Hydrogen peroxide makes an excellent alternative stain remover
Hydrogen peroxide is an excellent stain remover. It’s an oxidizing agent that’s safe on all fabrics and helps break down stains much like bleach does for white-colored fabrics. To see if a fabric can handle hydrogen peroxide, do a quick test: Just dip a cotton swab into the peroxide and dab onto the fabric. If you see color, it’s not safe to use. If you don’t, saturate the stain for a few minutes and dab the stain away. Added tip: Use a cup of hydrogen peroxide in the washing machine to remove smells from things like towels, gym clothes and undergarments.
RECYCLE MATTRESSES
Did you know that nearly 80% of mattresses tossed into landfills actually can be recycled? The reason most people don’t recycle their old beds is that they have no idea how to do so. The website byebyemattress.com helps make the process easier by highlighting programs in different states. Right now, California, Connecticut and Rhode Island have robust programs, but there are other recyclers nationwide on the site’s comprehensive recycling list. Mattresses that get recycled are torn apart for materials like metal, wood and foam.
FERTILIZE WITH GRASS
You can make your own liquid fertilizer for your outdoor plants with just water and grass clippings. All you have to do is drop a few large handfuls of cut grass into a bucket and fill it to the top with water. Cover and keep in a dark place (like the garage) for one to two weeks, then feed the mixture to your bushes, flowers and vegetable garden. It works because decomposing grass clippings have lots of nitrogen and potassium, and these elements help plants develop strong roots. Be sure to use the mixture up when it’s ready, since it can smell pretty bad.
WASPS HATE PEPPERMINT OIL
If your home is a popular spot for wasp nests, try this all-natural remedy before using chemical sprays and expensive repellants. First, wasps are not all bad when it comes to your home and garden; they eat invasive insects like flies. But to keep them far away from your home, try peppermint oil. Just soak cotton balls with peppermint oil and stuff them between cracks and crevices where wasps are prone to build nests. Wasps dislike the scent of mint so much they will avoid those areas. And never squash a wasp; killing one releases a pheromone that invites other wasps to swarm where the scent was released.
NEWSPAPER KEEPS PLANTS MOIST
If you’re having a hard time keeping houseplants alive, or you’re going on vacation and would like them to thrive while you’re away, here’s a simple way to recycle newspaper and give your plants a fighting chance. Give your thirsty houseplant a good drink of water, then place a layer of newspaper on top of the soil; now water more, until the newspaper is completely saturated. This does two things: It helps seal the moisture in the soil so the roots stay moist, and over time the newspaper will simply break down into beneficial mulch for the houseplant. If you have arid-loving plants like succulents and cacti, all you have to do is remove buds and flowers and place them in a sunny spot. Removing the flowers means the plants need less water to stay alive. In fact, they can go months without water if you pinch their flowers off.
ADMIRE BUT DON’T PICK WILDFLOWERS
There are many reasons why the simple act of picking a few wildflowers at the park is a big no-no. First, removing wildflowers (especially if they are annuals) means the seed from the plant won’t be left to reproduce next season. And fewer flowers means fewer pollinating species attracted to the plants, which leads to even fewer future plants. Finally, it’s illegal: For the reasons detailed above, it’s against the law to pick wildflowers (and shrubs, ferns and bulbs) in parks, and you can receive citations for doing so.
BUY ITEMS MADE FROM WATER HYACINTH
When shopping for new baskets, rugs and woven furniture, one sustainable material to look for that’s durable, eco-friendly and inexpensive is water hyacinth. Many Asian countries have had a growth in the invasive water hyacinth plant. While beautiful in appearance, it can literally choke waterways, killing aquatic wildlife and turning lakes and streams into dead zones. Instead of using chemical herbicides to poison the waterways, furniture companies have been hiring local villagers to hand-collect the water hyacinth, which is then dried and woven into beautiful home accessories. This keeps the waterways alive, provides jobs and turns a problem plant into something beautiful for your home.