is the biggest contributor to electronic waste on the planet, and we’re churning it out at an ever-increasing rate of about 8 percent more each year. When we don’t recycle that e-waste, we’re doing more than just building up landfills (although that’s important to consider). We’re also pushing small amounts of dangerous metals back into the soil and water, where they can eventually contaminate what we consume. What can and should we do about it? The suggestions in this graphic can help.

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Beyond the Hype: The Science behind developing healthy eating habits

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Beyond the Hype: The Science behind developing healthy eating habits

Americans’ thinking about food has shifted dramatically over the past 2 decades. With major changes to the food industry (think the introduction of GMOs, the mainstreaming of organic foods, the popularity of celebrity chefs, and the growing number of documentaries about our eating habits – e.g. “Super Size Me”, and the problems with the industrial food complex), a growing number of people now think that eating healthy is important.

However, although many of us want to eat healthy, or think that we are eating healthy, the evidence says otherwise. In fact, most Americans do not get the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables and consume waaaay more sugar and saturated fats than they should...

What if you’ve been trying to eat healthier but can’t seem to break your unhealthy food habits? What if you eat pretty healthy already but want to make some small improvements to your diet? What if you know someone who has a very unhealthy diet and wants to improve his or her eating habits?

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How to Turn your Car into an Eco-Friendly Vehicle

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How to Turn your Car into an Eco-Friendly Vehicle

Guest post by Adam Fuller

Air pollution is one of the major factors that affects the spread of global warming. Certain inventions can help lessen the effect of harmful gases into our atmosphere, and one prominent innovation that has been contributing positively to reducing the burden on our the ecosystem is an eco-friendly vehicle. Over the years, and after consulting numerous studies about the best solutions for reducing harmful vehicle emissions, car manufacturers have offered one of the most effective ways to reduce vehicles’ hazardous impacts to the environment: manufacture and sell more hybrid and electric cars. While it is arguably one of the best solutions to reducing vehicle emissions, it is an undeniably expensive option, and thus ultimately not for everyone.

Even if you can’t afford to purchase a hybrid or electric car, there are things you can do to help reduce the impact of harmful emissions from your current vehicle.

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The Case for Conservation-Friendly Construction

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The Case for Conservation-Friendly Construction

Guest post by Roof Stores

With the population ever-growing, the construction of residential and commercial properties is encroaching more and more into wildlife habitats, affecting how animals are able to live. The expansion of urban areas is leading to 1 in 10 UK wildlife species facing extinction, and this is something that we have a responsibility to try and change.

An important focus is being placed on solutions to allow us to continue to construct and build infrastructure, whilst also allowing us to peacefully coexist with the surrounding animal species and cause as little harm as possible to their natural habitats; this shift in focus is leading to the term ‘conservation-friendly construction’.

Not only is the construction of houses changing, specific elements within buildings are being developed to further help animals. Very specific innovations, such as changing the glass in windows to a different reflective nature so that birds don’t confuse them with flying into foliage or clear sky, are becoming more advanced. This is a simple addition to any home, one which shows that conservation-friendly construction doesn’t need to take over the whole house. Instead, small touches like these can make a difference to the welfare of wildlife.

Take a look at the infographic by Roof Stores below to get a better sense of existing issues and see how conservation-friendly construction can remedy them.

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Servicing and Upkeep of Solar Panels – Solar Power Services

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Servicing and Upkeep of Solar Panels – Solar Power Services

guest post by Sara Oliver

Solar panels are by nature designed to withstand everything that nature can throw at them and are therefore low maintenance items. That’s the point – low maintenance, not no maintenance. Anything, no matter how well engineered, must take account of Mother Nature.                         

The cleaning of solar panels is very important to the output of your solar system. Think of a clean car windscreen versus a windscreen that has not been cleaned in 6 months.

Dust build-up during the summer months can result in 5-10% loss of your entire solar energy system. It is recommended that you have your modules expertly cleaned, using only the right materials to ensure system optimisation.

There are a few obvious things that you can pay attention to ensure the most efficient output of your system.

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