Reuse, one of the best and easiest ways to be GREEN. You have to be creative to find ways to reuse items that are difficult to recycle. For example Milk bags they can be reused for a number things! Just wash them out and reuse them as sturdy storage bags for fruit, veggies even dry foods like bread, crackers, the list is endless. You can use them to keep your bills together in your junk drawer…we all have one of those. Or you can use them to stoop and scoop.

Using your coffeemaker every day can lead to a buildup of minerals and residual coffee, both of which can affect your daily brew and may even clog the machinery. For an easy and green way to clean the inside of your machine, use a solution of four parts water to two parts white vinegar. Pour it into the water well, turn on the machine, and make a
coffee-less brew. Repeat with a batch of plain tap water. Do this every three months to keep your coffeemaker in tip-top shape. You can also use this solution to clean out the buildup on the inside of your iron.

Full freezer is a GREEN freezer! If you want to save energy and money keep your freezer full. It requires less energy to cool a full freezer than an empty one. If you have lots of space in your freezer add some plastic bottles filled with water or even old newspapers to fill it up until you need the space!

Happy cat and green kitty! What may smell nice to humans may upset cats.  Cats use their sense of smell to recognize certain key locations especially their cat litter boxes. Commercial scented cat
litters tend to disguise that “mark”.  Because of this, your cat may end up avoiding his litter box rather than using it.  Not to mention the fact that certain strong scents deter cats and may pose health
risks. Scented cat litter does little to get rid of the foul smell of urine and cat excrement.  Choose unscented all-natural and eco friendly cat litter to help keep your home free of any harmful chemicals. Use some green natural products around to keep the litter smell away. Put baking soda in the base of the litter box before you put fresh litter in and add some every time you scoop. Or you can clean the litter box with vinegar to neutralize the smell.

The refrigerator, the center of most of our kitchens. How green is yours? It’s important to make sure the rubber seal on your refrigerator door is in good shape. It keeps cold air in and warm air out. To check close a dollar bill into the door, if the bill slips out easily, it’s time to replace the seal. Also did you know that placing hot leftovers in the refrigerator will raise its internal temperature, causing the fridge to work much harder to keep foods cool. Make sure you cool your food to room temperature before refrigerating.

Our children will be the decision makers in the next 30 years, that’s why it’s important to empower them now with the education and the tools to help reduce energy consumption. Teaching them about lighting around the house is a simple way to encourage them to be green. A lighting system that was developed by a company in England called TIO teaches children to turn off the lights with colors. If the light has been on of less than 4 hours the switch glows a happy green, over four hours it glow yellow and over 8 hours it turns red. It’s a fun and easy way to teach children the importance of conserving energy.

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Not only did Canada make history at the Winter Olympics as the country winning the most gold medals, but the 2010 Vancouver Games were the “greenest” Olympic games ever. From using Hydro-electricity to power all the venues, to having North America’s first neighbourhood energy centre which uses sewage to create enough heat and hot water for the Olympic Village site. Hybrid vehicles were used, electric Zambonis to clean the ice, and a recyclable torch with a natural gas flame. Even Olympic sponsor Coca-Cola used the Games to demonstrate new non-hydro fluorocarbon using vending machines at 1,400 locations.

More GREEN TIPS for your kitchen. Do you have a garbage disposal? Many people never think to clean their garbage disposals, but daily use can lead to noxious odors. Stay away from using chemical cleaners and give it a GREEN clean. Fill it with ice and lemon wedges, turn on the cold water, and flip the switch. The ice sharpens the blades while the lemons disinfect. Repeat anytime your disposal starts to smell. Keep any lemons you’ve squeezed to cook with, and store them in an airtight container or re-sealable plastic bag in the refrigerator and use those instead of fresh ones.

Easy wipes are convenient but hard on the environment because they’re not biodegradable or reusable. Microfiber towels, a green option, are knit from millions of microscopic fibers and have incredible gripping powers. Plus, unlike easy wipes or paper towels, they’re machine-washable so they can be used over and over again. To clean your counter tops spray them with plain tap water then wipe with a microfiber towel to eliminate 97 percent of germs and bacteria. To achieve an even deeper clean, spray the counter with rubbing alcohol, this will kill 99.9 percent of germs.

It’s just as important to be GREEN in your kitchen as you are in the rest of your home. Washing dishes and wiping down countertops with a sponge and make them dirty and smelly very quickly. Some people think putting their sponges in the dishwasher is good way to clean them, when in fact it’s not an effective way to kill germs or bacteria and can actually spread the harmful organisms to your dishes. Instead, place your wet sponge in the microwave on high for 90 seconds and it will come out clean and odor-free. Use the microwave trick at least once a day or after any major clean up. Be sure to use tongs to take it out after you zap so you don’t burn your self.