8 Smart Ways to Reduce and Reuse

Go for eco-friendly living, here are some ways:

1.

Reach for Reusable

One microfiber cloth can take the place of 60 rolls of paper towels before it needs replacing — and is gentle enough to use on nearly all surfaces (even eyeglasses). Keep a few handy for absorbing spills, wiping down counters, de-streaking mirrors, and more.

2.

Mug Around

Bring your own travel cup to your favorite java joint: Most places will fill it for you, and often at a discount. While you're at it, start carrying a refillable water bottle.

3.

Be a Jughead

If your program won't take milk or juice cartons (and your taste buds won't mind), try switching to brands that use plastic jugs, which are much more recyclable.

4.

Hug a Tree, Virtually

Before you hit the "print" button for that party Evite or Web driving directions, consider your options: Could you print on the back side of paper you've already used once? Jot down just the address if you're going to a familiar area? Or maybe use the "note" feature on your cell phone? If you prefer not to print double-sided, the backs of cut-up, once-used printer sheets make excellent by-the-phone notepaper.

5.

Refill 'Er Up

Many cleaning products are available in large jugs for decanting into the smaller spray bottles. Also, look for concentrated cleaner refills for which you can reuse the old spray bottle and just add the water, and "ultra" strength detergents, which save packaging because you get more laundry loads out of the container.

6.

Switch Your Portable Power

It's hard to find a program that recycles one-use batteries, whereas rechargeable ones can and should be recycled — and never sent to a landfill, since they contain cadmium. Plus, you'll be buying less, since you can easily charge up the reusable kind many times before they die.

7.

Dry-Clean Greener

You may already bring reusable bags to the grocery, but here's a way to waste less at the dry cleaner, too, put your clothes on a handy bag.

8.

Bulk Up

For foods that come in hard-to-recycle tubs (yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, margarine), get the largest-size container and dole into smaller reusable ones as needed. Then, use the tubs for freezing leftovers (just don't microwave in them, as most are not designed to handle the heat and could melt). Other uses: stashing desktop odds and ends, as planters for growing herbs, or kids' crayon storage.

Source: Good Housekeeping

Time to Organize

Organizing Paper Clutter

Do you have heaps of financial papers in your house? Bills, receipts, credit card statements, tax records and investment files may have piled-up last year. Now is the best time to start arranging your records with these easy and useful organizing tips.

Throw away the unnecessary. Before doing anything else, you must know how to segregate your papers. Commonly, you can divide them into three. One is for records you need for less than one year, another for papers up to 5 years and then last is for documents you will need to hold on to indefinitely. For example, do you really need to keep your ATM withdrawal slips or your credit card receipts? It would be good practice to keep a record of these things and when it is validated by your monthly statement, you can already shred and throw them away. After a year or so, you can already toss out your credit card statements and utility bills (unless needed for business).

Keep what you need. There are however some papers that you need to keep for more than one year but less than 5 years such as tax records. You should also keep canceled checks and payment records for mortgage, insurance and other loans.

Set a place for your papers. More often than not, the reason why people get overwhelmed by papers is because they don’t have a place to put them in. You should have a designated area where you immediately put the paper after you have received it. It can be a folder, drawer or a cabinet. Preferably, the area where you intend to keep your papers is located near a table or desk so that you have a place to maintain your records and consolidate your statements. Also, keep your birth and marriage certificates, insurance policies, property deeds, and other important records in a secure but accessible place so you and your family will always be able to get to them easily if the need arises.

Have a system. When organizing a file system, you want to keep it as simple as possible. You can divide your papers into categories. For example, you can segregate the papers as either tax-related or non-tax related, or by account type (credit-card statements, mortgage statements, bills, etc.) or by expense (deductible business expenses, contributions to charity, and so on) or by financial goal (housing, retirement, college fund, etc.) or even by the facets of your life. This may require more time at first, but in due course, it will save you time.

Deal with the backlog. Once you have a system figured out, you can now tackle the piles that you have accrued. You shouldn’t take on this job all at once. Instead, do small amounts at a time. You can set aside 30 minutes a day sorting old papers while watching television or listening to the radio.
A little organization goes a long way. It will not just save you time and money but it will also give you peace of mind.

Source: Nestle Club website

Home Safety

RE-POST FROM NESTLE CLUB (just want to share this to my readers esp. to my mommy-blogger friends)

How to prevent accidents and injuries around the house? The Nestlé Club shares with you some practical home safety tips to help you make everyday safe.

Watch out for dangerous substances. Lock cabinets in your bathroom to prevent children from acquiring hazardous chemicals like cleansers and detergents. Avoid transferring cleaning fluids, kerosene and other hazardous chemicals into beverage bottles or cans for they might be ingested. If needed, properly label (with big font) cans and bottles. Make sure you do not store poisonous items with food items.

Do not grope in the dark. Can’t always find the light switch? Place simple glow-in-the-dark stickers, easily purchased at department stores, near the light switch.

Prevent slips and falls. Tiles and porcelain surfaces can be slippery when they are wet or soapy. To prevent falls, invest in rubber mats on the bathroom floor.

Stop, Drop, and Roll. If your clothes catch fire, immediately drop to the floor and roll over and over until the flames are put out. This is especially important to practice with kids so they will know what to do in case of a fire accident.

Know how to use a fire extinguisher. Not all fire extinguishers are alike. Check the expiration date and replace the content when necessary.

List down Emergency Numbers. Place your telephone or mobile phone near you when you sleep so you can easily be contacted in case of emergency. Post the list of emergency numbers near the phone lines.

Switch off the lights. When not in use, switch off all appliances. This will help you save electricity too. Make sure the extension cords where the appliances are plugged will not be overloaded before switching them on.

Watch where you’re going. Brighten hallways and stairways with lamps, nightlights or bulbs. This will prevent tripping and missing steps.

Simple and practical!

How To Save On Fuel...

Rising fuel prices affect us all. And since fuel costs eat up a large percentage of our household budgets, here's few practical tips to help you make the most out of your fuel.

Watch your tires
Overused or poorly inflated tires can slow down the car and increase fuel consumption. For the right inflation instructions, check the car’s manual or the label at the inside edge of the driver’s door. Remember, tire pressure depends on the type of vehicle you drive. Motorcycles will have a lower tire pressure than sedans.

Check the Engine
Engine Oil darkens as you use your vehicle. Dark and thick engine oil will result to less efficient fuel consumption. It is advisable to change the engine oil every 10,000 kilometers of travel. Dirty air filters could also affect your fuel consumption as it blocks the needed supply of air for the engine to perform well. Make sure you have your vehicle checked for maintenance at least once a year.

Remove those extra cargos
Unnecessary cargo adds weight to the vehicle. The more weight the vehicle has, the more fuel it will need to accelerate. Reduce clutter in your car’s interior and trunk by removing hardly used items such as bags, shoes, coolers, clothes, etc. Fuel also increases the car’s weight. For city driving, it is best to load only half of your vehicle’s fuel capacity.

Shift to higher gears
Driving on low gear eats up fuel fast. Always shift to a higher gear to reduce fuel consumption.

Avoid Idling
It is better to turn off your engine when waiting. Avoid the rush hour by scheduling your travel time or taking alternative routes.

Plan your trips
Avoid going in circles. Take note all of the places you need to go to and arrange them according to their proximity. You will not only save fuel but also save time and effort.

How’s Your Driving?
Do you drive with a heavy foot? Don’t put the pedal to the metal – this eats up more fuel. When accelerating, step on the gas pedal lightly until you reach the desired speed. On highways, it is best to limit your speed from 60 to 80 kph.

Whether you take a motorcycle or a truck, these tips will make sure that you maximize every liter of fuel that you put in your vehicle. (And lessen your carbon footprint too!)

Source: www.nestleclub.com.ph

The Yaya Quest

A very good friend Malou, a mother to her one year old kid is now calling me often. She is just adjusting to married life and at the same time dealing with nannies/helpers. Maybe she thought I’m an expert when it comes to this matter, having four kids and dealt with almost 70+ helpers (in a span of 10 years) already in my household. My friends and relatives can attest though that I’m such a good, generous (to a fault) employer inspite of the heavy turn-over of my household staff. I guess, I’m not just so lucky to have the helper/nanny that I wanted or if ever I found one, she has to leave to take care of her own family or go abroad to seek greener pasture. Anyway, back to my friend’s dilemma, she recently had about 5 helpers/nanny already. One of them, she caught smoking inside her room while taking care of the baby and spends too much time on tv’s videoke channel and texting her children in the province. Of course, she has to go. The other one has hygiene problem, she doesn’t use soap when taking a bath and doesn’t brush her teeth. Gee, this is really a problem. The other nanny will go on a day off and return a day after (if she’s lucky) or two days after pay day. My blood temper is boiling when I heard her, my college friend and kumare is such a nice, kind, generous soft-spoken lady (an Opus Dei member), she doesn’t know what to do. Of course, I tell her not to tolerate the bad, abusive behavior of her helper or nanny and if she can, tell them to leave. I also gave her tips. Here are some of them:

SCREENING THE APPLICANTS

• ask her about her past employment history, the kind of work she did before and the reason she left her employer. If possible, ask her the name of her past employers. Ask for references. Check them out later. Or if possible an NBI clearance. Another friend’s two kids were kidnapped by the nanny and her boyfriend. Good thing our friend, knows where the boyfriend lives. They were able to get the kids, and luckily they were not harmed. The couple landed in jail.
  

• ask her about her educational attainment, so you’ll know if she can read labels (warning signs, instructions, etc.), can count money (had one who doesn’t know, she often came home with short change). Ask her what she will do if the child suddenly has fever? Or assess if she can be a security risk to the family.

• ask her about her family. I had one helper whom I discovered, during our occasional chats, has suicidal tendency and actually tried to commit it when her hubby cheated on her and one of her kids died. Good thing, she decided to leave before I could tell her. She said she missed her children.

• look at her grooming, check out her fingernails. Remember, the yaya would be responsible for your kid’s hygiene. Common rules include that she has to use alcohol before touching the baby or preparing her milk/food. The hair should be tied back always. Of course, she should take a bath daily and brush her teeth as well (if you can, provide toiletries for her). I also tell them they can’t wear shorts or spaghetti strap blouses in the house. There are times, I let them wear a uniform when we go out.

• Inform her of her responsibilities and your house rules, ask if she’s willing to follow them. If not, scout for somebody else.