Manager's Corner

June Green Living Tip

What chemicals are in your baby shampoo? Was sweatshop labor used to make your t-shirt? What products are the best, and what products should you avoid? Increasingly, you want to know about the impacts of the products you buy. On your health. On the environment. On society. But unless you’ve got a Ph.D, it is almost impossible to find out the impacts of the products you buy. Until now…GoodGuide provides the world's largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of the products in your home. GoodGuide gives you the best information available, wherever and whenever you need it most. Good Guide will help you find better products that represent your values, avoid products that are harmful to your health, the environment, or society – and enable you to take actions to help improve the world. www.goodguide.com

April Green Living Tip

As the trees turn green and pollen coats our cars with a lovely shade of green, you’re probably tempted to visit a car wash every day. While a soap and water wash may be your preference, each wash is estimated to use 80 to 140 gallons of water. These soapy suds are filled with brake dust, gasoline, detergents and other contaminants which pollute waterways. Consider a waterless car wash product like Eco Touch for those times when you just need a touch up. Simply spray it on your dirty car and wipe clean with microfiber cloths. Eco Touch is intended for lightly to moderately soiled cars. Visit www.EcoTouch.net for more details and to order eco friendly car care products. Share your green living tip at www.dfgreenliving.com.

March Green Living Tip

If you are using fluorescent lighting there is a 15 minute rule for when to turn off the light vs. leaving it on. It takes more energy to turn on a fluorescent light but it is equivalent to only 5 seconds of the light being on consistently. The real energy loss is in the life of the light bulb. Each time you turn on the light you shorten the life expectancy of the bulb. If you do not need the light for more than 15-20 minutes, turn it off to conserve energy and money. If you are only leaving the room for a short period of time, leave the light on. Also, many appliances continue to draw power when they are switched off. In the average home, 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. Avoid this waste of energy and money by unplugging appliances and using power strips. All electronics that can be shut off when not in use can be plugged into power strips. Just flip the switches on the power strips to cut all power to those appliances. Remember to unplug your cell phone and camera battery chargers, too.

February Green Living Tip

Many retailers now offer incentives for using “green” or reusable bags. For each bag you bring to Farm Fresh when you grocery shop, they will give you a 5 cent discount. If you shop at Kroger, you will receive a 4 cent per bag discount. Target recently announced their 5 cent per bag incentive. If you are a CVS Extra Care Card holder, just purchase a “green bag tag” for 99 cents, attach it to your bag and have it scanned each time you shop. Every fourth trip, you will receive $1 in Extra Bucks. Ask your favorite stores if they have discounts and start saving while helping the environment. Isn’t it great when everyone benefits?

January Green Living Tip

Toss delicates or quick-dry items in the dryer for less time and hang up heavy cottons, blankets, jeans and other clothes that take longer to dry. You can toss the latter in the dryer for just a few minutes with a fabric softener sheet if they are stiff from air drying. Use settings with sensors that stop the dryer when clothes are dry to avoid wasting hot air. Also, if you have wrinkled clothes, instead of ironing or steaming them, save the energy and your time by trying something new and easy! The night before you intend to wear a garment, hang it on a hanger and mist with water. In the morning, your garment will be wrinkle-free! Obviously, this will not work on all fabrics, but it works like a charm on cotton! For more green living tips or to submit your own, visit dfgreenliving.com.

Seton Youth Shelter

Please help us make the holidays happier for local children! The next time you pick up your mail, check out the "Wish List" that includes a variety of items for holiday gifts and year-round use in the shelter. If you are able to help, you may place your donated items in the large wrapped box in the mail room. All donations are appreciated and we thank you for your generosity.

December Green Living Tip

In the morning, place frozen items in the fridge to thaw. This transfers the energy invested in freezing them to the fridge, making the fridge not have to "work" as hard to keep things cool that day. It then also takes less energy to cook your dinner in the evening, a win-win! Also, let hot leftovers cool to room temperature (no more than two hours) before placing in the refrigerator. This keeps the refrigerator from having to work harder to cool items.

November Green Living Tip

Turn off your stove before cooking is done and turn your oven off early as well. Residual heat will finish cooking your food. Also, in the winter months, after you have finished using your oven, leave the oven door open. It will help make your house a little more toasty!