ArcaMax

A simple way to save water and stay healthy is to wash your hands with cold water. The temperature of the water doesn’t really remove more germs; the most important thing is that you use enough soap and lather up. Simply wet your hands, turn off the faucet, and lather your hands for at least 20 seconds. Then rinse with cold water. Researchers ...Read more

Want to make one healthy and eco-friendly change to help you and your feline companion? If you have cats at home, it might be time to rethink the type of kitty litter you use. Conventional kitty litter is a combination of binders, with the main material being clay. The process of harvesting the clay is destructive to the planet, and the dust ...Read more

Do you have retailer loyalty cards or "reward" cards that you use for in-store discounts and to rack up points that you can use for freebies down the road? These reward programs are often in supermarkets and drugstores like Safeway, Walgreens and CVS. But did you know you can register your loyalty card through the website eScrip.com and use it ...Read more

Do you know what the No. 1 most recycled product is? It's not what you might think: It's car batteries. Almost all of the car battery is recyclable. Sixty percent of it is lead, which can be recycled and used for other metal products. The three pounds of plastic is also reclaimed and used in the manufacturing of new batteries. And the sulfuric ...Read more

Glass bottles, glass jars and wineglasses may be made from glass, but that doesn't mean that they are all recyclable. While glass jars and bottles that once held food items like pasta sauce, ketchup and applesauce are recyclable in some curbside recycling, glass used for bakeware and for table settings is not. This type of glass has a different ...Read more

Did you know that 44 million windshield wiper blades are disposed of in landfills every year in the United States? That’s a lot of waste. And while wipers are nearly impossible to recycle, you can choose wipers designed to last much longer than traditional ones. Look for blades made of silicone. They last three times longer, which means you ...Read more

After you've boiled a pot of pasta or potatoes, do you ever wonder what you can do with all of that leftover starchy water? Instead of pouring it down the drain, let it cool down to room temperature and reuse it to water your houseplants and garden. The residual starch in the water actually spurs the nutrients in soil, which helps feed the ...Read more

According to Eating Well, almost all vitamins and supplements will keep if stored in a cool, dry place. But there are five supplements that can do much better if refrigerated to minimize degradation of the product. Those five supplements are fish oil, probiotics, liquid iron, flaxseed oil and vitamin C. All five of these items are sensitive to ...Read more

Wednesday may be your best time to stock up on the least expensive organic fruits and veggies. Supermarkets traditionally release circulars and sale prices on Tuesday nights for sales that start the following day. When store managers check inventory on Tuesdays and mark down prices on sale items, they also note which perishables need to sell. ...Read more

A little leftover white wine that's gone bad shouldn't be tossed down the drain. A study by Oregon State University found that white wine is an effective disinfectant in the kitchen, killing foodborne pathogens like salmonella and E. coli. You can use old white wine to douse produce to clean it, wipe cutting boards to disinfect them and even use...Read more

Many of us are incorporating salmon into our diets as a high-protein addition to a healthier lifestyle. But not all salmon fillets are the same. Wild-caught Alaskan salmon have high levels of heart-healthy omega-3s, are low in contaminants and are caught sustainably through tough Alaskan regulations and government monitoring of the fishing ...Read more

Did you know one of the top reasons household paint is "wasted" is because the color we chose is the wrong shade? It can be hard to choose the perfect shade from a myriad of paint chips, and often when we pick something we like, it appears to be too bright, too dark or just wrong on our walls. To help avoid this financial and material waste, ...Read more

Your local animal shelter is always appreciative and in need of common things for cats and dogs. Just like donating your children’s unwanted toys to charity, you can gather lightly used pet supplies and give them to your shelter. Check to see if you have extra grooming supplies, bedding, toys and/or collars and leashes to give. These are ...Read more

There’s one more thing you should bring into the shower with you every morning: your reusable water bottle. Water bottles should be washed after each use, and one easy way to save water and time is to simply wash it in the shower. To disinfect the bottle, you need hot water and a little bit of soap. Just put a small amount of dish soap in the ...Read more

It’s called the “no lid” coffee trend, and it’s exactly what it sounds like: Order your morning coffee without a plastic lid. When you forget your reusable cup, the next best thing is to minimize your disposable waste. People are choosing to get cups without lids, since plastic lids are nearly impossible to recycle. Plus, coffee ...Read more

Do you have a lot of cardboard boxes from a recent move, and you’re unsure what to do with them? You can recycle them in almost any curbside recycling program, but you can do something good with them, too. Charities like Goodwill, the Salvation Army and the Kidney Foundation are often in need of gently used cardboard boxes. They use them to ...Read more

When you rinse out a steel or tin can for recycling, you might wonder: Is the lid recyclable? The answer is yes, since it is made from the same material as the body of the can. But before you add it to your recyclables, gently touch the sides of the lid and see if the edges are razor-sharp. Even modern-day recycling facilities still do much of ...Read more

Do you want to add houseplants to help beautify your home and purify the air? One option is to buy them at your local florist or home improvement center; another option is to get them totally free. The website Freecycle is like Craigslist, but without money ever changing hands for goods. And when people move from an old home to a new one, one of...Read more

Have an old fur coat in the closet? You can put it to good use to help wild animals in need. The nonprofit animal advocacy organization Born Free runs the Fur for the Animals Campaign, which uses old fur coats (and hats and blankets) to help orphaned and injured wild animals. The items are sent to wildlife rehabilitation centers around the ...Read more

Everyone loses socks. So what do you do with the stray single sock you have left? Don't toss it -- you can reuse it around the house! Fill a sock with cedar shavings, tying it off at the top; since socks are porous, the cedar scent will permeate the air inside a closet and keep moths at bay. To keep your car windows from fogging up, fill a sock ...Read more