It’s a sad fact of life that every home has air leaks in its walls, windows, foundation, and attic. Even a newly built home like mine. Of course, how much a home leaks air will vary depending upon the design and construction of the home, and practices of its occupants.
Its important to find and seal the air leaks and drafts you find in your home because if you don't, it will cost you money. Big money. Air leaks make your heating and cooling system use more energy and work harder to do the job you want it to do. In fact, experts say that if you don't seal all of the little air leaks in your home, you might as well keep a window open during the winter.
How to Find Air Leaks and Drafts Outside the House
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Save Money! Find and Fix Air Leaks and Drafts
Posted by
Lisa Nelsen-Woods
at
1/06/2010 08:07:00 AM
6
comments
Tags:
architecture
,
DIY
,
green
,
home improvement
,
How to
,
saving energy
,
saving money
Monday, January 4, 2010
Bottle Cap Magnets
I’m an advertising geek. I appreciate a clever ad, tag line, or product design as much as I do artwork displayed in a museum. That’s why after enjoying a couple of craft beers at home I had to make magnets out of these bottle caps because of the cheeky saying printed on the top of the cap.
A little glue and a round magnet from the craft store is all you need. Easy!
They are a hit with our friends, drinkers and non drinkers alike. I gave them out as a little I-was-thinking-of-you gifts
Sad thing is, I don’t remember what brand of craft beer uses these caps. Do you? Maybe some more research is in order...
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The caps say, “Great minds drink alike.”
They are a hit with our friends, drinkers and non drinkers alike. I gave them out as a little I-was-thinking-of-you gifts
Sad thing is, I don’t remember what brand of craft beer uses these caps. Do you? Maybe some more research is in order...
Posted by
Lisa Nelsen-Woods
at
1/04/2010 08:00:00 AM
4
comments
Tags:
craft
,
green
,
reuse/recycle
,
tutorial
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Ultimate Cloth – Does it Clean as Green as They Say?
Does your house need a good clean after the holidays? Yeah, mine too. I love a clean house but I don’t want to spend my whole life cleaning it. I also want to clean as chemical free as possible for the sake of my family.
And I’ll let you in on a little secret. I have a mad crush on trying different green cleaning supplies. That sounds like a very strange hobby, because it is.
That’s how I came by the Ultimate Cloth. The Ultimate Cloth is a MiraFiber cleaning cloth. What’s that? Well I didn’t know until they told me either. Instead of being made with fibers that have little hooks that pick up dirt like a microfiber cloth, MiraFiber cloths have open spaces between the fibers that act like tiny scoops that pull dirt into the cloth and hold them.
At first glance the Ultimate Cloth looked like a cross between a glorified paper towel and a chamois - thin, stiff, and flat. I figured this thing would rip when I popped it in the washing machine for the first time. And it’s supposed to clean with just water? No cleaners? Riiiight. Honestly I didn’t have high hopes for this one.
And I’ll let you in on a little secret. I have a mad crush on trying different green cleaning supplies. That sounds like a very strange hobby, because it is.
That’s how I came by the Ultimate Cloth. The Ultimate Cloth is a MiraFiber cleaning cloth. What’s that? Well I didn’t know until they told me either. Instead of being made with fibers that have little hooks that pick up dirt like a microfiber cloth, MiraFiber cloths have open spaces between the fibers that act like tiny scoops that pull dirt into the cloth and hold them.
At first glance the Ultimate Cloth looked like a cross between a glorified paper towel and a chamois - thin, stiff, and flat. I figured this thing would rip when I popped it in the washing machine for the first time. And it’s supposed to clean with just water? No cleaners? Riiiight. Honestly I didn’t have high hopes for this one.
Posted by
Lisa Nelsen-Woods
at
12/30/2009 09:00:00 AM
8
comments
Tags:
cleaning and organization
,
green
,
reuse/recycle
,
reviews
,
saving money
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Easy Personalized Appliqué Dog Towel
While rooting though the clearance section at Bed, Bath , and Beyond I came across an orphan bamboo towel for super cheap. Not so good for my original purpose - new towels for my bathroom, (so Santa if you aren’t too busy, a little help in that area would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!) but that eco-towel was the perfect thing to turn into a personalized dog towel for Blitzkrieg’s dog cousin Chopper, as a Christmas gift. Before any gifting could happen that towel needed a little spiff up so the little dude knew that it was his to chew on.
This is a quicker variation of how I made a traditional appliqué dog blanket because I used a piece of felt for the appliqué. Using scrap felt or fleece is ideal for a rounded appliqué shape because fabric doesn’t fray. You don’t have to worry about tucking in the edges to keep the fabric from fraying while trying to maintain rounded edges. Using felt/fleece makes this an easy beginning appliqué/embroidery/sewing project and a good older kid project.
This is Chopper. His hobbies are chewing things, laying on the heat vent, and chewing things.
This is a quicker variation of how I made a traditional appliqué dog blanket because I used a piece of felt for the appliqué. Using scrap felt or fleece is ideal for a rounded appliqué shape because fabric doesn’t fray. You don’t have to worry about tucking in the edges to keep the fabric from fraying while trying to maintain rounded edges. Using felt/fleece makes this an easy beginning appliqué/embroidery/sewing project and a good older kid project.
Posted by
Lisa Nelsen-Woods
at
12/22/2009 07:00:00 AM
4
comments
Tags:
Blitzkrieg
,
Christmas/winter
,
cleaning and organization
,
craft
,
decorating
,
green
,
holiday
,
How to
,
humor
,
kids
,
Pekingese dog
,
saving money
,
sewing
,
tutorial
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