Green Muze

Earth Saving Lawn Maintenance Tips

Make Your Lawn Extra Green

When it comes to landscaping your garden having a green lawn isn’t all about how lush and literally green the grass is. It is lovely to have a well maintained lawn, and walking without shoes on over your well groomed turf is something special. However, with the dwindling amount of fresh water available on the planet, and the rising levels of harsh chemicals that are finding their ways into the planet and waterways each year, having a large lawn can be incredibly un-green if you’re not careful.

Choose the Right Grass

According to lawn care experts, you might not be able to choose a native type of turf, but finding something that thrives in your climate is important. This will reduce the amount of special attention that your lawn needs, such as cutting and watering. For example, if you live in a particularly hot part of the world, choose grass that does not need a lot of moisture to stay healthy. Talk to someone who is an expert in turf, so that you won’t plant the wrong type of lawn and have to rip it up and start again.

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Eco Products

9 Reasons Why Bamboo Makes Good Packaging

Every transport company carries many different kinds of goods and all are wrapped in some kind of packaging to protect them. As the world seeks to fine more sustainable packaging solutions for items that enter the freight system as do nearly all goods that are bought and sold, it is important to know why a certain product is considered sustainable.

Here are some of the reasons why bamboo is considered a sustainable raw product to make packaging from.

Bamboo is a natural-resource that grows quickly. At about 2cm per day, it is hardly likely to become extinct, even though it is used to make many other things such as floors and furniture as well.
It is strong, durable and also flexible, making it a good choice for timber floors, building boats and many other things, including packaging that needs to be flexible and strong.
It is biodegradable, meaning it will break down in landfill or in the compost heap, making a great mulch for gardens.
It is local to China where many goods originate from. Having the packaging supplies in the local area means that fuel in sourcing it and moving it to where it can be used is reduced. That said, it is also being grown in other countries now.

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Landscapes & Gardens, Sustainability

5 Uses for Sustainable Shade Sails

If you are looking for a way to increase your sustainability, you might want to consider just how eco-friendly shade sails are according to Shade Sails Perth. But not only do they help the environment through using less material than other building choices and by the materials being recyclable, they cost less than a regular building would.

Here are 5 ways to use a sail on your property that will not only ensure sustainability, but will enhance your lifestyle and add value to your home.

If you don’t have a garage or carport for your car, adding a sail to the side of your home can be a solution. Sail cloth material also provides about 70% protection from rain, as well as the sun protection which varies depending on the material used. Since a car left in the sun constantly will suffer a lot of internal damage especially on the dashboard and back shelf areas, protecting your car will save you money in the long run.

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Nurture, Urban

The Wheat Grass Machine

The Transform Bar, by Hong Kong-based artist Kacey Wong, is a recycled wood hawker booth where you can grow wheat grass and Wong will make you healthy juices from fresh produce.

The Transform Bar footprint is only 3ft by 4ft (0.9m x1.2m), with wheat grass planters mounted on the exterior walls. The planters can be moved outside to provide more space inside the booth, display the wheat grass or to take advantage of sunlight to grow faster.

The wheat grass juice vendor blends apple juice and wheat grass, bringing awareness to our food source and extending art appreciation to the sense of taste and consumption. Healthy living choices go hand-in-hand with recycled sustainability.

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Office Sustainability

What does Sustainability Mean to Your Business?

Whether yours is a small web design business run by yourself, or a larger one with several employees, it’s important to understand what sustainability means for your business if you want to implement environmentally sound practices as simple as saving on electricity etc. There are three elements to be considered.

Saving the earth’s resources. For business, this can mean simple things that are easy to implement, such as using LED lights, turning off lights when not needed – for instance, in meeting rooms or amenities blocks – using toner save mode on the printer and so on. There are many ways to save and often such practices save you costs as well. You can also choose to work only with suppliers or other businesses that follow similar practices, but this can get a bit more complicated. It all depends on how serious and dedicated you want to be.

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Homes, Landscapes & Gardens

5 Eco-Friendly Options For Your Fence

Today’s watchword is sustainability, and many people have chosen to live their lives with an awareness of how to save the earth’s resources at the forefront of their minds. According to fencing experts, there are at least five eco-friendly options to choose from that save the earth’s resources and cost less when it comes to maintenance and replacement issues.

So, what are these five options? Fencing contractors would tell you the following five are sustainable choices.

Bamboo has the advantage of being pest and disease-free, so no harmful pesticides, fungicides or other poisonous sprays are used in its growth. It proliferates – sometimes 90 centimetres per day- and is easily renewable. Styles available are reed or fence panels. It provides an attractive fence and background for your plants and some wind protection.

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Sustainability

Smart Ideas for Earth-Friendly Home Renovations

Everyone feels like a change of scenery after some time. Even the best homes will need to be renovated and updated after a while. Otherwise, they will start to feel dull, dreary, and uninspiring to be inside. The ideal situation would then be to move into a new home, perhaps one that is more environmentally friendly and efficient to keep running. But if you just don’t have the kind of money it takes to upgrade your entire home, or you are worried about the state of the economy, there are still earth-friendly home renovations that you can carry out on a range of budgets.

Deconstruction Beats Demolition

Are you planning to knock down whole walls, or perhaps even entire rooms and sections of your home? Maybe you’re planning to demolish the whole building and start from scratch. Even when going through such a drastic change, you can find ways to reduce waste. Look at the materials and sections of your existing home that could be kept and reused in your new home renovations. This is a great way to cut back on the cost of renovating, but it’s also the best way to look after the environment and make your new renovations green.

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Landscapes & Gardens, Sustainability

Summer Landscaping the Eco-Friendly Way

When summer begins to take hold, it becomes more important than ever to mow, water, and fertilize a lawn and tend to your landscape design to keep it looking great. However, that green, luscious lawn that you might work quite hard to maintain is not the best thing for the environment. “Green” is not always green, in this regard. More often, all your labor and expenses wind up producing a lot of waste and having a negative impact on Mother Earth.

Here are six great tips for keeping your garden eco-friendly:

Plant more trees. This tip comes with a multitude of benefits. First, you can create shaded spots in your yard without having to install a costly gazebo or extend your verandah. The natural appeal of your property can also increase when you plant the right types of trees. Strategically placing those trees can also help to protect some parts of your home from the heat of the summer sun. This will keep your power bill down as you won’t need to spend as much on keeping your home cool.
Start a compost pile. You can start turning your house’s organic waste into a valuable source of nutrients for your yard. If you would rather not have one yourself, you can find composting services that will take your waste materials and turn them into compost for you. The resulting compost is wonderful for keeping your lawn and plants lush and green during the warmer months, and this type of mulch-like substance can also help to retain moisture without the need for more watering.
Cut down on your water use. Much of the water use for the average household goes into landscaping and yard maintenance. If you don’t have one, consider installing a water-saving irrigation system that will also reduce a lot of your manual labor. If you do have one already, make sure that there are no leaks and keep an eye on how much water it is using.
Upgrade your watering system. Consider installing a greywater irrigation system. These recycle water that is put down the drain in your home. While greywater is not safe to drink, it is considered safe for use in landscaping and to put into the soil. You can seriously cut down on the amount of perfectly potable drinking water that will otherwise be used for your gardening needs.

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Sustainability

14 Ways to Save on Electricity

Saving on the use of electricity is not only a way to save money, but great for sustainability. Many people these days organise an electrician to install solar systems for their power needs, but this is still quite expensive and it takes a while to recoup your investment. If you intend to stay in the house for 10 or more years, that will allow you to recoup, but if you are planning to move soon, don’t go to the expense; you are not likely to get it back in the sale price.

However, there are many other ways to save on the use and thus, the cost of electricity and in doing so, you help save the earth’s resources. Here are some of the best electrician tips to cut your power bill.

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Sustainability

Be Green in Your Kitchen

People looking for environmentally sound kitchens can start with eating things that are sustain-ably sourced, but that is not where you should stop. Using a range of cooking, cleaning, and even building methods that are low on resource consumption will help to keep the planet as healthy as possible. If you choose to use products that are free of harsh chemicals and made with renewable kitchen cabinets and materials instead, you can have a truly green kitchen that you will be proud of.

3 Quick Tips for Green Kitchens

Electric or Gas Cooking? The choice between electric and gas can cause a lot of confusion. While natural gas is not a renewable form of energy, and it is drawn from the planet, the same can be said about most electricity that’s generated in the US. The same goes for a lot of other countries too. This comes from the burning of coal, which is not eco-friendly in the slightest. Many chefs prefer gas for cooking, making it an obvious choice. Since you can turn it on and off instantly, there is little waste there. If you prefer to use an electric stove and oven, go for one that uses induction technology. This uses electromagnetic power to transfer the heat right onto your pots and pans. Compared to a traditional electric cooking element, this will use around half as much power.

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