Green Revolution

Save energy to save money. Set your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer to save on heating and cooling costs. Install compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) when your older incandescent bulbs burn out. Unplug appliances when you're not using them. Or, use a "smart" power strip that senses when appliances are off and cuts "phantom" or "vampire" energy use. Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible. As much as 85 percent of the energy used to machine-wash clothes goes to heating the water. Use a drying rack or clothesline to save the energy otherwise used during machine drying. Save water to save money. Take shorter showers to reduce water use. This will lower your water and heating bills too. Install a low-flow showerhead. They don't cost much, and the water and energy savings can quickly pay back your investment. Make sure you have a faucet aerator on each faucet. These inexpensive appliances conserve heat and water, while keeping water pressure high. Plant drought-tolerant native plants in your garden. Many plants need minimal watering. Find out which occur naturally in your area. Less gas = more money (and better health!). Walk or bike to work. This saves on gas and parking costs while improving your cardiovascular health and reducing your risk of obesity. Consider telecommuting if you live far from your work. Or move closer. Even if this means paying more rent, it could save you money in the long term. Lobby your local ...

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Laundry Room Organization for Small Laundry Rooms

Laundry areas, in general, easily end up a place where items are stored, stashed, and procrastinated -- to do later. With small laundry rooms this becomes a big mess fast; however, even the largest laundry rooms can easily become a disorganized mess if the proper tools and systems are not in place. Therefore, prioritizing storage needs and determining what can realistically be accomplished is especially vital for small laundry rooms.

Small laundry rooms lack space to fold and hang clothing, a place to put dirty laundry, shelf space for detergents and such, and an area for long term drying for delicates, making it extremely difficult to stay organized. Even though an organized system to do laundry is important no matter the size of the laundry area, the first step for a small laundry area is to ensure that the tools are in place to enable the room to be organized and to save space.

In general, these are the items necessary for proper laundry organizing:
A trash bin

Storage containers

Shelves

A drying rack and hangers

Hampers and laundry baskets

An ironing board / folding area.

However, some of these items do not have to be in the laundry room; some can be made to take up a lot less space, and some can be used more efficiently.

Let's go down the list again:

A trash bin for lint removal can be a very small receptacle. It shouldn't be a floor standing unit, but instead a small receptacle that can sit on a shelf.

Storage containers are used to keep similar items together on a shelf. Only two or three containers are needed for items lost in the dryer or washer like loose change, buttons, and so on.

Adding a shelf can be extremely simple with an Over-the-Washer Shelf. This shelf attaches over a washer without tools to add a shelf for detergents and other laundry supplies.

Drying racks are useful to dry delicates that otherwise can be damaged in a dryer. The Telegant 100 Drying Rack is a space saving solution that can be placed on the wall above the dryer.

Hampers and laundry baskets should stay in the bedrooms until laundry is being done. A smaller triple sorter hamper would be ideal to keep from over loading and to keep items separated.

For small areas, the ironing board needs to be space saving and convenient. The Iron N' Fold is the perfect space saving ironing and folding station solution that only needs about four inches of space between the washer and dryer.

With the tools in place to organize a laundry area, the next step is to make sure that a proper system is in place to ensure that the area doesn't become a place where items are stored, stashed, and procrastinated.

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