Spring is here, the ice has melted, the flowers are blooming, the birds are returning… and so are those damn ants, marching their way right across your kitchen floor. The issue with many commercial insecticides is the toxins they are made of. Raid, for instance, “kills bugs dead” but also contains the synthetic pyrethroid, cyfluthrin which might take out a few things you didn’t want dead. Whether you’re a practicing Buddist, suffer from myrmecophobia (fear of ants) or just don’t want to share your sugar - there’s an easy, non-toxic way to nip those ants in the bud. Simply squeeze lemon juice into a spray bottle and squirt your windowsills, door frames and any holes or cracks where ants are getting in. Lastly, scatter small slices of lemon peel around the outside door. You can even wash your floors with lemon juice and water as a natural deterent. They’ll get the picture and you’ll get your kitchen back.
getting antsy?
Posted on May 9th, 2008keep cool on your commute.
Posted on May 8th, 2008
Keeping fuel consumption low is important to your wallet and to the planet. The best way to save gas is to drive less or to share your ride with someone else. If you’ve just got to do it alone, consider your gas tank before you adjust the temperature. Air Conditioning sucks up a lot of fuel, so roll down the windows to stay cool at low speeds. Should you find yourself hitting the highway, roll up the window and opt for the AC. Yep. The AC may suck up fuel, but aerodynamic drag will suck up more. At high speeds your car will get better fuel economy with the windows up. Keep yourself comfortable, but keep fuel efficiency in mind when you reach for those switches.
Photograph by Jesse Hove.
at the carwash.
Posted on May 7th, 2008
Headed outdoors to wash your car? A commercial car wash is better for the environment, but isn’t nearly as fun. If the first car wash of Spring just has to be a home job, try pulling up onto your lawn while you squirt, scrub and squeegee. Washing on the lawn ensures that all of the chemicals and nasty bits accumulated on your car will run onto the lawn and be absorbed by the grass, instead of into the street and down to our waterways. The soil and grass can filter out the bad stuff, but your driveway can’t. Washing your car can be sexy, especially if it’s on the lawn.
root root root for the home team.
Posted on May 6th, 2008
If you’re headed to a baseball game this season (or any major sporting event, for that matter), consider taking the bus instead of driving there. More than 15 million fans attend major American sporting events games each year. If only half of them drive to the game, that’s still one massive amount of gas and carbon emissions. Don’t miss the game, miss the traffic and the parking instead! The nice thing about major sporting venues is that they’re often easily accessible by bus or rail. Hit the net and look up the transit schedule for your city – it’s a cinch to figure out the routes these days. Why spend $20 on parking, when a bus ticket is under $2? Save your money for peanuts and cracker jacks and feel good that you’re enjoying good clean fun while being good and clean to the environment.
cut a rug.
Posted on May 5th, 2008
Has Spring cleaning got you looking more critically at the spots on your carpet or rugs? Your first instinct might be to chuck the whole thing in the trash and to start from scratch, but slow your roll. Carpet and rugs are expensive, and our landfills are choking on the stuff. Did you know 3.5 billion pounds of carpet are carted off to American landfills every year? That’s crazy! Try treating spots on synthetic rugs with a damp cloth and a tiny drop of dish soap (applied to the cloth, not the rug). For natural fiber rugs, give the spot a gentle scrape with a knife, then a good vacuum. If these methods still don’t work, consider renting one of those rug cleaning machines from your local supermarket or hauling your rug to the drycleaner. While the chemical cleansers used with these methods aren’t the greenest option, it’s still better than toss-and-replace. Try it! A few fewer spots and a good vacuum might give your tired old carpet a new lease on life.
