Valentine’s Day is almost here so it is time to think of what to get your better half. These coupons for various romantic things are the perfect way to so something special and also not buy a gift that they won’t like. They can be found all over the Internet or you can make them from blank note cards by hand. However you choose to make them, make sure that they are things that the recipient will enjoy doing.

Copyright © 2008 to 2009 Daily Eco Tips. Got a tip to contribute? Find out more on our Get Involved page.

Tip #289: Valentine’s Day Gift of Time

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I wanted to share some tips that will help parents when sending their kids back to school. Sending kids to school with lunches can be one of the biggest areas where you might use wasteful products. Here are some tips that can cut down on this.

• Buy organic or local food and snacks- By buying these types of foods you will teach your children about living organically as well as being able to help local farmers out.

• Use reusable containers: This will cut down on the amount of those plastic baggies that are being thrown away everyday.

• Recycle- This will show your children how important it is to recycle whatever you can.

• Save Energy- Walk or carpool to school. This will save on the amount of pollution that is put up into the air.

• Buy Eco-friendly/Recycled School Supplies- This can include environmentally friendly products, non-toxic products or materials that are made out of recycled materials.

Copyright © 2008 to 2009 Daily Eco Tips. Got a tip to contribute? Find out more on our Get Involved page.

Tip #288: Tips for Sending Kids to School

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Homemade cleaners are much better to use than chemically made ones that you would purchase from the store. This is because most of the homemade cleaners will be made from natural products that are not harmful to yourself or the environment. Here are a few of the ones that I use in my own home.

Window Cleaner- Mix together 1/4 cup household ammonia, 1/4 cup white vinegar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch in a 32 oz. spray bottle with a tight fitting cap. With the remaining room, put in warm water. Shake well to mix.

Laundry Soap- You need: 1 bar soap, 1 box of washing soap, 1 box of borax, 1 five gallon bucket with a lid, 3 gallons of tap water, big spoon to mix with, a measuring cup, and a knife. Step One: Put about four cups of water into a pan on your stove and turn the heat up on high until it’s almost boiling. While you’re waiting, whip out a knife and start shaving strips off of the bar of soap into the water, whittling it down. Keep the heat below a boil and keep shaving the soap. Eventually, you’ll shave up the whole bar, then stir the hot water until the soap is dissolved and you have some highly soapy water. Step Two: Put three gallons of hot water (11 liters or so) into the five gallon bucket – the easiest way is to fill up three gallon milk jugs worth of it. Then mix in the hot soapy water from step one, stir it for a while, then add a cup of the washing soda. Keep stirring it for another minute, then add a half cup of borax if you are using borax. Stir for another couple of minutes, then it all sit overnight to cool. That’s that! The next day, you’ll have a bucket of gelatinous goo that’s a paler shade of the soap that you used. One measuring cup full of this goo will be about what you need to do a load of laundry – and the ingredients are basically the same as laundry detergent. Thus, out of three gallons, you’ll get about 48 loads of laundry. If you do this six times, you’ll have used six bars of soap ($0.99 each), one box of washing soda ($2.49), and about half a box of borax ($2.49) and make 288 loads of laundry. This comes up to a cost of right around three cents a gallon, or a savings of $70!!!

Bleach Alternatives- You can use vinegar, lemon juice, borax, hydrogen peroxide or washing soap.

Copyright © 2008 to 2009 Daily Eco Tips. Got a tip to contribute? Find out more on our Get Involved page.

Tip #287: Homemade Cleaning Products

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Clean homes are important to just about everyone. While it is important to have a clean home, it is more important to clean your home safely for both yourself and the environment. Here are some tips that will help you to do just that.

• Always follow directions on cleaning products when they contain the words Caution, Warning or Danger. When you have used this product dispose of the container by taking it to the local hazardous waste center.

• Make your own household cleaning products. I will be sharing some recipes I use at home on Wednesday.

• If you wash you car at home with soap, park on grass or take to a commercial car wash that sends the water to a waste water plant.

• Stop using paper towels and use washable dish towels instead. You will be amazed by the money that you are saving, plus the trees that will be saved.

• Never use aerosol sprays, buy products that have a pump spray on.

• Never pour cleaning products into storm drains.

• If you use a wood stove or fireplace, only burn dry, seasoned wood and keep it covered.

• Buy Energy Star household products, when you have to replace something.

• Insulate your home, you will save on your energy consumption and in turn save money.

Copyright © 2008 to 2009 Daily Eco Tips. Got a tip to contribute? Find out more on our Get Involved page.

Tip #286: Home Tips for Safe Cleaning

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Everyone has access to these tubes around their house whether they use toilet paper or paper towel. These cardboard tubes are usually thrown away and some people even throw them in the recycling bin, which is a good thing. But there are many other uses for these little tubes that can help you around the house. They can even be used, as seen above, to help your household become more organized. Here are some examples of just that.

• Cross Stitch Storage- These can be used to keep your cross stitching pattern or finished works before you frame them or give them away.

• Paintbrush Carrier- These tubes make a great carrier for paintbrushes to and from art class or friends houses. If you put a paper towel into one end of the tube you can easily drop in the paintbrushes without worrying about them falling out.

• Store Pantyhose- Each tube can hold 1 pair of pantyhose. Just fold them up into about palm size and slide them into the tube. They are also a great way to travel with pantyhose because they are not going to tear as easily in a cardboard tube in your luggage.

• Grocery Bag Storage- Just fold the grocery bags into a fan like shape and slide a bunch into each tube. Then place them into a drawer or cupboard.

• Cord Organizer (as pictured)- Just fold your cords up back and forth and slide them into the cardboard tube. This will keep them from getting tangled in your drawers.

Copyright © 2008 to 2009 Daily Eco Tips. Got a tip to contribute? Find out more on our Get Involved page.

Tip #285: Recycle Paper Towel/TP Cardboard Tubes

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Anyone who has gone to the local farmer’s market, knows about the baskets that the fruit and sometimes veggies come in. Most of the time they are in the berries that you will buy in the local grocery store. These baskets often get thrown away without a thought about it. Don’t throw these away, the next time you go and buy something, recycle them and get yourself more organized without having to buy new container to do it. Here are some great uses for these little baskets.

• Soap Holder- Get suction cups with hooks and these are handy little baskets to hold your soaps and small items when in the shower.

• Brush Cleaner- Put the small baskets inside clean margarine tubs and they will clean your paint brushes.

• Packet Organizer- Can put these in your cupboard and they can hold your spices and loose tea bags keeping your organized.

• Bubbles- Fill a bucket, large enough to dip the berry basket into, with water and liquid soap. Dip the basket into the bucket and gently wave in the air.

• Protect Your Bulbs- When planting in the garden plant these baskets, preferably the mesh ones, and keep your bulbs from being eaten by rodents.

• Dishwasher Basket- Put the small things like pet food lids, baby bottle caps, etc. into these baskets on the top rack of your dishwasher.

Copyright © 2008 to 2009 Daily Eco Tips. Got a tip to contribute? Find out more on our Get Involved page.

Tip #284: Recycle Berry Baskets

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Just about everyone who has owned a CD gets to the point in that Cd’s life where it won’t play anymore. Most of the time, we just throw these away and buy a new one. Well instead of throwing them away, why not try one of these cool and unique ideas for those old and broken CDs.

• Drop Spindle for Spinning Wool- You will need two CDs, a dowel around 12-16 inches long, rubber tubing and a small metal hook. Take these and place the rubber tubing around the dowel and place it into the center of the CD. Push the CDs down the dowel about 4 inches down. Screw the metal hook into the top and spin.

• Christmas Light Reflectors- Use a size C-7 clear colored bulb and put it through the middle of the CD. These look great on wooden stakes lining the sidewalk.

• Candle Display- Take the cd and place it shiny side up and then simple place a pillar or votive candle on top.

• Wall Decorations- Hang them up on the walls as borders or put them around mirrors or windows.

• Coasters- To do this simply take the old cds and cover one side in felt.

Copyright © 2008 to 2009 Daily Eco Tips. Got a tip to contribute? Find out more on our Get Involved page.

Tip #283: Recycle Your Old Cds

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Many of these websites offer people help but most of the help tends to lean on spraying products that might be harmful to the environment. For people who want to solve plumbing problems but want to remain Eco-friendly, there are several plumbing website that offer Eco-friendly advice. These are often alternative methods to the harmful products that are available. For example, one of the solutions for pipes is simply to wrap an old towel around the pipes that are located where you can easily get to them. This works very well and keeps you from having to spray any type of product onto your pipes. So before you try the harmful plumbing solutions, take a look at the simple and often cheaper Eco-friendly solutions that are available.

Copyright © 2008 to 2009 Daily Eco Tips. Got a tip to contribute? Find out more on our Get Involved page.

Tip #282: Eco-Friendly Plumbing

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Many businesses use promotional products that allow people to see what their business is all about. A new idea with these type of products are products that are good for the environment. This includes products that are made from substances that will easily decompose. There are many websites that show all the products that are available that people can use to promote their businesses.

Copyright © 2008 to 2009 Daily Eco Tips. Got a tip to contribute? Find out more on our Get Involved page.

Tip #281: Eco-Friendly Promotional Products

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This year, my cousin did something different for her Christmas cards. She made up a website and used it as her digital greeting card. Now they have had the digital greeting cards for awhile now. Everyone has probably seen them or even received them before. The difference with this is that it was a website that they can now add new content to keep the family updated with what is going on in their lives and with the kids. If more people went to doing this, we would save thousands of trees from being cut down for paper.

Copyright © 2008 to 2009 Daily Eco Tips. Got a tip to contribute? Find out more on our Get Involved page.

Tip #280: Digital Greeting Cards

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