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(This page comes from Yahoo Answers. I have consent to use it here on the blog. It is organized so that the question is in the blog post section, and the answers are in the comments section. Feel free to add your own thoughts.

I sort through the material I find there, looking for things that I think deserve wider circulation. So this page is powered by Yahoo! Answers. — Zana)

One answer to this question has the wrong url. They meant to say www.motherearthnews.com/

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Where can I learn all about green living like rural off the grid?

I saw a show of some people living off the land with solar energy, bio diesel, farms, earth made walls, vegetable oil and hydrogen cars, ect.

I would like to see a site or a book or a community that would teach me so I can have thorough knowledge and learn all the ins and outs and learn what works and what doesnt ect and break from a lot of spoiled ways and other things that I am not even aware of.

Description
It’s time to “green” that cleaning routine! Millions of Americans are replacing harsh chemical cleansers with ecofriendly alternatives. Unfortunately, most commercial green cleaners are expensive, and they often come with dubious environmental claims.

Effective, nontoxic alternatives can be mixed up easily from kitchen staples — baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, herbs, and borax — plus a handful of easy-to-find essential oils. In the second edition of The Naturally Clean Home, Karyn Siegel-Maier offers 150 all-natural recipes for cleaning every area of the home — from bathrooms to bedding, and from carpets to cabinetry.

Siegel-Maier, a writer specializing in complementary therapies whose work is featured in such publications as Mother Earth News and Natural Living Today, presents quick recipes for cleansers that are nontoxic, biodegradable, and freshsmelling. Formulas are so simple that even a novice can make them, yet they are as effective as the commercial options. Best of all, these recipes are much less expensive than commercial cleaners; most can be made for mere pennies per use.

With the second edition of this popular book comes a host of hard-working new recipes, including Rosemary-Geranium Floor Wipes for electrostatic floor mops, Thyme to Make Your Own Carpet Steamer, Weekend Warrior Wicker Wash, Telephone Dirty Talk Tamer, Clear the Air Room Spritzer, and Lavender Lift Automatic Dishwasher Soap.

Siegel-Maier also offers recipes for outdoor spaces — like Shoo-Fly Shake to keep flies away from your backyard barbecue — and covers areas less commonly considered in the cleaning routine: garden, houseplants, computer, even the septic tank!

Whether scrubbing or scouring, degreasing or dusting, The Naturally Clean Home makes it fun to mix up chemical-free products that are easy on home and planet!

The Naturally Clean Home

All over the world, people are moving towards more sustainable living. This guest article, a list of tips for green living, comes froma man in Ireland. We are definitely all in this together! — Zana

13 Easy Green Living Tips For Everyone

By Damien Rogers

To live green means to help our environment from the dangers that are destroying it. Green living starts with each of us. Here are just few easy tips to help you get started.

1. Switch to fluorescent bulbs in areas where extended lighting is required. Though the initial price is higher than for incandescent bulbs, fluorescent lights produce four times as much light per watt, last up to ten times as long and therefore cost one-third as much to operate.

2. Consider getting a laptop. Laptops use 50 percent of the energy used by a typical desktop PC when plugged in and just 1 percent of the energy when running on batteries. Read the rest of this entry »

(This article is something I found on Yahoo Answers. I have consent to use it here on the blog. It is organized so that the question is in the blog post section, and the answers are in the comments part. Feel free to add your own thoughts.

I go through the material I find there, looking for things that I think deserve wider circulation. So this page is powered by Yahoo! Answers. — Zana)

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Green living tips for renters?

My 8yr old has gotten caught up in living green which is great but the majority of tips I find for saving elec, water,etc are for homeowners. Are there any websites for those of us who rent and can’t make changes to the home?

Cooking in an ecological way does require some changes from old habits, and Lucid Food by Louisa Shafia can help you do it. Her recipes sound a little more elaborate than my simple cooking style, but I’m going to watch for this book in a library or friend’s house, and see if I am wrong. — Zana

Product Description
Words like “organic,” “seasonal,” and “local” are on everyone’s mind, but how do we integrate food politics into a daily practice that is convenient, affordable, and delicious?

Sustainable chef and caterer Louisa Shafia shows eco-conscious home cooks how to green their cuisine by making earth-friendly food choices, sourcing animal products ethically and responsibly, supporting local food, and reducing one’s carbon footprint through urban gardening, preserving, composting, and more. Read the rest of this entry »

Sprouts are high in vitamins but they can also provide protein, minerals, and other goodies. Their fresh aliveness provides a nutrition that you can get no other way. There are people who become devoted sprout addicts! You don’t have to go that far, but I’m rapidly heading that way. A popular guest article here on this site was an illustrated guide to making sprouts,  so take a look at that too.

It’s really quite easy to grow sprouts. You can use wide-mouth canning jars, with screening cut to size to fit inside the outer jar lid. You can do the same thing with any fairly wide-mouth jar, a rubber band, and screening, cheesecloth, an old stocking, or some other covering that will allow air and water (but not tiny seeds) to pass freely. Read the rest of this entry »