Archive for the 'Lifestyle' Category

July 26, 2007 | Broom Hugged, Being Green, Lifestyle

I’m a Google fan. In fact, I’ve incorporated Google into my vocabulary as a verb. (”I’ll google it”) But Blackle has found a way to harness the power of Google while saving energy.

Here’s how it works. A white screen (like the one Google uses) uses about 74 watts of power, and a predominately black screen uses only 59 watts. A saving of 15 watts may not sound like much, but think of how many people use Google. Multiply 15 watts to the number of users and frequency of use, and it adds up to roughly 3,000 megawatt hours per year.

So check out Blackle. Try using it for your searches. And if you’re into website design, take the idea of dark-colored screens and run with it. Save a little energy - it’s good for you and for your website readers!

July 23, 2007 | Water, Food & drink, Lifestyle

Over here at Broom Huggers we’re pretty excited this week. We’ve got a lot going on, not the least of which is our Dog Days of Summer Giveaway, hosted by Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.

And we’re giving away - not one, but - two SIGG reusable aluminum water bottles! These were featured on Oprah’s Green Show, they’ve been featured in tons of magazines, like Backpacker, Time (as one of the most amazing inventions of 2005), Women’s Health, the USA Today, the list goes on and on.

We’ve chosen this specifically as our giveaway because we’re firm believers that bottled water is a waste of money for you, and a terrible thing for the environment. So in an effort to encourage you all to ditch your bottled water, we’re giving away 2 reusable bottles (that are much more functional and hip and pretty than your typical plastic bottle). Did you know that a large percentage of bottled water (we’re talking about the big brands here) are just tap water? It’s true. Check out Fast Company’s recent article - it’s one of the best we’ve seen on the matter. The Green Guide (published by National Geographic) also has a good article on the true cost of bottled water - to your pocket and the environment.

Here they are. One for grown-ups and one for kids - it’s a spill-proof sippy cup. I regret to inform you that I haven’t tested the sippy cup yet. I don’t know how leak-proof it is, nor do I know how easy it is to clean. (Maybe the winner can update us on that.)

(Updated: Thanks to Denise Y in the comments section for pointing out this link to a review of Bisphenol-A-free sippy cups. And if you’re wondering, here’s a post that’ll give you some info about your kids’ sippies.)

So here are the rules.

1. To enter all you have to do is leave a comment to this post (anonymous comments don’t count - I have to be able to find you!) Note: If this is your first comment here your comment will need to be approved. Be patient, I promise to approve it. Sorry for the inconvenience!
2. Two winners (one for each bottle) will be announced in a post and contacted via email - so make triple sure you typed in your email address correctly.
3. If you have a strong preference as to which bottle you’d like (children’s or adult’s) note that in your comment. Again, I will draw one winner for each of the two bottles.
4. You do not have to have your own blog to enter or to comment.
5. I will ship internationally, so feel free to enter, wherever you live!
6. Two winners will be chosen randomly by a number generator and announced on Friday at 10 PM EST. I’ll send out an email to the winners Friday night. If I do not get a response from you by Tuesday of next week, I reserve the right to choose another winner.

Good luck! (After you sign up, go back to Rocks in My Dryer to see more Dog Days of Summer giveaways!)

July 18, 2007 | Broom Hugged, Water, Food & drink, Being Green, Lifestyle, News

Next week will be a big week here at Broom Huggers - thanks to all the negative attention bottled water has been given (see here and here), we’ll be giving away TWO SIGG reusable bottles. As featured on Oprah, Time, Elle, and over a dozen other magazines, these bottles are cool and highly durable.Broom Huggers will be giving away one adult bottle and one child’s sippy-cup SIGG. So don’t forget to come back next week and enter the drawing!

July 11, 2007 | Outdoors, Lifestyle

When you have kids around, or just when you’re concerned about things like, oh, the balance of the ecosystem, there’s a little thing inside you that gets irked by the thought of pesticides. Did you know that you can spray or drop some pure vinegar on your weeds and it’ll kill most of them? You can buy the regular vinegar or the organic - I’ve found them to be virtually indistinguishable (except that the organic is, oh, about 3 times the price).

It works really well for those annoying little shoots that come up in the seams of your sidewalk or driveway. Regular household vinegar is 5% strength, and some of the heartier weeds may need a stronger vinegar. But until you’re ready to distill your own, go ahead and try the white vinegar in your pantry on those pesky weeds. Remember, in a drought you want to do all you can to pamper your plants - and that means zapping weeds before they can zap your plants!

Note: I’m far from being a green thumb, but this is one thing that works for me in my garden.� For more Works for Me tips, head over to Rocks in My Dryer!

July 5, 2007 | Lifestyle

Here at Broom Huggers we’re all about recycling, reusing, and repurposing. And we’re pretty darn supportive of all those men and women in uniform who make sacrifices for our safety. So when we found out about Cell Phones for Soldiers, we were pretty excited!

Americans will replace an estimated 130 million cell phones this year - so what happens to the old ones? Well, you decide! See, when you turn in your old cell phone to Cell Phones for Soldiers at an authorized drop-off location or send it in using their pre-paid postage, your cell phone is sent to ReCellular, which donates minutes to soldiers to call home. On average, each cell phone is turned into 60 minutes! Do you know what that means to a soldier? A full hour of talk! For something that probably would have been tossed in the trash.

So, support your troops and protect the environment all at once.

July 4, 2007 | Reviews, Outdoors, Shopping, Lifestyle

Lots of areas in the US are experiencing severe drought right now, and many are exercising water restrictions. Here’s a nifty idea to salvage those trees and plants without draining your municipal water supply.

Landscape USA sells Aqua Cones -6 for $12.99. They screw on to the top of 2-liter soda bottles, and you insert the cone into the ground. They give water directly to the roots, where it’s most needed. That way water isn’t wasted on leaves or in places where it will quickly evaporate.

The truly green-minded will save ‘waste’ water from the tap - from washing dishes, or from waiting for the water to warm up.

June 22, 2007 | Health, Lifestyle

This week an Arizona mom’s case went before the court as she claimed that her daughter’s severe autism is the result of her childhood MMR vaccine (that’s Measles, mumps, and rubella). The MMR vaccine contains thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative. Many parents, and some doctors suspect a causal relationship between thimerosal and autism, but the Institute of Medicine published a study in 2004 that denies any causal relationship.

Several manufacturers are now producing thimerosal-free or trace-thimerosal vaccines. Doctors are required to have vaccine information available for patients, so if you’re worried about thimerosal in your child’s vaccines (or your own), bring it up with your doctor. He or she should be able to give you the trade name of the vaccine and tell you if it has thimerosal in it. You can consult the FDA chart here for a list of vaccines that are thimerosal-free or trace thimerosal.

The CDC states that the benefit of even the suspected vaccines is more important than the risk factors related to them. It never hurts to be informed though, so be sure to talk to your doctor if you’re concerned, and you can even ask to see the packaging from the vaccine. Some eyes may roll, but you are your own advocate.

June 19, 2007 | Being Green, Shopping, Lifestyle

The Today show featured a new book on the market that you may be interested in. The Green Book by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen gives consumers simple ways to conserve energy, conserve water, and generally green your life. Tip come from the authors’ lives, general news, and celebrities too!

Tips include unplugging appliances when you’re not using them (because they still use energy when not in use), bringing your own toiletries when you travel to avoid the cheapo disposable hotel toiletries, and installing a water-conserving toilet (or flushing once less a day).

Check it out! And if when you do, let me know what you think!

June 17, 2007 | Broom Hugged, Being Green, Lifestyle

Interested in finding out what the world wide web can offer you in terms of Green services and products? Now it’s easier to find out! Green Maven is a great search tool, and even has its own plug-in for Firefox browser! (If you haven’t used Firefox, you should try it.)

So, go try Green Maven. Go ahead, I dare you.

June 14, 2007 | Lifestyle

No one would every mistake me for Mrs. Green Thumb. In fact, most of the plants I keep inside my house are silk (gasp!). That’s because I can’t keep the growing kind alive - outside or in. But… I just read another reason to keep (live) plants in your house - deodorize!

That’s right. We all know leafy green plants help give your house that fresh air feeling, but NASA has found that certain plants actually filter common air pollutants, giving enclosed spaces healthier air to breathe. The top plants to clean your air:

1.  Chinese evergreen
2. Peace lily (note the pollen may be an allergen for some)
3. Arrowhead vine
4. English ivy