Green Tip(s) of the Weeks

Going Green - 5 Easy First Steps to Going Green - The Daily Green

www.thedailygreen.com

To get started going green, check out these 5 easy first steps. Bring your own bag, turn off the lights, keep your car tires inflated to the right pressure, shop at farmers' markets and skip bottled water.

Green Tip of the Week

In my never ending quest to find new uses for old items, I came across a multitude of creative ways to repurpose today's worn out nylon pantyhose

• Tie up tomato vines and other plants to keep them off the ground.
• Fill a tube with old soap slivers to use every last bit of lather.
• Corral bath salts the next time you soak in the tub.
• Store wrapping paper. Use one roll per leg and hang them in a closet. The edges won't fray and they will stay organized.
• Cover your rolling pin with a tube of pantyhose to prevent wet flour from sticking.
• Next time you lose something small and valuable, wrap a piece of pantyhose over the nozzle of your vacuum cleaner. Sweep it over the floor and your lost item should stick to your new pantyhose filter.
• Crumple up a pair and use as a pot or dish scrubber.
• Fill a leg with lavender or cedar chips and hang in your closet.
• When repotting houseplants place a circle of pantyhose in the bottom of the pot to prevent soil erosion.

sources: green planet, daily green

Lisa Ryan is owner of Smart Move Design, a home staging and redesign company serving Syracuse, central, and northern NY.

Green Tip of the Week

Aluminum Foil - who knew there were so many ways to re-use it?

* Paint and plaster texture: Use crumpled up foil to add interesting texture to painting and plastering projects. Also when you're painting, old foil is handy for masking doorknobs and other fixtures you don't want painted, and wrapping your paintbrushes and rollers in during a lunch break.

* Wash it and use it again, and again, and again. Wash it with soap and water, lay it flat and smooth it with your hands or a rolling pin. (Do not use it again for food purposes if it has been contact with raw meat.)

* Sharpen scissors and garden shears: fold the foil so it's six to eight layers thick, then cut thru it a few times with dull scissors to instantly sharpen them. To sharpen hefty garden and pruning shears, fold the foil so that it's even thicker.

* Reduce static cling: I don't understand how it works, but if you throw a crumpled piece of aluminum foil into the clothes dryer, it seems to magically reduce static electricity. A true miracle of cheapskate science.

* Deter pets and other animals: cats, dogs, and other animals can't stand aluminum foil! Use it to break their bad habits.

* Make metals shine: Scrub rust off of steel and chrome with a wad of aluminum foil, it works even better than steel wool!

* Shim a table leg: Ball up some old foil for under the short leg of an uneven table to make it a level field once again.

* Scrub grills and baked-on messes: A wad of used foil makes a great scouring pad for cleaning the gunk off BBQ grills and stuck-on food from pots, pans, and inside ovens.

* Repair stripped threads: got a nut, bolt or screw with stripped threads? Wrap a little aluminum foil around the bolt or screw and try gently tightening it again. A quick temporary fix.


Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/blogs/save-money/aluminum-foil-recycled-460210#ixzz0lqNfATLx

Lisa Ryan, Owner
Smart Move Design
Professional Home Staging and Redesign
Serving Syracuse, NY and surrounding areas.

I'll Huff and I'll Puff and I'll Blow Your House Down (not)

Photos: Brett Weinstein/Realty Advocates

Why would someone build a house out of straw? Because if you are eco concious and looking for a sustainable product, straw is undeniably green! Packed tightly, straw in the walls helps to retain heat, keeping a home warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and minimizes the home's carbon footprint. Straw is also a sustainable material; it is the leftover stalks from grain that would otherwise be burnt. Aside from the environmental issue, if looking at the home above is any indication, straw homes can also be beautiful structures. It is a perfect reflection of the owner's respect and care for the environment. What a cozy and unique home this would be to stage or decorate!

Lisa Ryan owns Smart Move Design, a home staging and redesign company servicing Syracuse NY and the surrounding areas.

Green Tip of the Week

Olive oil, not Popeye's goil, and not just for cooking and eating either.

Here are some surprising household uses for olive oil

Polish Furniture and Metal (and Condition Leather)
Silverware, copper and other metal items can be polished with ketchup or toothpaste. After you're done, rub a bit of olive oil on to prevent streaks, corrosion and tarnish.

To polish wood, use two parts olive oil mixed with one part lemon juice. Pour just a few drops on a soft cloth, wipe away the dust, scuffs and fingerprints, and make wood shine.

You can also condition and revitalize leather goods by rubbing in olive oil. Let set for 30 minutes, then wipe away any excess.

Fix Squeaky Doors
Olive oil can actually be used as a lubricant in many applications. It's safe to keep around the house, so you don’t have to worry about children or pets getting into it. Try it out on squeaky doors, hinges and any where else you might consider using WD-40 or another lubricant. While WD-40 may work well, it's also based on hydrocarbons, so any time we can use less of those we're taking a step toward a cleaner world

and olive oil for home staging? try a grouping of decorative bottles on the kitchen counter, behind glass cabinets, or on a shelf. Useful but oh so pretty too.

Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/olive-oil-benefits-uses-460609?click=main_sr#ixzz0fw8BNBCd

Smart Move Design is a Home Staging and Redesign company serving Central New York (syracuse, camillus, liverpool, fayetteville, and all other surrounding areas)

Green Tip

Tis the season for holiday lighting!

Try switching your holiday lights to LEDs this season.

Check out the benefits of using light-emitting diode bulbs (LEDs for short)

LED bulbs use 90% less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs.

If you switch over to LED holiday lights, you'll save an average of $50 over the holiday season on your energy bills.

LEDs last about 6 times as long as CFLs and 60 times as long as old-school incandescent bulbs, so you have to change them less often.

They're less likely to cause fires (as much as 90% of the energy consumed by incandescent lights is given off as heat).

Unlike CFLs, LEDs contain no mercury.

Information provided by Ideal Bite

Smart Move Design is a Home Staging and Redesign company located near Syracuse, NY and serves the Central and Northern New York areas

Green Tip

Looking for a way to warm up your toes this winter and keep them eco-friendly at the same time?

Consider rugs that are made with natural fibers (cotton, hemp, jute, and wool), are formaldehyde-free, and then lay them down on grip pads that are not made with carcinogen PVC.

The following are some nice green alternatives.

Prairie Rugs at Target

Felt Rugs at Peace Industry

Jute Rugs at West Elm

Cotton Chenille Rugs at Amazon.com

Information provided by Ideal Bite

Smart Move Design is a Home Staging and Redesign company located near Syracuse, NY and serves the Central and Northern New York areas.

Green Tip

When it comes time to move to your new abode consider hiring the services of Green Movers.

Many green movers offer reusable boxes, offset their emissions by planting trees and run their trucks with cleaner biodiesel (instead of regular diesel).

Check out Green Movers USA, they rate their affiliate movers so you can see exactly how eco friendly each one is.

Information provided by Ideal Bite

Smart Move Design is a Home Staging and Redesign company located near Syracuse, NY and serves the Central and Northern New York areas.

Reclaimed Timber Wall

I have been inspired in the last few weeks to take a closer look at eco friendly products and materials.  

We are re-doing our camp in the 1000 islands and found this cool wall at Livingetc.  It is made out of reclaimed timber. 

I could see doing one wall like this. What a great focal point it would make!