By now hopefully you’ve changed out a bunch of bulbs in your house to CFL – great energy savings – should save you some money too. But what about outside? Got exterior house lights – a perfect use for CFLs but make sure you get low wattage CFLs. At night, you don’t need a 100 Watt or even 75 Watt equivalent bulb lighting your way to the garbage pail. The 40 Watt equivalents will be more than ample to illuminate your house number and give you enough light to put the key in the door. In CFL numbers, you could use a 10 Watt bulb or less. And, in case you bought some older CFLs with a color you don’t like – use these outside – in the garage, outdoor shed, or on the side of your house.

But what about landscape lighting? You’ve saved energy indoors, but if your whole house lights up at night, you’d be surprised how much energy you’re wasting. Even low voltage systems can use 30 Watt bulbs – extrapolate that across a yard of these, and you’re quickly using more light outside than you may have inside. There are some options: Many inexpensive low-voltage landscape lights ($9 at Ace) use a 10 Watt bulb. Not bad, but you can do better. Home Depot has the same shaped fixture with a 1.5 Watt LED bulb for just under $25 each. I’ve found the $9 fixtures need new bulbs every few years, so the LED fixtures, which have a very long lasting bulb, will save you more than just energy. Imagine a yard of ten 30 Watt bulbs being replaced by these LED fixtures – from 300 Watts to 15 Watts – that’s a lot of energy and a lot of money over time.

OK, one more tip – motion sensors. For about $40 you can buy a wireless motion sensor that can turn on your outdoor lights for you, and more importantly, turn them OFF. One part of the motion sensor mounts on the side of your house, while the other goes into the wall socket where your outdoor lights are plugged in. The two pieces communicate wirelessly, turning on your lights when someone walks by and keeping them on for 1 – 10 minutes. I like this as a safety feature, but also an energy saver. Installation should take you about 20 minutes.

To leave all your outdoor lights on all night, every night, is not really doing anyone a service – have them come on when someone’s there, and off when there’s no one around.

Share on Facebook

In the late 70s we were brainwashed to think that thick and rich shaving cream meant a better shave? Does it? I recently switched to a natural shaving cream – it’s not a thick lather, or a green gel. It comes in a toothpaste-like tube, made by Tom’s of Maine. This stuff really does result in a closer shave. It takes an extra twenty seconds to lather up, but it’s well worth it.

Too often we keep buying the same product out of habit, not because we know they are better than everything else, but because that’s just the one we buy. Once in a while, it’s worth trying something else – especially a greener option. For example, recycled paper towels by Seventh Generation work as well as other brands, though admittedly not as good as micro-fiber cloths.

Everyone’s been talking about the chemicals in cleaners and switching to home-made or greener cleaners. It seems to be catching on – I see a lot more large boxes of Borax and Baking Soda at the hardware store. But I wanted to see where else I can switch to greener options, other than cleaning supplies.

Shaving cream was one, but you can also find greener soaps, shampoos, facial cleansers at places like drugstore.com. There’s greener sunscreen and insect repellent. I’ve used an ant spray made from citrus oil that has worked well, and smells a lot better than Raid. There’s even greener clothing and running shoes.

One of my favorite discoveries has been natural plants oils for the garden. When my roses got hit with the first round of aphids this year, I was ready with a great pink peppermint oil I found – smelled great and worked very well.

Admittedly some greener options don’t work as well as you hope, like last summer’s lady bugs, bought to attack the aphids, that all flew away to my neighbors’ roses. But, keep trying them, and remember it doesn’t have to be thick and rich enough, it just has to work better, and be better for the environment.

Share on Facebook

Last week I mentioned the number of people I’ve seen who have been taking out their front lawns – putting in front yard gardens, fruit trees, low water ground covers or succulents, even rock gardens.  It’s a great trend, but there is still a lot of grass out there.  Is there a way to be more green and keep some grass?

Yes – feed low, cut high!  The transition to greener lawn care may take a few years, but you will be left with healthier grass, and no toxic substances for your kids and pets to roll around in.  

Clippings: One of best and simplest steps is to make sure the grass trimmings are left on the grass – don’t bag them up and toss them.  Some say these grass clippings are all the fertilizer your lawn needs; others contend that this will cut your lawn feeding in half.  Either way, it’s better for your lawn and less work for you, so why not?  And, no, leaving the clippings on the lawn does not lead to thatch – it is an accumulation of dead grass caused by over fertilizing, and excessive watering.  Or, by your dog peeing in the same spot.

Cut high:  Set your mower to it’s highest setting.  Taller grass results in both shading for the plants roots, decreasing watering needs.  It also makes it harder for weeds, and crabgrass to compete, much harder.

Compost and seed: annually.  Rake in compost each Spring and Fall to feed the soil – plain, simple, organic compost.  It’s full of everything you need.  Also, at the end of the summer – add local grass seed, everywhere, especially thin spots.  Thicker grass, like taller grass, makes it harder for the weeds to compete.  

Water early:  In the morning, there is less wind to blow the water away, and less sun to evaporate it.  Water less often but for longer times – once or twice a week for longer times is better than frequent short watering.  You want the roots to grow deep, not shallow.

What about weed and feed fertilizers?  Non-organic fertilizers tend to green up your lawn quickly, but deplete the soils natural materials, so you are stuck with having to continue adding fertilizer very frequently – constantly adding chemicals.  I see a lot of lawns where people are using chemical weed and feeds, and they have a ton of clover and yellow areas.

    ⁃    Leave the clippings
    ⁃    Mow high
    ⁃    Compost and seed annually
    ⁃    Water less often for longer

If you have someone taking care of your lawn, you need to educate them.  While they may know about cutting the grass high, they may think you want it cut short.  Be an educated consumer and ask your lawn maintenance people to abide by these greener practices.  More information, including DVD instructional materials for homeowners and lawn care providers at:

http://grassrootsinfo.org

Share on Facebook