Today’s green question appeared on the post, 25 Safe, Non-toxic, Homemade Cleaning Supplies; a reader asked, “I have some old floor cleaners, wax, ect.. what’s the best way to get rid of it with out hurting the environment?”

First of all you’ll need to know which household cleaners are worth keeping, and which should be tossed. You can read the following post; How many cleaning supplies are under your sink that your child could safely drink? to sort out your chemicals.

Secondly, you don’t want to toss them in the sink. Cleaners can be just as toxic to the environment as paint or other hazardous materials so allowing them into the groundwater system is no good. You need to dispose of them correctly.

WHERE TO DISPOSE OF YOUR ICKY CLEANERS:

Apartment Therapy has a nice informative post up for people who live in large urban areas (i.e. NY, San Fran, etc) – Where to Rid of Your Toxic Household Cleaners but this won’t help if you live elsewhere.

Some other ideas…

• Earth 911 lets you search for recycling centers and household cleaners are included.
• Check with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Their household toxic waste disposal page lists tips for proper use and disposal of waste (like cleaners) and offers ideas about where to drop off these items in your community.
• Your local recycling center is a good place to start. Even if your general recycling center won’t accept old cleaners, they’ll be able to tell you who will.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Now, obviously dressing in earth friendly clothing is only one small step. But if your tee, or in this case your little one’s outfit gets someone thinking than that’s a good deal. Plus how cute are baby tree huggers?

All of these baby items are organic and ultra cool so if your family has some tiny tree huggers (or are expecting some) I’d hit this shop. These outfits would also make great baby shower gifts.

Organic Think Green Onezie on sweet pea

Organic Cotton Treehugger Onezie on forest or sky blue

Organic Cotton Love Your Mama Baby Onezie

Don’t know a little — no worries. Soul Flower has clothing for the older of us and also neat gifts.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

EcoSmart is a company founded in Australia. The EcoSmart Fire is an open fireplace that works for businesses, homes, apartment, or most other places you can think of. It lacks a flu and requires no installation or utility connection. The best part — it runs on Denatured Ethanol (a renewable energy resource), burns clean, and requires almost no maintenance.

There are lots of cool designs to choose from to. I didn’t see any that looked very rustic to me (I like woodstoves and old school brick) but in the right atmosphere and placement you could find a model that would suit your space and design style. Plus they’re more earth friendly than traditional fireplaces or woodstoves so what you give in rustic aesthetics you gain back for the planet.

Look at how you can integrate the fire into furniture pieces (under the TV):

Some benefits from the EcoSmart Fire website:

• “No flue, no hard connection
• Efficient and effective heating solution
• Independently tested
• Unprecedented design flexibility
• Fuelled by a renewable green energy
• You can regulate the flame and turn it on/off at any time”

Of course you may be interested in where to get the fuel you’ll need to run this fireplace. EcoSmarts states, “You can purchase Methylated in standard packaging of 1, 2, 4 and 20 litres from Supermarkets, Hardware Stores, Petrol Stations and Corner Shops and decant into the Jerry Can as per instructions. The Fire Company offers a fuel delivery service within the Sydney Metro area and will be expanding to other areas as soon as possible.”

You can contact EcoSmart to see when they might be delivering fuel in your neck of the woods.

I like the idea; I’m actually wondering if you could use it in an RV. It seems like you could. Maybe… I’m going to look into it. If so that would be very slick.

Visit EcoSmart Fire to see many more design choices and accessories like screens and extinguishers.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Nope; paint poured into your drains or outside will harm streams, groundwater supplies and soil due to runoff and chemicals. Not to mention; if you pour it outside, animals and kids may find it and get sick.

• The best first step would be to use safer, less toxic paints. One of my favorite magazines, Mother Earth News had a wonderful article last year that discussed earth-friendly paints including how to make your own. There’s also a full gallery of photos.

• If you do a lot of painting save your leftovers. Unless you’re using key-lime for everything (please say no) than all your old paints mixed together will tend to create a dullish gray color can be re-used as a primer for other projects.
• Use it up. Let the kids use it with small brushes for art, paint birdhouses or bookshelves; donate it to a school or community center.
• Give it to a hazardous waste collection organization. Ask your local trash or recycling program where to go.
• Bulk paint is no bargain. I very rarely say, “Don’t buy in bulk” but anything that’s toxic is going to be something I do say that about. If you only need to paint the porch rails, don’t buy a gallon because it’s less money per unit. That’s not a bargain for the planet.

What small green steps do you take when decorating?

Post from: Tree Hugging Family