Tag Archives: home

How to Build a Pull-Out Trash, Recycling and Compost System

by RitaLima7772 Posted on November 10, 2016

The dilemma of how to deal with three separate avenues for trashrecyclables, compost and everything elsehas vexed me for nearly two years now, ever since we moved in to our new home, which had no built-in system. Then last month we found the perfect solutionone that wouldnt cost us several hundred dollars. We built our own pull-out trash, compost and recycling system under our sink.

This system has completely transformed my kitchen. Not only is it now cleaner, less cluttered and easier to work in, but the system has helped my family compost and recycle more and throw away less.

The inspiration

I had always looked at other peoples ingenious hidden trash systems with envy. Being able to hide the trash away, plus having everything in easy access from the prep/cleaning area seemed like a perfect solution. No more carrying dripping items from the sink across the kitchen to the bin, or sorting trash from compost treasure over the bin, then traipsing back to the sink to deposit in my countertop compost bin.

However, when I investigated buying a purpose built system to install, I balked at the price tag: anywhere from $200 to $800 depending on the type of containers and hardware you used. But I was determined, so I cleared out the area under our sink and assessed how much room we had to create a DIY solution for our needs.

Once we sat down to really think about how to do this, and after researching the more expensive options and how they worked, my husband determined he could build a small drawer in the cupboard to fit the trash can and compost bin, then attach it to the cabinet door so that when we opened the cupboard the drawer with the trash cans in it would pull out too. Simple, inexpensive and truly useful!

Heres how we built our under-the-sink trash/compost/recycling station for under $100.

Supplies

One 4 x 2 x 4 pine plank
One 61 x 6 pine common board
Small pine shelving panel
2 shelf brackets
Soft-close drawer slide
7-gallon trash can
Enviro Handy Bin
Small over the door container

Tools

Kreg jig
Drill
Paint brush
Miter saw (but any saw will do)

Our under-sink area before we built the system

First, we cleared out all the under the sink clutter that had accumulated. A lot of people might think they cant possibly put a trash can under the sink because they have so much stuff under there already. But have a good look through it and ask yourself, how handy does this stuff really need to be? What you use every day will probably fit in a small container that can tuck away at the back and be easily accessible when you pull out the recycle bin. What you dont use regularly can go in an out-of-the-way cabinet, like the one over the fridge.

Because of our garbage disposal, there wasnt enough room to have two pull-out systems as I had originally hoped. So instead, we decided to do a pull-out drawer for trash and compost on one side and put a sturdy container for the recycling in the other spot. After a lot of research and measuring, I found this awesome Enviro Handy Bin. Its lightweight and the perfect size. Plus, the handles make it easy to take out and empty.

Next we cut our pine plank to size and, using pocket holes created with a Kreg jig, 2.5-inch screws and a drill, attached it to the inside of the cabinet to give us supports for the drawer slides. Then we cleaned up the area with a coat of semi-gloss interior paint.

We then measured the distance between our new side supports and used that for the width of the drawer we needed to build to hold the trash can. We used the length of the side supports, minus a few inches due to the plumbing, for the depth of the drawer.

The next step was to build a three-sided drawer (the cabinet door being the fourth side), using 1 in. x 6 in. pine for the sides and back and a pine shelf for the bottom. We joined it together with pocket holes and 1.25-inch screws.

Next, we attached the drawer to the cabinet door, again with pocket holes and 1.25-inch screws. We also attached two shelf brackets for added support for the door, so there was no danger of the cabinet toppling over.

Finally, we took the soft-close drawer assembly and attached the inside drawer slides to the side of our drawer using a drill and screws. The outside rail went into the cabinet. It is crucial to triple-check your measurements and use a level when installing the drawer assembly, as the slightest variation will cause your drawer to bind.

Then all we needed to do was pop the drawer with attached cabinet door into the drawer slide. A little paint touch-up where the original cabinet hardware was, and the bones of the project was complete.

Next we popped in a seven-gallon trash can and hung a small container with a compost bin liner inserted in it on the inside of the cabinet door for our compost. (We dont need a large compost bin, as we have chickens and most of our food scraps go to them.) The Enviro Bin went on the left-hand side for the recycling, and we had a complete under-the-sink system.

Having all three trash avenues in close proximity to one another and, most crucially the sink, has made us much more efficient at trash disposal. Its easy to give recyclables a quick wash before going in the bin, and having the trash and compost bin right next to each other makes it a snap to separate the good from the bad. As a reminder for the family, Ive also put a sign explaining what cant go into the recycle and compost bins on the inside of the cabinet door.

So far it has worked wonderfully, and while we do have to take out the trash a little more frequently than we did when we had a 20-gallon bin in the middle of the kitchen, its not as often as Id thought. The convenience of the system means far less ends up in the bin destined for the landfill!

Written by Jennifer Tuohy

Jennifer Tuohy is an avid recycler and an energy efficiency advocate who lives in Charleston, S.C. Jennifer writes on all her home projects for The Home Depot. To review storage bins which could be utilized in your own home recycling system, you can visitHome Depot.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Tuohy

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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How to Build a Pull-Out Trash, Recycling and Compost System

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Top 10 Ways to Green Your Halloween

by FannySchwartz Posted on October 18, 2016

From pumpkins to costumes to candy, heres how to reduce all your spooky Halloweenwaste.

Is the thought of all the potential Halloween trash more frightening than Halloween itself? No need to fear. Weve got some green Halloween tips that are sure to scare away any waste but dont worry, we promise youll still get all of your Halloween treats!

1. Make a jack-o’-lantern

Can’t decide whether to carve or paint your pumpkins? Carve them! Many paints contain ingredients that cant be composted, so to ensure you can still dispose of your pumpkin responsibly, skip the paint and get handy with some carving tools!

Read More:Proper Green: Is it Bad to Paint my Pumpkin?

2. Keep the dcor natural

Putting your pretty carved pumpkins on display is a given, but there are also other gourds and dcor (think branches, leaves) that can be brought inside to make your home feel like a haunted house while reducing your consumption of man-made materials. Since everything will be natural, just add it to the compost pile at the end of the season.

3. Opt for decorations you can repurpose

If you cant get your hands on compostable leaves or cornstalks, choose decorations that will last for years to come in some form or another! For example, you can use fake cobwebs as replacement stuffing for stuffed animals or throw pillows.

4. Make your own DIY costume makeup

Use natural food coloring and cornstarch to make your own vibrant face paint without any of the harmful chemicals. By using simple ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen, you can avoid the extra cost and all the packaging that comes with store bought versions!

5. Make your own DIY costume using only what you already have

From old school classics like a bed sheet ghost to new ideas like raining cats and dogs (where you glue a bunch of stuffed animals to a raincoat and umbrella), many costumes can be made without a trip to the store. To reduce even more waste, get creative with old clothes that were headed for the trash anyway!

Read More:7 DIY Costume Ideas You Already Have the Materials For

6. Raid a thrift store for costume ideas

There are so many clothes in need of a second life, and many of them are at thrift stores just waiting to be pieced together into your next Halloween costume. Plus, for any DIY costumes missing key pieces say, a fringe vest or cool tie-dye shirt to complete a hippie look a thrift store is just the place to find what youre searching for.

7. Donate old costumes

Dont let those ghosts of Halloweens past haunt you (and take up all your storage space). Raid your current costume collection and donate any that youve grown out of or that youve gotten the most possible uses out of. For any of those costumes that have a bit too much wear and tear, you might be able to bring them to a drop-off center fortextile recycling.

8. Choose your treats wisely

Go for bulk candy options to avoid unnecessary packaging, or ditch the candy idea altogether! Small toys, fun pencils and erasers, or even loose change have been some successful lower-waste alternatives to add to those trick-or-treaters Halloween haul.

Read More:Intertwined: Simple Green Tricks for Trick-or-Treating

9. Skip the store-bought treat buckets

Those clich plastic pumpkins seem to be ubiquitous, but believe it or not, thereareother options. Going with a reusable bag that can be used over and over again is your best bet for reducing waste. Pillowcases fit more treats, anyway!

10. Dispose of all leftover candy (or just wrappers) sustainably

The bad news is that the candy itself isnt compostable, but the good news is that there are programs that accept candy wrappers, likeTerraCycles mail-in recycling program. If youre having trouble keeping up with all the candy youve collected, you could donate wrapped candies (try something likeOperation Gratitude), freeze some of it to save for later, or turn it into something new, like chocolates into candy bark or hard candies into cake and cookie toppers!

Have any other ideas to reduce all that wicked waste? Share your tricks and tips (or treats) in the comments below!

This post originally appeared on Recyclebank.

Photo Credit: Recyclebank

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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Top 10 Ways to Green Your Halloween

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Obama forces national security agencies to consider climate change.

by HVDAllison Posted on September 21, 2016

This weekend, Máxima Acuña, winner of the 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize, was assaulted on her property in Peru. Since 2011, Acuña has resisted the development of the Conga gold mine by U.S.-based Newmont Mining by refusing to vacate her home — and, for that, has faced both legal prosecution and physical intimidation.

As a result of the attack, allegedly perpetrated by agents of Minera Yanacocha (Newmont’s Peruvian subsidiary), Acuña is now in the hospital and her family’s crops are destroyed, according to Amnesty International.

Nor, tragically, is this attack an isolated instance of violence against indigenous women protecting their land. Earlier this year, Berta Cáceres — winner of the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize for her efforts in blocking hydroelectric developments on Lenca land in Honduras — was murdered at home, allegedly by employees of DESA, the developer behind the proposed dams.

When we spoke to Acuña in April, she told us, with eerie foresight: “Because these businesses are very powerful, I don’t know what awaits me when I get back [home]. But this isn’t a cause of fear for me – it’s not a motive for us to stop fighting, to stop defending.”

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Obama forces national security agencies to consider climate change.

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Cyclists and walkers are building their own bike lanes and crosswalks.

by MadisonIliff Posted on September 21, 2016

This weekend, Máxima Acuña, winner of the 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize, was assaulted on her property in Peru. Since 2011, Acuña has resisted the development of the Conga gold mine by U.S.-based Newmont Mining by refusing to vacate her home — and, for that, has faced both legal prosecution and physical intimidation.

As a result of the attack, allegedly perpetrated by agents of Minera Yanacocha (Newmont’s Peruvian subsidiary), Acuña is now in the hospital and her family’s crops are destroyed, according to Amnesty International.

Nor, tragically, is this attack an isolated instance of violence against indigenous women protecting their land. Earlier this year, Berta Cáceres — winner of the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize for her efforts in blocking hydroelectric developments on Lenca land in Honduras — was murdered at home, allegedly by employees of DESA, the developer behind the proposed dams.

When we spoke to Acuña in April, she told us, with eerie foresight: “Because these businesses are very powerful, I don’t know what awaits me when I get back [home]. But this isn’t a cause of fear for me – it’s not a motive for us to stop fighting, to stop defending.”

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Cyclists and walkers are building their own bike lanes and crosswalks.

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An All-Natural DIY Oven Cleaner That Really Works

by UCNMatthia Posted on September 19, 2016

If youre anything like me, residue from last falls apple pie drippings might still be dried onto the bottom of the oven. To scrub it off, you have a couple of options: good old-fashioned elbow grease, or using the self-cleaning mode (if your oven has one), which typically means itll heat up to 8001,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The latter isnt exactly appealing when its still warm outside, andcould even damage the oven.

Elbow grease it is. Now that pie-making season is around the corner, its time to roll up your sleeves and get the job done. But dont bother with conventional oven cleanerthe chemicals and fumes can literally bepoisonous, potentially leading to issues like throat swelling and pain, vision loss, and organ damage. Yikes!

Know what can get the job done without the health hazards? Citrus, vinegar, and baking soda. Try this easy three-ingredient DIY thatll dissolve oven stains fast.

DIY Oven Cleaner

Ingredients:

Peels of 2 oranges or lemons
2 cupsapple cider vinegaror white vinegar
Baking soda

Instructions:

Combine citrus peels and vinegar in a mason jar and seal. Let sit 5 days. Transfer liquid to spray bottle.

Sprinkle baking soda all over inside of oven, and especially on grimy areas. Spray your oven cleaner onto surfacethe baking soda and vinegar will react and bubble up, helping to lift baked-on food remnants. Wait 15 minutes. Wipe surface clean.

Written by Dana Poblete. Reposted with permission from Thrive Market.

More from Thrive Market:
Transform Your Tub Into a Spa With These Fizzy, Floral DIY Bath Bombs
Here’s the Coolest Thing You Can Do With an Orange Peel
How to Make Your Own Soothing Antibacterial Cream That Really Works — No Chemicals Needed

Photo Credit: Thrive Market/YouTube

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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An All-Natural DIY Oven Cleaner That Really Works

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Minimalism 101: 5 Ways to Simplify Your Life

by MarianaG59 Posted on September 18, 2016

Do you try to keep extraneous items and clutter to a minimum? Do you avoid purchasing new items unless you absolutely need them? Do you focus on quality over quantity and believe that every item you own should be used regularly and have a proper place and purpose in your life? If so, you may be a minimalist.

Minimalism is a big trend among health and wellness gurus, and its catching on throughout the world. In a nutshell, minimalists livewell, minimally. They believe in owning only completely necessary possessions, decorating lightly and purchasing consciously. However, theres more to minimalism than simply clearing out your closet.

You can apply the tenets of minimalism to many different aspects of your life. Here are a few areas where you may want to consider downsizing:

Finances

Its trueyou can be a minimalist with your finances. In fact, embodying minimalism in the financial sense closely resembles spending the way everyone did about 60 years ago: with cash. To simplify your finances, make sure to avoid using credit cards. Pay for everything with cash or your direct debit account, thereby ensuring that you can afford everything you buy. Bonus: This will also have the effect of ensuring that you buy LESS, which will help you keep extraneous clutter at bay.

Applying this in a broader sensemeans saving to buy things like cars or home appliances, rather than taking out lines of credit. It means consolidating the debt you already have so you can make one or two monthly payments, rather than many. And finally, it means balancing your checkbook the old-fashioned way (or usingan app or digital budget tool) so you track your spending and curb it appropriately.

Transportation

Why deal with oil changes, gas purchases, detailing, car cleaning and tire replacement when you could simplify by going car-free? Obviously, depending on where you live, this may or may not be an option. But youd be surprised to see how much going car-free, or even just driving less, can change your life when you opt to walk, participate in a car-share, take public transit or carpool to work.

Not only will this save you from the bills and time spent on car payments and maintenance, it will also help you get into better shape thanks tothe extra physical effort it takes to live a car-free lifestyle. Hello savings on gym memberships!

If you dont live in a walkable city, you can still simplify your transportation options. Do you and your spouse really need two separate cars? Could you potentially leave a little earlier and carpool to work? Perhaps you have a coworker who lives nearby whod let you chip in for gas in exchange for a ride. Think about slashing your car-associated fees in half and it may look like an increasingly attractive option.

Food

Yes, you can practice minimalism with your food purchases! And no, it doesnt mean eating out every day rather than buying kitchen supplies. Get in the habit of eating meals that can easily be combinedi.e. one protein, one vegetable side and one grain. This means you can pick up a few filets of salmon or blocks of tofu, a few fresh veggies and bulk brown rice or quinoa and thats literally all youll need for at least one weeks worth of dinners.

Do you have frozen foods crowding up your freezer space? Get rid of them! Purchase (or grow!) simple, fresh foods that will keep you healthy and full all week at a low price.

Finally, meal prepping on Sundays can be a huge minimalist-friendly time saver. All you need to do is cook your weekly meals in one two- or three-hour sitting on Sunday, and then distribute them onto five plates, covering with plasticwrap or tinfoil. Now, your meals will be perfectly proportioned and ready to heat up throughout the week, cutting down on weeknight prep time as well as food waste.

Memberships and Subscriptions

Do you have subscriptions to magazines, gyms, clubs and programs? Give some thought to what you REALLY need. Sure, maybe your gym membership is actually minimalist-friendly if you use it regularly and it keeps you from purchasing workout equipment to clutter your home. But if you dont really use it, its just weighing you down.

Magazines and newspapers are now almost always published digitally as well as in print. Checking out your favorite publication from your laptop, Kindle or iPad will mean that you dont have extra papers and clutter lying around your home. Plus, itll save a bunch of trees from certain peril in the process.

Social Engagements

Theres nothing wrong with maintaining an active social life, but if you find yourself getting stressed out by the hustle and bustle of your schedule, you may need to employ some minimalism to your social engagements. Learn to say no to events that wont bring you joy and only cause you stress.

For example, if you truly look forward to your girlfriends weekly Thursday night card game, by all means, dont give it up! But if those after-work happy hours with your coworkers feel more like an obligation than an indulgence, skip themgo home and take care of the things youd rather be doing instead. Learning to say no to work and social pressures is increasingly difficult in our society, butlearning to do so is dire.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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Minimalism 101: 5 Ways to Simplify Your Life

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Coffee Pod Sales Will Soon Surpass Regular and Instant Coffee

by JeannaEdmonson1 Posted on September 12, 2016

Theyre calling it the Clooney effect. Single-use coffee pods are flying off supermarket shelves at a faster rate than ever before, possibly aided by actor George Clooneys persuasive good looks in European Nespresso advertisements since 2006 and, more recently, in the United States.

Kantar Worldpanelrecently announced that coffee pod sales of brands such as Nespresso, Tassimo, and Dolce Gusto (owned by Nescaf) willsoon overtake standard roast and ground coffee after an increase of 29.5 per cent over the last 12 months, bringing sales to 137.5 million. During the same period, sales of roast and ground varieties rose by only 2.5 per cent to 167 million.(The Telegraph) In its report, based on data from 986 million households across 35 countries, Kantar goes on to explain that the global market has expanded 16 percent in the past year, with particularly strong growth in France and Spain.

Photo Credit: Daniel Lobo/Flickr

This is sad news for those of us who wish that more sustainable consumer practices would infiltrate the mainstream. There is nothing green about coffee pods, no matter what the manufacturers tell you. The recycling claims aremostly bogus, as the used pods are a mix of plastic, aluminum foil, and coffee grounds that must be separated by hand in order for recycling to occur. It remains, as Lloyd wrote earlier, design for unsustainability, regardless of how manufacturers want to spin it.

Shipping pods across the country to make the world’s most expensive compost out of the coffee and lawn chairs out of the plastic doesn’t make a lot of sense. As for the people who try to separate the components themselves, there are not that many of them; if they are willing to do that, they probably have the time and energy to make a real pot of coffee.

Change did seem imminent. Earlier this year thecity of Hamburg, Germany, banned the purchase of all coffee pods using council money in an attempt to reduce waste. A YouTube video called Kill the K-Cup got many others thinking about where their used pods end up long after the cup of coffee has been finished. Even the Keurig cup inventor hasexpressed regretat unleashing such an environmental nightmare into the world. And yet, Kantar reveals that sales continue to climb, likely due to the sheer convenience of having to do nothing but press a button.

Coffee capsules have helped create the holy grail of marketing: a new category combining the indulgence of caf culture with the convenience and speed of the capsules.

Nespresso advertises on a historic building in Turin, Italy. Photo Credit: Lloyd Alter

This, despite the fact that pods are ridiculously expensive compared to high quality beans. Pods can work out to cost between 30 and 50 dollars per pound, which is a vast difference from the $16 I shell out every couple weeks for a pound of fairtrade, shade-grown beans.The Telegraph citesKantar analyst Ed John: An average cup of regular instant coffee costs only 2 pence (3 U.S. cents). A caf-style instant is 17p (23) while the fastest growing sectorpodscost an average of 31p (41) per cup.

Pods makes no sense for any reason other than convenience, and even that could be argued: its not that difficult to boil water and push down a French press. But, like so many other environmentally destructive practices, people need to be willing to put in a tiny bit more effort in order to lessen their footprint significantly and yet, Kantars findings show that people really dont seem to care. How sad.

Written by Katherine Martinko.This post originally appeared onTreeHugger.

Photo Credit: Tim Lossen/Flickr

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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Coffee Pod Sales Will Soon Surpass Regular and Instant Coffee

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The 3 Most Vital Home Improvements to Make this Fall

by StarlaWentworth Posted on September 7, 2016

Funny how Labor Day is such a two-sided holiday. Folks tend to celebrate it by engaging in iconic summer activities a picnic, hike or visit to their favorite swimming spot. Yet this day really marks the beginning of autumn. And the beginning of autumn means the approach of colder weather (notice how cool the mornings are starting to get?) and with that, the time to heatyour home. Which leads us to the 3 essential heating-related home improvements you must make this fall.

Fix Any Leaks

What does the word leak mean to you in relation to your home? Whether you have a plumbing leak or a breeze that comes in around an unsealed window, the effect, you will find, is remarkably similar. Both are capable of wasting a surprisingly large amount of valuable resources (water in the first case and heating fuel in the second), increasing yourcarbon footprintand costing you money in a way that is totally unnecessary.

The other thing that these two household nuisances have in common is that they tend to be quite easy to fix. The most common types of plumbing leakage come from either atoiletor a bathroom or kitchen faucet; repair of the fixture can often be a DIY project or a relatively uncomplicated job for a professional plumber.

Air leaks can often be taken care of by a handy homeowner (or renter!) too. Applysealant, like putty, caulk or V-seal weatherstripping, to block the flow of exterior air. This will help cut down on the need for both heating in winter and air conditioning in summer.

Insulate

Improve the efficiency of your heating, ventilation and air conditioning system by insulating vulnerable areasnotably your attic, crawl space, the opening for your dryer vent pipe, and so onand some places that might not even have occurred to you, such as around electric boxes and recessed lighting fixtures.

Dont forget to insulate critical components of your heating and cooling setup, such as the plenum and your ductwork. (While youre at it, check whether theductworkneeds repair or upgrading; as much as 40 percent of heat can be lost en route from your furnace or heat pump to the rooms of your home.) It is recommended to consult anHVAC specialistto ensure that there is adequate ventilation; this will discouragemold growth.

An eco-friendly type of insulation you might not hear much about on most home improvement websites is what wed like to term self-insulation. Keep warm with minimal harm to the atmospheres ozone layer by bundling your body in light, comfortable, warm layers of clothing.

Install a Carbon Monoxide Alarm

Once your house has been sealed up tight, you should be nice and cozy. One major drawback to this preparation, though, is that a well-sealed house keeps warmth inside but it also fosters carbon monoxide (CO) build-up when you use any fuel-combustion appliance for example, gas or wood stoves, fireplaces, or kerosene lanterns, indoors.

This poisonous gas is colorless, odorless and tasteless, making it impossible for anyone in your home to detect it unaided. Installation of CO alarms will help protect you and your loved ones. Ideally, one of these alarms should be installed in every bedroom, as well as in the room where a fuel-combustion appliance is operated.

Why is this measure, which is the most literally vital (as in potentially life-saving), listed last? The answer is simple. Repairing air leaks and insulating your house are very effective ways to reduce your heating costs. However, they can lead to carbon monoxide issues; in the same way that they prevent warmed air from escaping, they will tend to keep CO inside the house as well.

By Laura Firszt,Networx.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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The 3 Most Vital Home Improvements to Make this Fall

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Need Help Living Ethically? There’s an App for That!

by marinavhunt Posted on August 28, 2016

You want to make the right choices so your lifestyle matches your ethics. But how do you know what the right thing is all of the time? How can you make the bestpurchase when you shop, hire a company, buy clothes or even make more charitable donations and get them to the right groups?

Ethical mobile apps are coming to the rescue. For almost any issue you care about, you can probably find an app that will help inform you, guide you and make it easy for you to not just talk the ethical talk, but walk the ethical walk.

Here are 6 that work for Android or IOS devices, or both.

1) The Humane Eating Project

This is a “restaurant app for people who care about animals.” The freeapp helps consumers find 20,000 restaurants in threecategories: those serving food that’s humanely raised; those serving vegan, vegetarian or veg-friendly options; and those that have made the “watch list (avoid)” because they serve foods the Project considers to be offensive or illegal, like veal, foi gras and sharkfin. Diners can also search for a restaurant by name, cuisine, locationand price, plus get directions and reviews. Created by the non-profit America for Animals, the app is just one of several state-of-the-art web and mobile projects the organization has launched to promote animal compassion andstop abuse. Works on both Android and IOS devices.

2) PaperKarma

If you’re tired of junk mail but find that writing “cancel – return to sender” doesn’t work, this free app may be for you. Justtake a picture of the mail you don’t want, and tap “unsubscribe.” PaperKarma will instantly submit a request to the company on your behalf. PaperKarma can stop magazines, catalogs, coupon books, credit card offers and other mail. If the company that sent the mail isn’t in PaperKarma’s data base, they say they’ll track it down. Works on both Androidand IOS devices.

3) Buycott

Buycott is a bar code scanning app that helps shoppers in 192 countries boycott companies that are behaving unethically. Crowd-sourced campaigns raise awareness about the issues, then enable consumers to scan barcodes when they shop to learn more about a product’s history and decide whether or not to buy the product. You can also use the app to send the product manufacturer a message about your decision not to buy. Current campaigns support fair trade, encourage consumers to avoid palm oil products, advocate a boycott of chocolate produced by child slaves and are working to stop wildlife slaughter in Africa. Works on both Android and IOS devices.

4)True Food

Want to avoid GMOs but can’t do it on you’re own because they’re not labeled? The free True Food app can help. It provides information on common genetically modified ingredients and lets you know what brands to look out for wherever you shop. Browse the 16 categories in the shoppers guide, choosing what’s “green” and avoiding what’s “red.” You can even call or email companies in the “red” to tell them you won’t be buying they’re products until they switch to non GMO ingredients. IOS only.

5) Light Bulb Finder

This free app makes it easy to switch from conventional incandescent light bulbs to LEDs and CFLs.It will help you figure out the right bulb to meet your need, then take you to a shopping site where you can make the purchase. Light Bulb Finder also helps you find rebates or incentives in your state to help defray the cost of switching bulbs. Available for Androidand IOS.

6) Carpooling and Ridesharing

There are so many apps for sharing a ride and sharing your car that I’m linking to a good source on 15 of them. Uber and Lyft are on the list, of course. But so is Sidecar.com, whichconnects riders with everyday drivers in their personal vehicle, and Sidecar Deliveries, which delivers both people and packages going along the same route. There’s also Ridescout,whichgives someoneinformation about all available route options: bus, rail, bikeshare, car share, taxi, carpool, walking, biking, driving and parking.

What’s your favorite ethical app?

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Dick Cheney’s Daughter Is Likely Headed to Congress

by Eleanor40A Posted on August 17, 2016

Mother Jones

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The Cheneys are making a comeback.

Liz Cheney, the daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney, easily won the Republican primary for Wyoming’s lone congressional district on Tuesday, all but assuring her a seat in the House of Representatives in January. In a crowded field, Cheney scored 40 percent of the vote, besting her closest rival, state Sen. Leland Christensen, by 17 points.

Cheney, who served as a deputy assistant secretary of state during the George W. Bush administration, launched a brief and calamitous challenge to Sen. Mike Enzi, a Wyoming Republican, two years ago. That race earned her rebukes from veteran conservatives in the deep-red state, who accused her of parachuting in from her home in the Virginia suburbs to take on an incumbent no one really had a problem with. It also resulted in a series of high-profile feuds. Most notable was a public spat between Liz and her sister, Mary, after the candidate promised to oppose same-sex marriage if elected. Mary Cheney, who is a lesbian, announced that she would not be visiting the family at Christmas that year. Liz Cheney’s candidacy also drew criticism from former Wyoming Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, a longtime friend of Dick Cheney who continued to back Enzi and published a lengthy and remarkable statement in the Cody Enterprise chewing out Liz’s mom, Lynne Cheney, for pressuring him to change his support.

Liz Cheney was the lone candidate with real name recognition in the race to replace retiring GOP Rep. Cynthia Lummis, making the run-up to Tuesday’s primary comparatively tame. The Cheney name is still strong in her home state, and she has received contributions from a bevy of big-time Republican donors and Bush-era heavyweights, including Donald Rumsfeld and Karl Rove.

But while some prominent ex-Bushies have repudiated Trump—including former first lady Barbara Bush—Liz Cheney, like her father, is fully on board, telling Rush Limbaugh that Hillary Clinton is a “felon” who can’t be allowed back in the White House. “In Wyoming, there’s no question for us that Hillary Clinton would be devastating—and far, far worse than Donald Trump,” she said. “We’ve gotta unify behind him and make sure Hillary Clinton’s not elected.”

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Dick Cheney’s Daughter Is Likely Headed to Congress

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