We CAN Be Green

Green Quick Tip: Donate Your Old Glasses

Going Green: Can you see me now?

To help reduce waste donate your old prescription or non-prescription glasses to charity. There are millions of people around the world who require glasses, but can’t afford them.  These charitable programs recycle your donated glasses by fixing and cleaning them, then they deliver them to people in need. By donating, you’ll be helping people and the environment by keeping your glasses out of the landfill.

Here are two programs for recycling eyeglasses:

OneSight
Lion's Club International

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Thank you for reading and here's to Going Green!

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Going Green: 1% For The Planet

Go Green: Boost your business with 1% For The Planet

In lieu of my normal Friday post, I did a guest post on Alyssa Gregory's blog, Small Business Idea Generator, about 1% For The Planet.  I hope you enjoy it and have a great weekend!

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Going Green: 8 Lawn Mowing Tips

Go Green: 8 Tips For Mowing Your Lawn

1. Check your mower - sharpen the blade as necessary; check gas and oil levels before each use; clean out undercarriage
2. Pick the right time to mow - early evening is best and always try to avoid the heat of the day
3. Adjust height of mower - vary height according to season. lower in spring, raise for summer, back down in fall
4. Change directions - each time you mow, you should mow in a different direction
5. Overlap - overlap the tire track by about 2 inches as you mow in the opposite direction
6. Mulch, mulch, mulch - if your lawn isn't too long, don't bag your clippings. just let them stay on the lawn to decompose
7. Watch how much you cut - never cut more than a third of the grass height on any one day
8. Proper maintenance - keep your mower in good working condition by changing the oil and filter as well as hosing off the entire mower several times a year

What other tips would you add?

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Thank you for reading and here's to Going Green!

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Green Quick Tip: Eco-Friendly Lawn and Garden Tools

Go Green: Replace Your Old Lawn & Garden Tools

Most of us that mow our own lawns and tend to our own gardens have been using the traditional gas powered tools since we learned how to push a mower. However, nowadays, there are many options available to us like tools that are powered by electricity, lithium batteries or even propane.

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Thank you for reading and here's to Going Green!

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Going Green: 12 Tips On Watering Your Lawn

Go Green Grass Care: Water Your Lawn Correctly and Responsibly With These 12 Tips

1. Water your lawn in the early morning hours.
2. Factor in soil type, grass species, rainfall, evapotranspiration, amount of sun & shade to help you determine how much & how often you should water.
3. Buy a timer to turn your watering system on and off.
4. Pick the right sprinkler for your needs (ask your local garden center for help).
5. Use wetting agents if your soil is not absorbing water efficiently.
6. Check on local ordinances before using gray water (recycled water from clothes washers, bathtubs, etc) to water your lawn.
7. Dethatch and aerate if there is too much dying grass which can lead to soil becoming compacted and less able to absorb water.
8. Match the correct grass species to your climate which will help cut down on watering.
9. Raise your mower blade so your grass stays healthy and requires less watering.
10. Consider your source of water when determing how often and how much to water your grass.
11. Plant drought tolerant plants rather than lawn grasses to decrease your water use.
12. In drought like conditions, let the grass go into dormancy. You can wake it up next year.

Have any other tips to add?

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Thank you for reading and here's to Going Green!

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Green Product of the Week: Dual Flush Toilet Kit

Go Green: Install a Dual Flush Toilet Kit to Save Water

I came across a pretty unique kit that you can install in your current toilet that will allow you to choose to flush with Half the normal amount of water or a Full flush when needed. This is a great tool that could save a family of four 20,000 gallons of water per year since most toilet flushes only require a small amount of water to clean the bowl. This is also an inexpensive alternative to buying a low-flow toilet.

The Flush Choice™ conversion kit is a high quality product that is inexpensive and proven to save you money. It can be installed by anyone following the simple instructions or you can have a licensed plumber do it for you.

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Have you considered a dual flush conversion kit? What have your experiences been?

Here's to Going Green!

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Green Quick Tip: Get Creative To Save Water

Go Green: 5 Quick & Easy Ways To Save Water

1. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth
2. Fix all leaky faucets
3. Place plastic bottles filled with sand or stone in your toilet tank
4. Only water your lawn once a week and skip a week when it rains
5. Change to low flow shower heads and faucets

Here's to Going Green!

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Going Green: Talking Dirt(y)

Go Green: Expand Your Soil Vocabulary

Before you start to add any compost or organic fertilizer to your garden or yard, you should have a basic understanding of soil, soil color, soil texture and soil structure. 

• Soil - A loose mixture of sand and organic material, used to support plant growth. Soil is mostly a product of weathering.
• Soil Color - Indicates soil moisture status and is often described by using general terms, such as dark brown, yellowish brown, etc. Soil colors are also described more technically by using Munsell soil color charts, which separate color into components of hue (relation to red, yellow and blue), value (lightness or darkness) and chroma (paleness or strength).
• Soil Texture - There are three types of soil texture: sand, silt and clay. It describes the relative proportion of different grain sizes of mineral particles in a soil. Below is an example of a soil texture diagram courtesy of the Scottish government.

• Soil Structure - Determined by how individual soil granules clump or bind together and aggregate (in other words, their shape). Soil structure has a major influence on water and air movement, biological activity, root growth and seedling emergence.

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Green Product(s) of the Week: 2 Books to Help You Understand Your Soil & Lawn

Go Green: Team with microbes for healthy soil & grow a beautiful organic lawn

This spring, I ordered two books from Amazon to learn more about the soil in my garden and yard and how I can transform my lawn from one that was treated synthetically for years by the previous owner to one maintained organically.

After much research, I found the following two books that met my personal needs.

Teaming with Microbes is more technical than the The Organic Lawn Care Manual and is, in my mind, a prerequisite. It will help you understand in more detail on what is actually going on in your soil and what constitutes healthy soil. Then once you are armed with that knowledge, and applied it to your garden, you should pick up the Organic Lawn Care Manual. This book will teach you how to grow healthy and organic grass that fits with its use.

I hope you enjoy these two books and learn as much from them as I have.

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Here's to Going Green!

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Green Quick Tip: Natural Lawn Care

Go Green: How Natural Pesticides, Native & Companion Plants Can Give You Green Green Grass

Stop treating your grass with harmful chemicals that kill 60% to 90% of the earthworms in the treated area. Natural pesticides and herbicides are safer for your kids, pets and the aforementioned earthworms.

Check out the following sites:

highcountrygardens.com

beyondpesticides.org

ghorganics.com

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Here's to Going Green!

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