Draw the Curtains!

My One Green Thing Today: Drawing curtains and shades when it's hot or cold instead of turning on fans, air conditioners or heat. In pre-spring changeable weather, energy-saving flexibility.

For more tips on window treatments, see the U.S. DOE web page here.

What to look for in "green" housecleaning services

My One Green Thing, one day last week, was to hire a housecleaning service that claimed to be green. Normally, as a fan of Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickeled and Dimed, I do my own cleaning and expect family members to pitch in, or else!

But there are limits. My husband and I are asthmatic, and highly allergic to dust and soot particles and the dustmites that inhabit them. In the house we've recently moved in to, which has been in my family for generations, there was one small bedroom that hadn't been cleaned in...well, I hate to think. Our son refused to sleep in it out of fear of bugs. Asthmatics are allergic to, well, cockroaches, too.

Out of desperation, I called the one housekeeping service in town that billed itself as certified green. In retrospect and nearly $300 poorer, I should have investigated more.

The good news: The cleaners didn't use ammonia or chlorine, as far as I could tell. That's because there was no noticeable odor, except for a hint of Murphy's soap, after they cleaned two bathrooms and the kitchen and living room floors. Because I didn't speak the 3-woman team's language, nor they mine, I couldn't get specifics on what ingredients exactly they were using.

With an industrial-strength back pack vacuum cleaner reminiscent of Ghost Busters, they did suck up the dust out of the bedroom carpet. They damp wiped the walls and ceilings and removed the thick coating of dust on the blades of the ceiling fan.

The bad news: When they left, I had to clean up after them. Despite the company's claims of effective mold and mildew removal, they left mold and mildew in the shower, large patches of dust on the living room wood floor (I guess they also didn't wash under that rocking chair!) and a dirty closet floor off the small bedroom. And they said I owed $278 for the job, which was $48 higher than the estimate given me over the phone before I booked them.

I paid without complaining until today, when their office called and said I actually owed another $20. Would I pay it? I'm sure that you can guess the answer. I'd been greenwashed!

Refrigerator Energy Efficiency

My One Green Thing Today: Resisted urge to wrap fridge & freezer in blanket after hearing rumor that added insulation would keep it colder with less electricity. .

"Placing a blanket over or around a Refrigerator or freezer unit is not advisable. Proper air flow around the unit is necessary for maintaining performance and energy efficiency of the unit," says Jill Notini, vice president for communications and marketing at the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, which has many energy saving tips.

Also removed that basket of bread & chips & clutter that had been accumulating on top of unit

On the other hand, an insulating jacket made for that purpose on a hot water heater can save significant energy, per the American Council for an Energy Efficiency Economy's consumer tips. Invest in their excellent book, A Consumer's Guide to Home Energy Savings.

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Thanks!
Mindy

Last-minute green gifts for bakers, bathers, film buffs, tasters

Last-minute green gifting? It doesn’t have to be an oxymoron. If you’ve still got a few people left to shop for, here are a few ideas:

The baker: With the economy tanking, more people are cooking at home. Outfit your budding chef with healthy cookware (for risks of conventional nonstick coatings, click here). Uncoated aluminum and stainless baking sheets are sold at nearly all home and big-box (i.e. Target and Wal-Mart) stores. Or go high-tech with Todd English’s GreenPan line of PFOA-free, ceramic non-stick bakeware. The nano-ceramic coating is durable, and it won’t chip and flake like standard, chemical (and carcinogenic) nonstick finishes. A 3-piece bakeware set (including a pizza pan, cooking sheet and roasting pan) sells for $59.90; you have until Dec. 16th for Christmas Eve delivery.

The niece or nephew living in a dorm or just starting out in the world: As much as we love to encourage you to buy local, Wal-Mart, with all of its new green offerings, is everywhere—good if you’re in need of a gift and a long way from home. Their organic cotton bath towels are thirsty, plush, made in the U.S. and a thrifty $14.88/set (see Walmart.com for store locations).

The movie buff: Everyone and their brother seems to have discovered Netflix, but for those few who haven’t, consider a gift subscription that allows you to have rented DVDs shipped or downloaded. Plans start at $4.99/month (you can gift however many months you want).

The person who has everything: In these cases, my favorite gift to give is food. Visit your local health food store and compile a set of Fair Trade Certified teas or coffees, or get a little more creative with local, organic beers and wines. You can even “go local” with liquor: Here in New York, Tuthill Town Spirits makes “Spirit of the Hudson Vodka” with Hudson Valley apples and “Old Gristmill Authentic American Corn Whisky” from New York-grown corn.

by Green Shopper

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Handmade soap

If you don’t have a local handmade soap vendor at your farmers’ market, or even if you do, you can't go wrong giving Healdsburg Soap Company's vegetable-based squares, and keeping at least one to get you through the holidays. The artisanal soaps, made in the food and wine country of Sonoma, California, are $6.50 each, and produce a lovely soft cleansing lather. Lavender soap is flecked with bits of flower hulls; there's also pear/oatmeal, Sonoma rose, sauvignon blanc, and more. Unlike many vegetable soaps, these solid squares didn’t melt away but held their shape till the end (on a soap saver, of course).

Healdsburg also makes a liquid castile soap in lemon, rosemary or natural, $14, and shea butter lotion in many scents--in the spirit of the season, we’ll take the fig, please, $18.

You can choose your own selection among the products and have them sent in a wooden gift box. Hurry to Healdsburg Soap!

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Thanks!
Mindy

Green gadget: Pushbutton PC savings

Every home office slave needs a cute little useful desk companion that reminds you to be thrifty. Save up to $50 a year with the Eco-button, which puts your PC into energy-saving hibernation every time you press the button and wander away. Yes, all those coffee, lunch and bathroom breaks add up to squandered energy!

You plug it into your computer's U.S.B. port (Universal Serial Bus) where you plug in modem, mice, or DSL cables. Coming soon for Macs. This feature on Eco-button's website helps you calculate how much you'll save. At least, at a cost of $21.99 with shipping, the button will more than pay for itself in less than a year. Available until dec 24, according to their website.

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Thanks!
Mindy

Real organic hand cream without phthalates

Hands are hard workers. You want to keep them clean, and soothe them with lotion when they get dry and chapped, but it’s not only babies and children who live hand to mouth, and I’d rather not transfer residues of petrochemicals to the food I prepare. Recently I discovered Organic Essence shea cream for hands & bodies, which is one of those rare USDA Organic and Fairly Traded certified personal care products. It's an instant soother for winter dryness and itches. Another great plus: It's wrapped in a Forest Stewardship Council certified label, and packaged in a tub of biodegradable cardboard with a lift-top that resembles those little single-serving cartons of ice cream.

Note: I have used the lemongrass mint and pink grapefruit for months with great success; it also comes in lavender. The fragranced creams (with organic essential oils) smoothe on easily. But the pure shea lotion is rather hard and waxy, and needs to be warmed and softened before you can apply.

With certified organic, you know a product can't be hiding synthetic fragrance spiked with phthalates, those pesky, hormone-disrupting plasticizers that disrupt male reproductive development in humans as well as animals, according to a study published this autumn in Environmental Health Perspectives. See Greenerpenny’s updated list of phthalate-free personal care product brands.

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Thanks!
Mindy