Dechlorinate pool, then hydrate lawn
Cooler temps mean the water in your backyard pool needs to be drained to ready it for winter. Instead of draining the water out completely, you can recycle and reuse it to hydrate your lawn and garden areas. Since most pools are chlorinated, the first step is to remove chlorine tablets and allow your pool to sit untreated for at least a week. This will help your pool get to the desired pH level acceptable for watering. Then use a siphon or water pump to use the water to hydrate your garden, lawn and landscaping. This tip does not work for saltwater pools, and that type of water should not be used for watering your yard.
NEW PRESSURE COOKERS
Want to save energy and speed up cooking time by as much as 70 percent? A pressure cooker is an easy way to prepare a home-cooked meal that can feed a crowd and cook from start to finish very quickly. The end results are better
than using a microwave, and they save a considerable amount of energy versus using a cooktop or oven. And today’s modern-style pressure cookers are safe; they feature new latches and systems to prevent messy spills or, worse, kitchen disasters. If you can twist a lid on, you can use a modern pressure cooker today.
CHECK FOR LEAKS
If nobody is going to be at home during the day today, take the opportunity to check if your home has any unknown water leaks. Before you lock up the house, take a reading on your water meter that indicates how many gallons you’ve used. Then when you return home after a few hours, check the reading again. If the number is the same, you’re in good shape. But if the number has risen by a few gallons, you likely have a leak somewhere. Common culprits are leaky toilets or outdoor faucets, where drips can go unnoticed.
DELAY THE DISHWASHER
Here’s a feature your dishwasher may have that you don’t know about: a delay button. After you’ve finished dinner and loaded up the dishwasher, add the 6-hour delay function to your wash. Between dinnertime and before you go to bed, you can still add dishes and cups to the machine. But after midnight, the delay function will kick in and start the dishwasher. These are “off-peak” energy hours, which means you save money on your utility bill, and when you wake up, everything will be sparkling clean. This function is particularly important during hot summer months when air conditioning can strain the grid, but it’s a good habit to get into year-round.
DOUBLE UP IN OVEN
Are you making multiple recipes and have only one oven? If you’re baking something and the two recipes have a temperature difference of only 25-50 degrees, there is absolutely no need to bake them separately. Choose the lower temperature and bake away; it’ll achieve the same result, and you’ll speed up your cooking and save energy, too. Just a few minutes before the baking time is up, turn off the oven and leave the door closed. The residual heat is hot enough to keep cooking whatever you’re roasting, baking or toasting inside.
RECYCLED PATAGONIA
The sustainable clothing brand Patagonia has recently launched a program called “Worn Wear Trade-in” that encourages customers who have unwanted Patagonia clothing to trade it in. Garments are brought to a Patagonia store, where customers are given a credit to either buy new items or shop on the site wornwear.com. And for people who want to save big on Patagonia clothing, lightly used pieces are resold on the site at a fraction of the cost of buying them new. Used Patagonia clothing that has been traded in is repaired, fixed and mended to bring it to good-to-excellent condition.
NIX THE CONFETTI
Tossing confetti into the air at special events like a wedding may seem festive, but it can be an environmental disaster. Glittery or shiny confetti is often a mix of paper and plastic materials, which means it’s nonbiodegradable and actual litter. For wild animals, the small flecks can resemble food and can harm them if ingested. If you must toss confetti, consider small leaves, flower petals or dried organic material like herbs or lavender. They are biodegradable and harmless to wild animals.