Share the Warmth

'Tis the time of year when T Shirts are packed away to make room for sweaters! This is also a great time to pass along your gently used clothing to those who are in great need of warm clothing.

An unfortunate irony of our society is that while some are lamenting not having enough closet space for all of their clothes, there are a large number of people facing the reality of not having any warm clothes to wear! Many of these people are families with children who end up without a warm clothes to wear to school.

However, by passing along your gently used clothing everyone wins: closet space is no longer limited, there might even be room for new purchases; and someone who had been shivering in the cold now has warm clothing! Furthermore, there are lots of organizations in almost every community that will gladly take in your used clothing and redistribute it to those in need. Some will even come to your door to pick it up!

A partial list of organizations that can give your used clothes, as well was other items, a new life include:

Canadian Diabetes Association
Goodwill
Ontario Federation for Cerebral Palsy
Salvation Army

Boxed in by Packaging

As Madonna once said, "we live in a material world". One of the byproducts of the majority of stuff we buy or use is packaging. While much of this packaging is necessary, there are alot of products that have excessive packaging, or there are 'less packaging alternatives'.

To identify ways that you might be able to tackle the issue of packaging and thereby lighten the load landfill sites and decrease the energy and materials associated with manufacturing consider the '3Rs' approach.

Reduce: Of all the 'Rs' reduce is the most favourable. Some ways to reduce packaging include:

• Buying some items in bulk and then breaking them out into smaller portions at home. On the upside, items bought in bulk should be less expensive; on the downside it might require additional storage space, especially in terms of freezer space.
• When faced with two similar products, choose the item with less packaging. Hopefully, eventually manufacturer will respond to the consumer demand for less packaging.
• Use reusable bags to carry your purchases rather then the store provided new bag.

Reuse: Reusing sometimes takes creativity.

When purchasing items consider if the container it comes in can be used for something else later. For example, margarine containers make great tupperware substitutes. If an immediate use is not known, but you think an item might come in handy, save it until the space is needed. You never know when that package would be 'just perfect' for something.

Recycle: While this is the easiest of the Rs, it is also the weakest option as energy is required for recycling.

One step that is sometimes forgotten with recycling is the handling of materials such as Styrofoam that are not usually accepted in the standard municipal waste programs. However, municipalities often have alternative depots that will accept these materials if you are willing to drop them off. Rather than throw out these types packaging materials, try to save them until there is a 'load' worthy of a trip to the depot. By just diverting the Styrofoam alone will make a significant dent in the waste sent to landfill.

Green = Doing the Same With Less, Not Without

NBC has launched a green awareness campaign. As the 'kick off' to this campaign just before the start of the Sunday Night Football game they turned off all the lights on the set for the pre-game commentators, and vowed to keep them off for the duration of the game. Apparently such an action would save enough energy to power a large number of homes for a considerable time [I really did not pay much attention]

While the intention might be honourable, the result probably did more damage then good. The commentators immediately began whimpering about how difficult it would be do to their job without the lights. Flashlights were clicked on and by the half time show they had illuminated the set with candles, which just looked silly and further emphasised a the negative message.

I fear that for the average viewer the message received would have been that conserving energy is very difficult and full of hassles.

However, if rather then turning off all the lights, they had turned off a half or two thirds of the lights, not only would they be able to show "NBC going green", but more importantly they would have been able to demonstrate that living green and energy conservation does not necessarily require going without, just using less to achieve the same result.

With this approach in mind, when looking at how to live a greener lifestyle, try to avoid the concept of sacrifice or doing without. Instead try to find ways to live smarter, achieving the same quality of life, just using less energy, as this is a more realistic way of living a greener life.

Increase Home Comfort AND Save Money

In the colder months of the year, one of the easiest ways to save money and increase the comfort of your home is to draft proof around windows and doors. Not only will this prevent the heat from escaping, but you will not have to suffer through sitting near a window with a cold blast of air piercing your neck.

Here are some simple and inexpensive ways to draft proof your home.

Doors: Place a towel across the bottom of outside doors to block the common air gap at the bottom seam. If the door is used infrequently, consider a more solid block perhaps by putting a strip of duct tape along the bottom [and sides if it is not too ugly]. If there is an outer screen door put a towel inbetween the two doors for an additional layer of protection.

Windows: Available at most hardware stores is draftproofing tape which is a clear, low tack tape that can be applied around the seams of the window. Another option is seal the window with a sheet of clear plastic. There is draftproofing plastic specifically made for windows that is inexpensive, easy to apply and readily available. The downside with this is that for some it can register on the 'ugly scale'

By spending just a few dollars and a little bit of time, it is amazing how much more comfortable you can make both your home and your pocketbook.