http://ecocheap.com hug the money tree Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:50:26 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Admin is diligently working to get ecocheap running again. Sorry for the downtime, we will be up and down for a few more days. Char is distracted with school, so I will be doing some things. My posts are probably more marginally "eco" than Char's, and less marginally "cheap". http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2009/09/28/back-from-the-dead/ If you cook at home (and nearly everyone does), you're probably looking for ways to reduce the cost of running your stovetop. The truth is, both gas and electricity cost about the same (for cooking purposes). But there is another choice: the induction cooktop. Induction cooktops are electric powered, ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/06/04/induction-cooktops-ecocheap-tip-of-the-day/ Many Americans are looking for inexpensive, organic ways to clean their homes, protect their plants from pests, and any number of other things. There's lots of solutions out there, but if you haven't heard of (or tried) neem oil, then you're really missing out! Neem oil is used as a ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/30/neem-oil-ecocheap-tip-of-the-day/ Environmental Defense has the best explanation of what's wrong with regular light bulbs: "Though we call them light bulbs, traditional incandescent bulbs are actually small heaters that give off a little bit of light--something you know if you've ever touched a bulb that's been on for a while. These bulbs were ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/29/compact-fluorescent-bulbs-ecocheap-tip-of-the-day/ Welcome back from your long weekend! We hope you had as relaxing and lovely a time as we did! We've been frantically completing updates to our home in order to beat the southern heat and continue our living without air conditioning experiment. So far the experiment is going along ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/29/fun-updates/ It can be really, really complicated to figure out how much any given electrical item costs in your home. Sure, with some of the bigger culprits (ie, water heater, a/c) you can guesstimate, but what about those smaller items....like computers, microwaves, and lights? Kill-a-watt is the solution. Kill-a-watt meters ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/24/kill-a-watt-ecocheap-tip-of-the-day/ Have a garden and need to water your plants? You've probably already encountered issues with ensuring that you are "deep watering" your plants, especially if you've planted thirsty plants on a slope. Drip watering cones not only encourage deep watering, they eliminate waste and run-off...and they water you ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/22/drip-watering-cones-ecocheap-tip-of-the-day/ Do you have a retaining wall you need to build? Well today's your lucky day, because we've got a great tip for you! Concrete is an outstanding and versatile building material that makes great retaining walls. It's exceptionally strong and easy to work with. But messing with pourmolds ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/21/concrete-retaining-walls-ecocheap-tip-of-the-day/ Now we're finally reaching the end of our series on Cooling Your Home Without Air Conditioning. So far we've covered the basic principle, keeping heat out of your home, and circulating air inside your home as strategies for making life inside your home more tolerable in the summer. ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/21/cooling-your-home-without-air-conditioning-part-4-reducing-heat-build-up-inside-your-home/ In our previous installments of "Cooling Your Home Without Air Conditioning" we've explained the fundamental way people can make living without air conditioning tolerable, and gone through some simple, inexpensive ways for keeping the heat out of your house. While those parts are very important, it's also important to keep in ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/20/cooling-your-home-without-air-conditioning-part-3-circulate-interior-air/ In part one of this series, we discussed the basic principle of life without air conditioning: Suck cool air into your house at night. Keep hot air out during the day. We explained that even on the hottest days, a well insulated home will only see a thermal gain of about one ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/18/life-without-air-conditioning-part-2-keeping-the-heat-out/ The fundamental thing everyone needs to understand about successfully living without air conditioning isn't entirely obvious. In fact, it's probably the exact opposite of what you'd do on your own (throw some fans in the windows, right?). The most important thing you can do to stay cool on hot days ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/18/life-without-air-conditioning-part-one-the-fundamental-rule/ Have you noticed that pretty much every consumer product you use on a daily basis has a suggested or recommended amount to be used or applied? You use a pre-measured cup or scoop of laundry detergent, two clicks of deodorant, a "dime sized" amount of hair gel, and a ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/18/cut-it-in-half-ecocheap-tip-of-the-day/ You may have read in a previous post that our home's hvac (whole house air conditioning unit) recently went to wherever hvac's go when they die. Having known that our unit was going for awhile, we developed a plan for what to do when the inevitable failure occurred. ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/17/cool-your-home-without-air-conditioning-the-plan/ A great way to cut down on your water heating expenses is to simply wash all of your laundry in cold water. Many laundry mavens agree: there really isn't much difference between using hot water for whites, and cold water all the time. Of course, in certain circumstances ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/17/cold-water-laundry-ecocheap-tip-of-the-day/ Well, we'd discussed living without air conditioning at our home here in Central North Carolina. Knowing that our hvac was on its last legs, we decided we would inevitably live without air conditioning for at least some period of time, as just having it replaced would likely take a ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/16/living-without-air-conditioning/ GreenThinkers covers the next generation of solar cells that will cost a mere quarter of the current cost in addition to being "crazy-efficient," as well as the "isave" water faucet, which provides an led read out of the amount of water used from a particular faucet. GroovyGreen provides some excellent tips ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/16/speedlinking-5162007/ If you have grass in your yard, you really can't get around mowing (if you're a considerate neighbor). Luckily, push reel mowers allow you to get the job done with zippo fuel cost and emissions. Today's push mowers have come quite a ways from the pushmowers of yester-year. Today's ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/16/push-reel-lawnmowers-ecocheap-tip-of-the-day/ Now that we've talked a little bit about ecocheap, who writes it, and what we're all about, we thought it would be a good idea to tell you a little bit more about what we have coming up for our readers. Probably the most exciting information we'll have for our readers ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/15/coming-soon-to-ecocheap/ GBI announces their 2nd Annual Spring Green Building Tour Following on the success of our first green home tour in the spring of 2006, we're aiming to make the event even bigger and better in 2007. Last year's event featured 12 homes constructed by the following HBA members: Anderson Homes (three ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/15/gbis-2nd-annual-spring-green-building-tour/ We've avoided gas tips to this point because, frankly, we think they're overdone. Everyone has heard the same things over and over again. But we finally came cross a really creative way to increase fuel economy and couldn't resist sharing it with all of our readers. In researching gas ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/15/increase-gas-mileage-ecocheap-tip-of-the-day/ Swiffer really had a great idea when they made their seemingly indespensable (and now oft copied) household sweeper: the nifty little broom thing may have been cheap, but those refills are pretty stinking expensive. There are lots of suggestions for cheaper ways to get Swiffer refills. For example, women have ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/14/get-swiffer-refills-from-your-dryer-ecocheap-tip-of-the-day/ With Mother's Day over, it's probably safe to start talking about what to do with those gorgeous flowers you received. Even novice gardeners can make an ordinary bouquet of grocery store flowers provide a lifetime of pleasure in the garden with minimal effort. Even if you have a ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/14/rooting-rose-cuttings/ Today was a VERY exciting day at our home....because we brought home a new (to us) car! Today we drove 5 hours from our home to the Washington, DC area to purchase a 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid. We'll post pictures in the coming days (sorry we can't post ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/12/ford-escape-hybrid/ Pretty soon we'll be rolling out a new feature here on ecocheap, called our "Tip of the Day." Of course, the feature will be just what it sounds like. Everyday we'll be bringing our readers a new tip designed to be earth AND wallet friendly (hopefully it will ... http://ecocheap.com/index.php/2007/05/11/ecocheap-tip-of-the-day/