Save Energy and Money in the Laundry Room

Your laundry room can really give the environment and your wallet a true beating. Here are some handy dandy tips to help you save a bundle in this area - not only reducing your impact on the environment but also cutting down your energy and your water bills. 

Try a few (or all of them out).

Washing:

• Wash full loads only, but don't "overload".  It takes about as much energy to wash a small load as it does to wash a full load.  Full loads also save water.
• Wash and rinse in cold water whenever possible.  Remember that energy is usd to "heat" the water as well as to run the washer.
• Follow detergent directions for your particular washer nd avoid oversudsing.  Oversudsing makes your washer work hader, so always easure detergent carefully instead of estimating the amount to use. 

• If you really want to go green might I suggest that you look into the benefits of using SOAPNUTS (are not nuts), but berries - they are a natural solution (which have been used for thousands of years).  You simply place 6-8 of these soap berries into a muslin bag and add the bag to your laundry load. Hypoallergenic, safe for everyone - can be used on even the dirtiest of loads.

Drying:-

• Obviously the BEST way to dry your clothes to save energy and lower your carbon footprint is to HANG dry clothes outside (sunshine is also a great way to brighten clothes and remove germs).
• However if you are using the dryer, dry similar thickness clothes together.  This avoids having to run additional cycles for slower drying items.
• Don't overdry your items - aside from wasting energy, overdrying can cause unecessary shrinkage and wrinkling.
• Dry consecutive loads - the energy usedto bring the dryer up to operating temperature shouldn't be allowed to go to waste.
• Remove items from the dryer as soon as tumbling stops.  If clothes become wrinkled from lying in the dryer, extra energy must be used to iron or re-dry them.
• Clean the lint filter after each load to maintain full airflow and mazimize drying efficiency.  A clogged filter slows drying and wastes energy.

Cable Bills - get rid of them once and for all

Over the past few months we have gone on a energy savings and cost savings drive.  One of the offenders in our home was the cable service, we had been paying in excess of $70 per month, just for the luxury of having a bunch of channels at our fingertips.  So it was $70+ per month, for the service, but then we had 3 cable boxes (all running power and vampire power) which of course increases our monthly electricity bill (and has a negative impact on the environment). 

By turning to services such as Hulu, and Netflix we have drastically cut down on our yearly (lets say approximately $1000) expenditure, without losing out on the entertainment of watching programs we all like.

Then we discovered Stream Direct if you have ever thought about having a shortcut to watch live play or matches in your home? Stream Direct enables you to watch live shows in your own home, eating popcorn or a lollipop, lying on the couch. All of this can come true as long as you have the software and your computer will receive the signals and your favorite show will be displayed on your computer/tv. You don’t need even need to worry about the installation. The only thing you need to consider is enjoying the show.
How do You to Make it Come True?

1. Download Stream Direct

Stream Direct will enable you to link to a large amount of channels, such as music play, TV shows, sport matches, and many other on-the-spot broadcastings. So the first thing you need to do is download the simple software and install it on your computer. It will only cost you a low one-time fee for downloading, far less than most of us are already spending EVERY month. And then this software will come into play. It will enable your computer to search and receive the streams. If you want to see your bills diminish, your lifestyle stay the same you need to check it out.. now... and say ....Goodbye Cable Bills ...

Fresh smelling Toilet Cleaner - DIY Recipe

The chemicals in toilet cleaners are among the worse -not only for you, but also for the environment.  Simple solutions apart from finding some non-toxic cleaners are to make your own. 


Vinegar is one staple item you should have in your home at all times - it is a POWERFUL cleaner, and also when sprayed on your kitchen benches helps detract those "pesty" ants (as they hate it). 

Here is a nice home made toilet cleaner that will leave your bathroom smelling fresh as a "daisy" or at least a lemon.

• 2 Tablespoons baking soda
• 2 Tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 Lemon

Mix the baking soda and vinegar together and scrub the toilet clean- Flush.  Then squeeze the juice from the lemon, add some directly to the bowl, and the remainder into the cistern at the top.
*Tip - to help remove the build up in your toilets - place 1/2 cup of vinegar into the bowl at night.  The vinegar will break down all of the bacteria.  This is also a great tip if you are going to be going away for a few days - leave some vinegar in each of your toilets while you are gone

Saving Tip of the Day

Let your dishes air dry.  A dishwasher uses more energy to dry dishes than to wash them.  If your dishwasher doesn't have an automatic air-dry switch, turn off the control knob after the final rinse and prop the door open to let moisture escape.

Use your dishwasher only for full loads.  Be sure it is full, but not overloaded when you turn it on.  Improper loading can result in poorly cleaned dishes which then need to be rewashed.

If you are in the market for a new dishwasher, look for energy saving features.

Check out this amazing FREE Assessment tool to find out areas of your home & lifestyle that you can change (without costing you a penny) to immediately start saving money and reducing your carbon footprint.  We were fascinated to discover that we could take 40 simple household actions which would save us over $1500 per year and thousands of pounds in reduced carbon outputs.  I challenge you to all try it out (the online questionaire is FREE and will only take you around 15 minutes to fill in - you are not required to put in any personal details).  Click on the image below to be directed to the website.