Showing posts with label helpful tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label helpful tips. Show all posts

Fire safety

Posted in: , on December 15, 2008 0 comments  

How to avoid plastics in your kitchen

By now I'm sure everyone has heard about how unhealthy using plastics to store and heat food products can be. While the results aren't 100% conclusive, there are tons of studies linking the chemicals in everyday plastics to cancer, hormone disruptions, and other nasty health problems.

I have my concerns, but so far, I've found few concrete suggestions of how to avoid using plastics in the kitchen, and even when products are recommended, even fewer that are available where I live! That's why I was pleased to see this SavyMom.ca article about reducing our reliance on plastics in our kitchens. It not only gives tips, but links to products and retailers! I'm going to have to work on this list - I'm a big user of Ziplock bags, and we have a lot of plastic containers too.

Since I know some of you won't click on the link (but you should, it's a great article!), I'll summarize some of the tips here.

  1. Hand wash your plastic containers. Yeah, I hate to do dishes too, but heat breaks down the plastic.
  2. Don't reuse one-use plastic watter bottles. And even better than plastic Nalgene bottles are aluminum Sigg bottles.
  3. Use glass or ceramic food containers instead of Gladware/Tupperware/Rubbermaid types. (Click for suggestions of brands and where to buy)
  4. Use wooden cutting boards. Not for meat though - the bacteria can stay in the wood.
  5. Use glass baby bottles, or look for plastic bottles with fewer chemicals.
  6. Avoid plastic wrap. Use wax paper to wrap sandwiches. Use glass or ceramic food containers. Take the plastic wrap off your food when you microwave it - use a paper towel or wax paper to cover your food, instead.
Read the article for more great tips!

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Posted in: , , , , , on January 16, 2007 5 comments  

Dryer care (yes, it sounds boring, but useful!)

Here's a handy (true) tip I received from my Mom this morning:

Washing the lint filter in your clothes dryer can help extend the lifespan of the appliance.

Apparently dryer sheets create an invisible film over the lint trap mesh which causes your dryer's heating unit to burn out more quickly. The best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take the filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush at least every six months. That makes your dryer last twice as long.

Read more information here.


I'm also interested in using dryer balls instead of fabric softener sheets. Has anyone tried them?

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Posted in: , on November 07, 2006 5 comments  

Freecycling

Have you heard about Freecycle?

It's a great grassroots movement; a collection of forums from around the world where people can request and give free items to others in their community.

Chances are, your city or municipality will have a Freecycle group, and once you sign up you can get in on the action. It's a great place to find a home for the good used items that you have in your house. Chances are, someone has something you want, and you have something that someone else needs. I haven't received anything from Freecycle yet, but I've posted an office chair, pull-out couch and vacuum, and never have any trouble finding someone willing to pick up the items (which was wonderful in the case of the couch; it was heavy and we don't have a truck).

Donating items to your local used goods stores like the Diabetes Association or Salvation Army are great ideas, but Freecycle is one more way to send your used items to good homes.

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Posted in: , on October 20, 2006 0 comments  

Critical questions to ask about pink ribbon products

On October first, I wrote a post about the overwhelming amount of pink ribbon products, and how you should question how much money from each sale is donated to which organization(s), and where the money is spent (Locally? Nationally? Internationally?).

A list of BlogHer blogs posting about about breast cancer and women's health led me to a post by MotherPie about shopping for a cause, which led me to the Think Before You Pink website, which lists some more critical questions to ask when buying pink ribbon products:

  • What is the maximuim amount that will be spent? (some companies will only donate up to a maximum amount, no matter how many items are sold)
  • How much money was spent marketing the product (vs. the amount donated to the cause)?
  • What is the company doing to assure that its products are not contributing to the breast cancer epidemic?
If you don't receive satisfactory answers to your questions, consider whether your money would be better spent by donating directly to a breast cancer organization which funds programs that you support.

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Posted in: , , on October 17, 2006 2 comments  

Many, many things I've been meaning to share for a long time...

Link update! Here are a bunch of interesting sites that I've had bookmarked for a while:

  • I read about this cool site on Simple Essentials: It's called Earth Album, and it's a mashup of Google Earth and Flickr, so that when you click on an area of the world map, you can see photos of that location.

  • Translate your blog with one click

  • Tips for quickly greening your new home

  • Altered Oceans: It's sad and disgusting to see what we've done to our oceans...

  • A "Best Of" Sesame Street DVD will be released on October 24th! This will be great for all of you who to show your kids the best sequences from the classic children's show. Old School Volume 1: 1969-1974 contains "I Love Trash," "Rubber Duckie," "C is for Cookie", the Ladybug Picnic, Alligator King, King of Eight, and the Pinball Number Count, as well as numerous skits and the original pilot.

  • Cute flashlights for the kids to take around at Halloween... or stocking stuffers for the young-at-heart!

  • When you wash your hands, how much time do you take? 5 seconds? 10 seconds? Do you *gasp* just flick them under the water without even using soap? Medical professionals recommend that you vigorously scrub your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, in order to kill the germs on your hands (that's about the time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday). Enter: Squidsoap. According to designverb, "the soap dispenser has an ink marker that stains your hand once you pump out some soap. The stain marks your hand until you thoroughly scrub and wash your hands clean of all germs including the new stain (which acts as a layer of germs). This somewhat forces your to actually SEE something and scrub it away."


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Posted in: , , on October 13, 2006 1 comments  

Saving energy (and money!)

Okay, I'm rather behind in my blog reading (annd writing!), but here's a ming-boggling fact from Saskboy and Energy Star:

Posted in: , , on August 09, 2006 0 comments  

25 ways to help curb climate change

Parade Magazine has a list of 25 easy ways you can help curb climate change.

One of the easiest is to buy new lightbulbs!

"If every household in the U.S. replaced one light bulb with an Energy Star-qualified compact fluorescent bulb, it would equal removing one million cars from the road."

Not sure why you should care about global warming? Here are a few reasons. More here. View a slideshow about the big picture. See some of the changes in the past 30 years. And read about the 4 stages of global warming denial.

Posted in: , , , on June 30, 2006 0 comments  

Old Time Radio Shows

This one is so neat it deserves its own post.

RadioLovers.com has a ton of MP3s of old time radio shows, free for download! They have a lot of cool stuff from the golden age of radio, such as Batman, Flash Gordon, The Bob Hope Show, George Burns, Gunsmoke, Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers, Les Miserables and Unsolved Mysteries.

Right now, I'm listening to Abott & Costello's 'Who's On First'. So funny (but the cigarette commercials are slightly disturbing).

Posted in: on June 29, 2006 4 comments  

Bits & Bites

I have a million things bookmarked that I want to share, but haven't gotten around to yet. I'm heading off on vacation soon *happy dance*, so I'll try to cram a bunch of it into the next few posts.


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How to be a good customer

I'm sure most of you have worked in customer service at one point or another. I worked at a record store for 5 years, and then spent another year in retail. I was good at my job, and I loved the record store most of the time. I also liked most of our customers, but there were occasional times when I wanted to wring someone's neck.

There were the customers who would let their kids race through the store (which usually ended in bruises, or someone crying). There were the customers who would complain to me about the prices. There were the lovely people who would flip out when the debit machine was down. And there was the guy who insisted (very loudly and rudely) that he should be able to return a CD because after listening to it, he didn't like the songs (even though we allowed customers to preview CDs).

Anyways, this all comes to mind because Danté wrote a post about things to remember when you're a customer. Feel free to tell him your pet peeves. Even if you haven't worked in customer service, I'm sure you've seen "those customers" before, and have had to refrain yourself from giving them a smack upside the head.

For those in the service industry who are having a crabby day, the website 'Customers Suck! The Customer is Never Right!' always provides a few laughs. I just noticed that they have a comic strip too, so enjoy!


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Posted in: on June 23, 2006 2 comments  

2 simple software tips that will improve your life

I was just taking a break from sorting through the mountain of email in my inbox, and I found a fantastic (and very well timed!) tip for Microsoft Outlook.

You know how some people reply to emails over and over again, without changing the subject line, so that the content of the message eventually has nothing to do with the title? Well, grumble no more! To make it much easier to tell what a message is actually about when you're scanning your email inbox, check out this handy little how-to from Lifehacker (a fantastic tips blog, by the way):

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And while we're on the topic of helpful software tips, if you have Windows XP, for heaven's sake, reduce your eye strain by turning on ClearType!

ClearType is a Windows XP feature that smoothes the edges of fonts to make them easier to read. It's great for people like me who spend their days in front of a computer. I recently turned on ClearType on my Mom's computer, and she found it to be a big difference.

To turn on ClearType:
  • Go to Start > Control Panel > Appearance and Themes > Display
  • Click on the Appearance tab, and the Effects button
  • Check the box next to "Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts", and select ClearType from the drop-down menu
  • Click OK, then Apply, and OK
That's it! Now isn't that easier to read?

Before and after:



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Posted in: , on June 14, 2006 5 comments  

Emergencies, and Superman to the rescue!

Can you swim? This Google Maps hack shows you the floodline of your city/province/state/country if the water level were to rise between 1 and 14 metres.


On a related note, even if you missed Emergency Preparedness Week, there's a lot of great information on the website. Learn how to make your family safe and self-sufficient for at least 72 hours following an emergency. (via Saskboy - who reported on this in a timely fashion!)


While we're on the subject of the environment and emergencies, check out these hilarious advertisements from Singapore, entitled "Atmospheric Pollution Affects Everyone" (click the link to see more ads).


An essay about the essential wrong-ness (I don't care if that's not a word) of manly cookie jars

"There's tons of inappropriate merchandising and tie-ins out there, but it's the ones that bring together tough guys and pussy-ish items that are my favorites. And ironically, as much as cookies kick ass, they just aren't 'tough'. I don't care how huge you are, or how deep your voice is-- you can't intimidate me saying, 'Gimme another snickerdoodle.' "

Vintage public domain cartoons to brighten your day, courtsey of Bibi's Box:
(via Drawn.ca)

And..... a little song to make you smile. (via Patrick C.)
Bright Eyes - The First Day of My Life



Link (in case the player doesn't work for you)

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Posted in: , , on May 18, 2006 0 comments  

Emergencies and the media

Add ICE to your cell phone contacts

I read about this last summer, but I've never posted about it. It's a simple concept. If you're hurt, and someone assisting you opens your cell phone for an emergency contact, how will they know who to call? They won't know if "John" is your husband or a business associate. They could call "Mom", but some people might not want a parent to be the first contact in case of emergency.

The ICE (In Case of Emergency) campaign promotes one simple action: in your cell phone address book, label a contact as ICE, so emergency responders know who to contact. For instance, my address book says "Brad * ICE". If your contact's name is long, put ICE before their name, so that it's visible in your address book, and doesn't get cut off.

Of course, simply having an ICE contact isn't foolproof - Someone assisting you might not know how to use your phone, you may not have your cell phone on you in an emergency, and many people won't know what ICE means. But it only takes 30 seconds to do, and it's better than nothing, right?


Richard Dreyfuss campaigns against "shaped news"

The Oscar-winning star says an obsession with delivering instantaneous news and images provides too little context for audiences to reflect and understand what is happening in the world.
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That creates what Dreyfuss calls "shaped news" -- a version of events according to how the mainstream media want audiences to see what happened, and a violation of journalism's core value of objectivity.
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"Do the mainstream media ever tell their readers 'Don't believe everything we tell you?' No, they don't."
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"Information from more than one source is good. I'm totally in favor of it, even if people send propaganda. In the aggregate you can find more truth than in one opinion."

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Posted in: on May 05, 2006 0 comments  

Random things of interest...

Obviously I have varied interests!


Activities to stimulate your brain (click here for more ideas and elaboration on the points below):
  • Stimulate your ears differently - listen to music you wouldn't normally listen to.
  • Learn about different people and lifestyles.
  • Walk backwards through your whole house.
  • Learn to juggle.
  • Attend churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, trade union meetings, places of worship and meditation that you never have.
  • Face your fears!
  • Try things that push the limits of your comfort zone.
  • Travel!
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Posted in: , , , , on May 02, 2006 2 comments  

25 (easy) Ways to Save the Planet

Treehugger has a great post on 25 Ways to Save the Planet.

Now, I know many people like to stay away from environmental websites because some of them tend to be preachy, or they advocate expensive or very time-consuming projects. I recently stumbled across Treehugger, and it's a really great site. Each day, their writers post notes about interesting news, events and products related to the environment and 'green' living. It's kind of like Boing Boing, but for the environment. They also have a surprising amount of Canadian content, courtsey of Lloyd Alter, their Toronto correspondent.

Their post on 25 Ways to Save the Planet has some great, easy suggestions. You can read the whole list by clicking the link above, but here's a sampling of small changes that make a big difference:

  • Compost your garbage instead of throwing it all away; over 60% of solid household waste is fit for the compost pile, heap or bin (Check out Treehugger's picks for composters here).

  • A low-flow showerhead can save you gallons of water each time you use it. We've seen 'em as low as a half-gallon per minute, and for as little as $12 US.

  • Use eco-friendly household cleaners. It's never made any sense to us to use "dirty" chemicals and volatile organic compounds to try to get things cleaner around the house (Treehugger's website features many reviews of green cleaners).

  • Use recycled paper. There's no need to use virgin paper for things like computer printing, envelopes, paper towels, toilet paper or tissues; the best part is that it's all easy to find at office supply stores and grocery stores.

  • We can't emphasize this one enough: replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents. They're more energy efficient, last longer, and can even help clean the air in your home.

  • Use rechargable batteries instead of single-use batteries. It'll save you some bucks and the hassle of trying to recycle spent alkalines (for more info, check out Green Batteries).

  • When it comes to toilets, we've seen a lot of gadgets. They're all valuable in their own way, but rather than rushing out to buy one of them, there's an even easier way to save lots of water: make your own frugal flusher. Just place a brick or similarly voluminous object in the tank of your toilet; by displacing some of the water, there's less of it to flush each time, and less valuable wet stuff goes down the drain.

  • If given the choice, go for organic fruits, veggies, meat and dairy over conventional food. Organic food is becoming more widely available all the time in grocery stores across the world, and because it's all free of pesticides, herbicides and other chemical non-desireables, it's better for you and the planet.

I'll admit, I'm working on the list, but I'm not there yet. Now that we own a house, and we're planning a family, I've been thinking more and more about what kind of environment I hope to leave my kids, and what I want to teach them. So I'm trying to reform my own practices.

On the topic of what-kind-of-world-do-you-want-to-leave-your-kids-?, if you haven't watched the trailer for the movie 'An Inconvenient Truth', do it now.

Treehugger has also written lately on something called the 100 Mile Diet. Essentially, it's an experiment of a Vancouver couple that, for one year, is only buying food that is produced within 100 miles of their home. While that is understandably difficult to do in many areas, and it's unrealistic that we would all go to those lengths, it makes you think about purchasing locally. How often do you buy from farmer's markets, or look for local food in your grocery store? Apparently, for the average American meal, ingredients typically travel between 2,500 and 4,000 kilometres (I assume this is probably pretty accurate for Canada too). Isn't that crazy?!

The National Post recently wrote about Canadian chefs who took on the challenge of cooking a meal using a strict 100 mile limit (in April, no less!). They did it in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and St. John's, Newfoundland, and you can link to all of the articles here. I read the St. John's one, and it's an interesting read. On a side note, this quote made me chuckle:
"On the drive, we debated our menu. We'd been given lots of suggestions from family and friends, who found the concept of the 100-mile dinner intriguing. We considered scallops, mussels, shrimp or cod tongues sauteed in, um, something local as the first course. But in honour of Sir Paul McCartney, we concluded that seal flipper was a must to kick off the evening's festivities."

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Instructional videos from the Japanese

So many handy tips!

These are strange but useful little videos, brought to my attention by Lifehacker. No need to know how to speak Japanese, the instructions in the videos are quite clear.

There are a bunch more on YouTube (some with intriguing titles!), but I haven't had a chance to check them out yet.

Ahh, the weird and wonderful things we learn on the Internet...

Something else I learned today (from the videos): question marks and exclamation points are used in Japanese writing. Who knew?

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Posted in: , on April 20, 2006 3 comments  

What's a favicon?

A favicon is an icon that shows up in the address bar of your web browser, just before the "http://", and next to the website's listing in your bookmarks (Using Firefox? Mine's a big blue dot). If you're using the Firefox browser, I'm sure you've seen them on a lot of websites. Note: While technically favicons should work in Internet Explorer, I can't see anyone's except mine.


Lifehacker has a link to a tool for creating a favicon from any picture (oh, and instructions on how to get it to show up). It's a simple way to customize your website's bookmark and address bar (really simple - if you update your own website or blog, you can handle it). Just find a picture you like, that will look good reeeeeally small.

_

On an entirely unrelated note, spring is definitely here. Now while the impending arrival of spring and all of its sunshine has excited me for a while, now I remember the bad part about spring in our house: spiders.

I have become a shoe-wielding maniac.

Sometimes I miss our fourth floor apartment.

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Posted in: , on April 13, 2006 2 comments  

Things that have caught my eye...

  • A great blog on marketing that I stumbled across today.

  • A messy desk messes with your career. I'm trying my best to organize my office. Even before reading this article, we bought another filing cabinet and created a shiny new filing system. Next step: tackling all of my little piles of paper...

  • Make better movies. I totally agree.

  • Humorous... Speech (I wish I could get the embedded YouTube player to work for this one! Click on the link)

  • Download free MP3 stories, lectures, poems and speeches, and Learn Out Loud while you drive, excercise or do housework

  • Logic Puzzles. I loved these as a child, and recently started doing them again. I remember my grade... 4 teacher, I think it was, would give us one of these to work on at least once a week. I had another teacher who would put a few brain teasers on the blackboard every morning to start our day. Ahh.. memories...

In the ongoing (weirder and weirder) investigation into the murders of a Canadian couple staying at a resort in Mexico... Ontario police are examining a knife which may have a connection to the murders.
Three days after the Ianiero murders, a 12-year-old American girl vacationing with her family found the knife in her knapsack.

"My understanding is [the knife] was found in a bag in a resort some distance away from where the Ianieros were actually murdered," York Police Chief Armand LaBarge told CBC News.

The Duluth, Minn., family brought it back to the United States and the girl's father, a police officer, turned it over to police in nearby Thunder Bay, Ont.

What I want to know is: who the hell finds a knife stuffed in their backpack while on vacation, and then brings it home?! That is not a souvenir, people!!


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Posted in: , , on March 31, 2006 2 comments  

Holy cow, that's hard on the eyes!

Wow... I'm on a trip, using someone else's computer, and I can't believe how much harder the computer screen is to read without ClearType turned on.

Do it, people! There's no installation, just a 2 minute, easy-to-follow adjustment to determine what is easiest on your eyes.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, it's something I learned of recently. All computers with Windows XP have a ClearType feature that improves the readability of font on your computer. Click on the link in this article to turn it on and adjust it.

To illustrate.

Text before turning ClearType on: Text after turning ClearType on: Technorati tags: , ,

Posted in: , on March 15, 2006 0 comments  

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