tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61931938485900089632008-07-16T19:11:05.572-04:00BlulowInsurance Helperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02616832927595162445noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-23609156325700443742008-04-25T10:43:00.004-04:002008-04-27T15:27:42.169-04:00Moving to a New Host The Blulow Blog is in the process of moving. I haven't quite figured out a graceful way to make the transition, so, while I'm in the process of figuring it out, you may visit the new location at www.blulow.com. All of the posts that you see here, are over there. See ya there!Felicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-51317402147050502592008-04-24T17:42:00.008-04:002008-05-03T18:13:44.588-04:00The Trials and Errors of CompostingWe've moved to a new location, www.blulow.com. Please read this post at our new home. I don't know if it's just me, but I've got to warm up to this composting process. Don't get me wrong, I am 100% for composting, but it's the logistics that I seem to have some issue with. Last year I purchased a composting bin. I was very excited about composting (and still am). I put the composting bin Felicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-11088221840097573342008-04-23T12:10:00.006-04:002008-05-03T18:15:39.878-04:00Recycling FurnitureWe have moved this post to our new blog site. Please stop by www.blulow.com to read it. Well here's a new one on me. I came across a site that has Almost Free Furniture. Apparently you can buy and/or sell all types of gently used furniture for a fraction of the original cost. In today's economy where prices are rising (especially gas) and salaries are not, it makes sense to look for Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15382053513361222218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-9596269215240136482008-04-22T13:17:00.008-04:002008-05-05T09:40:35.420-04:00White Vinegar - A Natural Weed Be Gone!This post has been moved to the new blog site. Please stop by Blulow's new home to read how vinegar handles pesky weeds. Yet another use for white vinegar. Pour some on your pesky weeds, give them about a week and watch them dry up, turn brown and whither away. I poured white vinegar on some of the weeds that always grow in-between the bricks on my patio. A few days later, look at the Felicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-67267604690083662412008-04-12T07:37:00.003-04:002008-04-12T07:53:03.701-04:00Money and Energy Saving TipsI came across this neat little pamphlet from the US Department of Energy called Energy Savers, Tips for Saving Energy and Money at Home. It gives great practical tips on how to make your dollar stretch further and save on energy costs. Did you know that draining a quart of water from your water heater every three months helps to get rid of sediment and thus improve your water heater's Felicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-71298795066728668742008-04-04T12:16:00.005-04:002008-04-27T08:38:37.831-04:00Truly live green and grow your own herbsWe've moved to a new site. Please visit our new location for the latests posts and comments. Our new home is www.blulow.com I am not what you would call an outdoors type of person. It's not that I'm against the outdoors, but there’s something about the spiders, mosquitoes and the unidentifiable bugs that, well…bug me. My little bug problem tends to put a damper on my gardening experiences. Felicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-62360585917526864172008-04-03T04:46:00.002-04:002008-05-22T19:59:08.541-04:00Buy Green.comI was surfing the web at some unreasonable hour of the morning and I came across this website, buygreen.com. They offer environmentally friendly products for businesses and families. Their products range from furniture to cleaning products, kitchen appliances to games. They offer a wide range of green products. I think its worth taking a look see.Felicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-42290779256127713502008-03-12T11:35:00.008-04:002008-05-03T18:21:07.953-04:00Switch from Paper Towels to Cloth Towels - UpdateBlulow has moved to a new site. Please visit this post at our new location. See you there (The new site is www.blulow.com)! The process of switching from paper towels to cloth towels is working perfectly. I'm really excited about my tiny little contribution to the environment. There is one thing, however, that I think I need to share with everyone. Unless you wash clothes fairly often, do not Felicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-50341347232710502912008-03-04T16:29:00.006-05:002008-05-03T18:22:34.038-04:00How to Clean a Dirty Laptop ScreenWe moved this post to our new home. Please visit us at www.blulow.com. Are you reading this blog post through a dirty laptop screen? Check out this quick and easy way to clean it (no, don't run out to buy laptop screen cleaner - you probably have the ingredients in your house): How to Clean a Laptop Screen: A Quick Fix Solution to a Dirty Little Problem Felicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-78703742616693635352008-02-22T08:36:00.002-05:002008-02-22T08:40:01.981-05:00Don't Throw it Away ...Someone Else Can Use it.I came across an interesting site, www.freecycle.org. Apparently what they do is recycle used items. Wait a minute, that didn't come out right...Instead of driving to the local Salvation Army or Good Will, you can post your used items on www.freecycle.org. If someone wants or needs it, they will contact you and you give it to them. Similarly, if you need something that is posted on the site, Felicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-72295486244205438112008-02-17T03:08:00.002-05:002008-02-17T03:12:46.952-05:00A Must VisitI just came across a great blog and wanted to share it with you. The name of the blog is Healing Yourself Naturally. The owner of the blog, Opal Tribble has a great recipe for natural homemade furniture polish. In addition to her blog, she also has a website called Vegan Momma. It's worth a visit. She has a practical natural approach to life.Felicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-30915371329427774152008-02-14T05:25:00.004-05:002008-05-03T18:26:30.355-04:00Sometimes ya gotta give in to pre-programmingVisit this post at our new blog location. We've moved to www.blulow.com. If you've read any of the entries on this blog, you know that I am a fan of homemade laundry detergent. In an attempt to further experiment with environmentally friendly laundry products, I took it one step further and tried using the all natural laundry softener of adding distilled vinegar to the softener cycle to softenFelicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-55283996504931475212008-02-06T13:29:00.003-05:002008-05-03T18:24:02.561-04:00Solar Nite Lite:Energy Efficient and Craft ProjectWe moved this post to our new location. Please visit us at www.blulow.com. Here's the scoop. The bulb on my daughter’s lava lamp night-light blew out. The tiny little replacement bulb is rather hard to find. Of course she mentioned it to me early in the day and I had completely forgotten about it until it was almost evening she reminded me that she didn’t have a night light. Too tired to run toFelicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-34771440088014314722008-01-22T10:21:00.001-05:002008-05-03T18:11:36.539-04:00Recycle the Heat From Your DryerPlease visit us at our new location. This post and all of the comments are now located at www.blulow.com. Check out our latest entries. I finally did it! I finally ordered the Dundas Jafine Heat Keeper to recycle the heat from my dryer thats usually funneled outside. I've been looking at it for a few weeks now and finally took the plunge. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Heat Felicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-87182704197452965532008-01-15T09:44:00.003-05:002008-05-03T18:32:22.031-04:00Replacing Paper Towels Experiment - UpdateWe have moved this post to our new site www.blulow.com. Please stop by the new site to view our latest posts and comments. Some time ago, I tried a kitchen experiment by replacing paper towels with cloth towels. Here's an update. Not only have I saved money by not having to purchase paper towels, I've found that the cloth towels come in handy with things like washing dishes, cleaning windows, Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15382053513361222218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-77254997093422098452007-12-28T06:17:00.001-05:002008-01-15T09:53:37.777-05:00Make One Blulow New Year's ResolutionThis year when making your New Year's resolutions, why not make just one for the environment? I believe there is a trick to making and keeping New Years resolutions. The trick is to think about them before you make them and to make very few. One, two or three resolutions is more than enough to keep you busy for the year. This year, make one for the environment. Think about it before you claim Felicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-37487111339904915612007-12-15T08:41:00.000-05:002007-12-15T08:43:29.609-05:00Cremation vs Burial - Something to think aboutNot something that most people want to think about, but which will it be? Since this blog is about being frugal and living green, naturally I lean towards cremation. However, I understand that culturally and traditionally many people prefer traditional burial. Check out Cremation vs Burial - That is the Question for my take on the subject. We don't live forever. What will it be?Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15382053513361222218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-51659128982932856332007-12-01T09:02:00.000-05:002007-12-01T09:07:52.988-05:00Thinking Green During the Holiday Season Think for a moment about the 3rd or 4th hour of your Christmas day. If your day is anything like mine used to be, it consisted of a tree with a bunch of opened toys scattered about and a ton of boxes and wrapping paper to be disposed of. The kids are happy with their newfound toys (most of them they didn't deserve because they were rather naughty throughout the year) and you and your spouse areFelicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-90720000861090515252007-09-27T15:42:00.001-04:002007-09-27T15:48:11.561-04:00Green Oven Cleaning?I found this neat article about green cleaning your oven: http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/153/1/Earth-friendly-oven-cleaning.html. I haven't tried it as yet, but it's worth giving it a shot. As a matter of fact, the entire Green Living Tips website is worth checking out if you are serious about living green. I've been busy with quite a few writing assignments so my posts have been few Felicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-69103638984329362582007-09-06T19:39:00.002-04:002008-05-21T21:42:35.899-04:00Killing Ants, Spiders and Other Bugs NaturallyPlease visit this post at its new location: Killing Ants, Spiders and Other Bugs Naturally. We've moved this post and comments to our new site BLULOW.com. We will no longer respond to comments posted here. I knew a woman who suffered miserably in the Spring when the ants would come out of the woodwork and roam around her house. She was allergic to all bug sprays and pesticides. It was driving Feliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15382053513361222218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-41423932296370008752007-08-19T14:35:00.000-04:002007-11-29T08:56:01.876-05:00Household Uses for White VinegarI've been on vacation, so I haven't posted any additional blulow tips for a while. Here's a quickie to hold you over until I get back: White Vinegar - a staple for a blulow household. Here are some uses: Laundry softener. Use it instead of your regular softener. No, it does not give the downy or snuggle fresh smell, but it does remove the excess soap that causes hard laundry. Honestly, I use Felicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-3123333529622745222007-08-07T07:37:00.004-04:002008-05-03T18:37:22.861-04:00Paper Towels Go BlulowWe have moved this post and comments to our new location. Please visit us at www.blulow.com Try this with me. Instead of plowing through roll after roll of paper towels, I bought several kitchen hand towels and a basket. I placed the basket underneath the paper towel dispenser. I'm in the process of retraining my family to use the washable hand towels instead of the disposable paper towels. Felicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-46795075609290010102007-08-01T12:10:00.001-04:002008-02-14T05:32:00.511-05:00Homemade Laundry Detergent - Liquid, Powder, Which is Better? In addition to the recipe for liquid home made laundry detergent, here’s the recipe for homemade powdered laundry detergent. My preference? Well, I’m partial to the liquid one. Call me cheap, but it’s less expensive, it works and it allows me to add whatever scent I like. The powdered one is extremely effective, but I think I’ll wait until football season is back in full force when I have to Felicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-27665127346690224512007-07-25T17:50:00.004-04:002008-05-03T18:28:36.588-04:00Hydrogen Peroxide and Green Living (Blulow)We've moved. Please visit this post at its new location. The Blulow Blog is now located at www.blulow.com. As promised in my Basic Ingredients for Blulow Living blog entry, here are a few reasons why it's good to keep a few bottles of hydrogen peroxide in your home. Cleaning stainless steel sinks: It's great for leaving a stainless steel sink glistening. It may work as well on porcelain sinks Felicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193193848590008963.post-56590374007577992332007-07-17T07:47:00.001-04:002008-05-03T18:44:51.048-04:00Blulow and Animals - We can't forget our furry friendsThis post has been move to our new location. Please visit us at www.blulow.com. I want to talk about something that had not dawned on me until I received an e-mail from a concerned reader. Her email expressed a two-fold concern: Was the Arm & Hammer Washing Soda ingredient I call for the in the homemade laundry and dishwashing detergent recipes phosphate free?Is the Arm & Hammer testing processFelicianoreply@blogger.com