Want your piece of the pie?

If you're anything like me, this whole gazillion dollar stimulus plan has got you simply befuddled. Good idea, bad idea, Republicans, Democrats, CitiBank, Chrysler...Huh?

But, I have some good news that is comprehensible by green fans everywhere! There is money hidden away in this stimulus plan that is designated specifically for making greenish updates to your home! This is helpful in defraying the extra cost that sometimes comes along with trying to be energy-efficient. I don't have all the details, and you would certainly want to do your research before making any major purchases/renovations but this is something to think about if you have any big remodeling plans in the next few years.

Some of the qualifiers for a 30% tax credit are residential solar power systems, small wind turbines for the home, central A/C units, biomass or pellet stoves, water heaters, windows, doors, and skylights (as long as their U-factor is 0.3 or less), electric heat pumps, roofing and insulation, furnaces and hot water boilers. If solar power or wind turbines are what you crave, (my dream home in my mind has a wind turbine in the yard for sure) there is no cap on the 30% rebate. The other items on the list add up and cap at $1,500. What an awesome way for the government to encourage responsible citizens to conserve Earth's resources!

A few other tax rebates that are proving to be helpful in this area:

-Allowances for $230/month pre-tax money to take public transit to work. This amount is up from $120/month in previous years.Hop on the train (or in Lincoln, the bus) and conserve some gasoline!

-There is a $7,500 rebate for purchasing a hybrid electric car this year. For hybrids that are not electric, rebates vary and you can check with http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ for updated lists of rebates.

-The tax rebate given to college students for tuition can also be applied to supplies, including the Kindle wireless reading device (which can cut down on a student's paper waste!)

Love that fresh paint smell?

Here at Purely Maid, a lot of conversation topics have been baby-centered lately. Why, you ask? Well, Tosha has had a few and Allison is adding one to the Purely Maid forces in a few short months.

One of the biggest decisions, as a mother, and something that Allison has been comtemplating with Tosha, is "What color to paint the nursery?" If you've ever remodeled a room, you know that the color choices are endless. Even if you decide on white, there are hundreds of shades of white! Something that should be more important than the color choice, however, is the choice to use a paint that contains NO (or LOW) VOCs. Upon a recent trip to Menards, Tosha and Allison saw several brands of paint that boasted no or low VOCs on the label but were not quite sure what a VOC was, or how it would affect them.

VOC stands forVolatile Organic Compouds and it is the stuff that gives paint its signature smell. The stronger the odor of the room you have painted, the more VOCs the paint contains. Some examples of compounds that would be considered VOCs and are found in interior paints are benzene, formaldehyde, kerosene, ammonia, toluene and xylene. These six compounds are classified as either carcinogens or neurotoxins and can lead to various health issues. VOCs can worsen asthma, cause skin and eye irritation, headaches, nausea, dizziness, trouble with coodination, respiratory problems, nerve damage, and in severe cases - liver or kidney damage.

VOCs are also emitted by paint strippers, some cleaning products, pesticides, office equipment such as copiers and printers, glues/adhesives, permanant markers, and air fresheners.

In addition to the health risks created by VOCs, they also contribute to air pollutants. What do you get when you add sunlight, VOCs, and atmospheric nitrous oxide? SMOG, that's what!

So if you are remodeling a room, or turning that spare "junk" room into a nursery, look for paints that have no or low VOCs. The major paint brands all seem to have a line of low-to-no VOC paints.

If you're using paint for a project and are unsure of its VOC content, it is best to ventilate, ventilate, ventilate! Also, buy as close to the needed amount as possible and properly dispose of any leftovers. Make sure to wear a mask if stripping or sanding paint. If the paint that you are removing is older, it may be wise to have it tested for lead before handling.

And if you have any suggestions for Allison's little one's nursery (or the babies name, for that matter) please share!

To Buy Organic, Or Not? That Is The Question.

It seems these days that every time I go to the grocery store, I see more and more items with the claim of "organic" on the label. These items are almost always more expensive (sometimes MUCH more expensive) but I often feel compelled to shell out the extra dough to make myself healthier.

The fact of the matter is, there are some foods that are much safer for both you and the environment, if they are purchased organically. Then there are some with fewer health risks that can still be purchased in the traditional manor.

If you find yourself in the grocery store isle, debating over the organic version of your favorite food and its cheaper, non-organic counterpart, there are a few questions you could ask yourself to help make the decision.
-If a fruit or vegetable, how thick is its skin or covering? Would it be easy to puncture?
-What part of the world did this food travel from and what might be their standards for using chemicals/pesticides?
-Is this fruit or vegetable in season in this part of the world?

The following is a list compiled from several websites, including www.thedailygreen.com and it contains the foods that would be best purchased in their organic forms.

• Meat Animals that are raised for meat production are typically fed grains treated with pesticides, also are given antibiotics, and growth hormones. Some cows also are fed parts of other cows, which is a common cause of Mad Cow disease. If a meat product is certified organic, the USDA states that it will be free of pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics.
• Milk Organic dairies feed cows only grains that are free from pesticides, and these cows are not given antibiotics or growth hormones such as rGBH or rbST.
• Coffee Look for Fair Trade Certified Organic labels to ensure that no pesticides were used on plants and that fair wages were paid to farm workers producing the coffee.
• Fruits such as peaches, apples, strawberries, grapes, cherries, raspberries, and pears These fruits all have delicate skins and are most highly treated with pesticides.
• Juices that contain above fruits
• Vegetables such as bell peppers, lettuce, spinach, potatoes, and tomatoes Again, big recipients of pesticides/fungicides.

On the other hand, the following foods are considered to be safe when consumed in their non-organic form, as they don't heavily retain pesticides: asparagus, avocados, bananas, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, kiwi, mangoes, onions, papayas, pineapples, and sweet peas.

A Jump Start to Your Holiday Shopping

Now that Halloween has come and gone, the stores can FILL the shelves with all things Christmas-y!

This holiday season, you may find yourself thinking of the economy, your pocketbook, the earth, and all the wonderful people on your usual gift-giving list. Purely Maid (and their awesome web resources!) has a few ideas to help you with giving a little greener come December!

*Do your shopping at locally owned business (rather than large chain stores). This helps out the small business owners in your community while also cutting back on shipping/transportation needs and reducing oil consumption.

*When appropriate, buy homemade! If you've never been to the Etsy website, you are in for a real treat and you would be hard-pressed NOT to find something perfect for everyone at very affordable prices!

*Food and drinks are always welcome gifts, especially when giving to the host of a holiday party. Finding locally produced/grown cheeses, wine, beer, jams, preserves, or meats can be a fun challenge! Buy organic and you can improve the health of your recipient. Also, look for products that are labelled "Fair Trade" or for the vegetarian on your list "Vegan"

*Supporting an organization that is near and dear to your heart or the heart of the recipient benefits so many. There is a very helpful list of charitable organizations supported by donations at TreeHugger.

*By consolidating on-line and mail-in orders you can cut back on extra packaging and shipping.

*Shiny or sparkly wrapping paper cannot be recycled so when you're purchasing your wrapping, look for paper that is made from recycled materials, non-sparkly, or you could re-use something from around the house like newspaper, fabric, or maps.

*The same goes for greeting cards. Opt for ones made from recycled paper. Or, send an e-card!

*If you receive multiple catalogues, think about cancelling any that you don't order from or very much enjoy browsing.

*As far as the place where you display your wrapped gifts, make sure to recycle your Christmas tree! Have it mulched and not just taken to a landfill. Or, you could purchase a potted tree that you can replant when the ground thaws.

*If gift certificates are more your style of gift giving, think local: restaurants, retail stores, museums, state park permits, local used book store or antique store. If you live in Lincoln, try places like 10,000 Villages, A Novel Idea, The Black Market, Bread and Cup, The Mill, etc...

*If you're looking to encourage a little "greenness" in the lives of those on your gift giving list, try putting together a (bamboo) gift basket of natural skin care or hair care products, cleaning supplies, or recycled paper-goods that can be used around the home. You could really get creative with this one! You could make up a cute little basket for the bathroom with all of Method's bathroom cleaners and some recycled, bleach free toilet paper, something for the laundry room with Seventh Generation, several travel size (made-from-recycled-materials-and-with-wind-power) bottles of Aveda hair products, or a winters worth of skin hydrating lotions, washes, and lip balms from Burt's Bees or Arbonne.

*And finally, think organic cotton and bamboo. Replace a special someones bedroom linens, bath towels or favorite tee's with organic cotton and/or bamboo. Both are grown without pesticides and bamboo is very quickly renewable, as it can grow up to a foot a day!

What a bright idea, Home Depot!

With the state of the economy these days, we're all looking for ways to cut the cost of our energy bills (not to mention our Visa bill...) so we might be switching to CFL bulbs. These bulbs cost slightly more than the normal bulbs BUT in the lifetime of the bulb, they can save anywhere from $30-$50 on your electric bill. CFL bulbs' lifespan is 6,000-15,000 hours as compared to the lifespan of the incandescent bulb at 750-1,000 hours.

Now, before you run out to Home Depot to replace all your bulbs, there is one dim side to the CFL's. They contain small amounts of mercury. Four to five mg per bulb, to be more exact. If mercury at this level is inhaled chronically, it can be toxic to the brain, kidney, spinal cord and liver. So you can imagine what happens when these CFLs go to the landfills and are broken. Mercury is released into the surrounding land/water at dangerous levels.

This is where Home Depot comes in! All Home Depot stores now have a CFL recycling program! You can take your burnt out bulbs to the service desk where they are safely collected and picked up by a HAZMAT service, who de-mercury the bulbs and recycle the glass to be used in new bulbs. What a great service to the community! So: make the switch, save some dollars, then recycle!

All this talk of mercury in our lightbulbs may have you worried about a broken bulb in your home, and rightfully so. Here is a link to the EPA's webpage that advises what to do in the case of a breakage.

A Helpful Tip from a Customer's Home...Shower Doors

Shower doors...UGH! Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Well, I suppose you'd live but it might make showering awkward and sloppy:) It seems that even in the newest of new homes that we clean, shower doors all have soap scum, hard water spots, rusty/moldy caulking, etc. We admit, they are difficult to get clean!

So, we have a suggestion for those of you with showers that have doors as opposed to curtains. In one of the beautiful homes that we clean, the owner of the home hung a shower rod and curtain on the INSIDE of the shower door. That prevents the water from coming in contact with the door and it also looks really nice. The customer chose a pretty gold-colored curtain, so it gives a nice golden glow to the shower! Hey, it's worth the try, right? Another very helpful hint for showers is a daily shower spray. The only non-toxic type that comes to mind immediatly is Method's Daily shower spray in the scent of ylang ylang. Yum. Or you could be crafty and mix up your own with some H2O, white vinegar, a little lemon juice and maybe a few drops of tea tree oil.

And, just a side note on major shower cleaning issues: cut a lemon in half and rub it on hard water stains. Let it sit and then scrub like crazy! Lemon works wonders on hard water stains.

If anyone else has any tips (such as the shower-curtain-on-the-inside thing) you can leave them in the comments or email them to us at purelymaid@yahoo.com! You may get to see your tip in print!

Lincoln Grocery Stores

I'm sure you've all seen them in stores...they are THE REUSABLE SHOPPING BAG and they are (hopefully) taking over the world.

I just googled "plastic bags in the U.S." and was bombarded with information, slightly scary information about these little white grocery store ghosts.

Did you know

-approximately 380 billion plastic shopping bags are used in the U.S. annually

-between 1 and 4 percent of these bags are recycled

-plastic bags are a hazard to aquatic life, they cause suffocation and are easily ingested and cannot pass through the animals system, causing the animal to starve

-the type of plastic used in the bags is not readily biodegradable

-it takes 430,000 gallons of oil to produce 100 million plastic bags

On the positive side, I also learned

-San Francisco, CA has banned plastic shopping bags in grocery stores and large pharmacies

-Los Angeles will follow suit in the year 2010

-Starting in 2009, Seattle WA will charge a 20 cent "green fee" to plastic bag users

-Home furnishing store IKEA already charges a nickel for each plastic bag customers use

Since we Lincoln-ites aren't lucky enough to live on the coast (or have an IKEA for that matter), maybe we can reduce the number of plastic bags we are using by purchasing REUSABLE shopping bags and throw them in our backseats for our trips to the grocery stores. These bags can be purchased literally everywhere and sometimes for less than a dollar a piece!

The following grocery stores in Lincoln are giving a $0.05 discount per reusable bag you bring:

Russ's

HyVee

Leon's

Open Harvest has a punch card for reusable bag fans. Fill your punch card and you get $5 off your next visit!

SunMart, SuperSaver, WalMart and Target all said, "Not yet, but that's something we are looking into"

So stock up on a few reusable bags, save some change, and use your old plastic bags as liners for all your little trash cans!