Bamboo Living prefabricated bamboo houses
Bamboo Living Homes is a maui, Hawaii based firm that recognises the benefits of building green homes from bamboo. Technically bamboo is a grass rather than a tree and is the fastest growing plant on earth with some varieties growing about four feet a day. There are a few unique things about bamboo that make it very appealing from an environmental point of view. Obviously it is a renewable resource and matures in around five years. It is basically a carbon sink as it converts carbon dioxide into sugars that form the fibres of the plant. It is strong enough to withstand earthquakes and hurricanes and actually survives them better than other building materials.
The variety of bamboo that Bamboo Living Homes uses a ‘timber’ species and the hollow tube shape gives it a strength factor about 1.9 times more than an equivalent solid wood beam. There are a variety of designs to choose from or you can custom design a home for yourself. you can even create your own resort villas with the prefabricated villas delivered to your site and an installation person then trains local personnel in assembling them. Prices on the site are shown per square foot so you can get an idea of the pricing as well.
More details about Bamboo Living Homes at their website.
Save fuel when driving by taking your foot of the accelerator
By doing this one simple thing I was able to get 15-20% better fuel economy and it is so easy. When approaching red traffic lights, stop signs etc simply take you foot off the accelerator earlier than you normally would and let the car slow down itself rather than accelerating further and then applying the brake as soon as you remove your foot from the accelerator. If your car has a fuel economy gauge that gives instant information about fuel being used then watch this whilst doing the above and you will see the gauge probably move close to zero when you back off.
ShiKai All Natural Hand and Body Lotion
ShiKai the company was formed as a partnership between an organic chemist who was interested in natural products and a pharmaceutical chemist. Their research was concentrated on the properties of shikakai whch has been used as a hair cleanser in India for centuries. They developed an extract based on this and called it ShiKai.
The ShiKai All Natural Hand and Body Lotion is a plant based product (like all ShiKai products) that uses the healing properties of ingredients such as pure aloe vera and borage oil, with shea butter and vitamin E. Borage oil contains one of the higher concentrations of Omega 6 fatty acids and these are directly into the skin cells for maximum benefit. The lotion comes in eight fragrances – honeysuckle, cucumber melon, vanilla, yuzu, gardenia, sandalwood, pomegranate and coconut.
Buy ShiKai products online from Drugstore or Mother Nature
Set your washing machine to drip dry and bucket out the rinse water
No elaborate grey water systems are need for this one, just a few minutes towards the end of the wash cycle. Have a look on the washing machine and somewhere near the button for cold/warm/hot wash (please use the cold wash setting) there is probably one for drip dry. This means the washing machine will stop before the rinse and spin dry cycles. Keep a bucket handy as then press the normal button and direct the rinse water into a bucket. For me, once it is full I simply lift the lid and it stops rinsing. I then empty the bucket on the garden and repeat the process about five times. That equates to nearly fifty litres of water then goes on the garden rather than down the drain.
A couple of things to keep in mind. Buy a washing detergent designed for cold water washing and with a low phosphate level. You don’t want to end up ‘poisoning’ your garden. As an added measure, don’t always empty the buckets in the same area and try to avoid getting it directly on the leaves if possible.
Avalon Organics Peppermint Revitalizing Shampoo
Avalon Organics is dedicated to offering products that conform to their Consciousness in Cosmetics philosophy. The five elements are purity and safety, sustainability, products that work, sensuality and personal choice. They can still be practical whilst following these principles such as developing their own preservatives because they do recognise that they are necessary for a stable long lasting product.
The Avalon Organics Peppermint Revitalising Shampoo uses certified organic peppermint to help stimulate and invigorate circulation in the scalp which leads to healthier hair. Certified babassu oil works as an emollient to moisturize the hair and restore the natural elasticity. Other vitamins and amino acids are also incuded to assist in giving your hair a silky smooth look.
Buy Avalon Organics products from Drugstore or Mother Nature
Turning the heating down a few degrees and save energy and money
If you have a house with the ducted type heating then chances are you have it set a bit higher than your really need. Try turning the thermostat down a bit and see if you notice any difference. You probably won’t. Also, try wearing an extra layer and something slighly thicker that will keep you warmer and particularly on your feet and cold feet can often make you feel colder.
Turn the air conditioning up a few degrees and save energy and money
My neighbour has their air conditioning on 24/7 during the summer and I’d hate to see their electricity ccosts. Instead. try turning up a few degrees and you probably won’t even notice it. It also pays to go outside every now and then to see if a cool change has come through and therefore, no need for the air conditioning any more and you can just open the windows and cool the house down.
Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Diapers
The Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Baby Diapers might not be organic like the Moltex Oko Disposable Organic Diapers, however, they are still much better than the other mass produced brands that include harmful chemicals such as chlorine. Th Seventh Generation diapers are not whitened with chlorine and thus help reduce the exposure of your babies to harmful chemicals at such an important time of their life.
Like all Seventh Generation products, all the ingredients are disclosed and a quick look at the website shows they contain chlorine free wood pulp fluff and are fragrance and latext free. The leg gathers are stretchy and with resealable closure tabs they compare just as well, if not better from a performance basis, that the leading mass marketed brands.
Buy Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Baby Diapers from Mother Nature or Drugstore.
