Category: GreenLife

Energy Saving Dishwasher Tips

Home Maintenance Tip- Dishwashers
Most of the energy used by a dishwasher is for heating water. The Energy Guide label attached to new dishwashers estimates the annual power needed to run the appliance and heat the water based on natural gas and electricity costs.Dishwasher Tips

  • Check the manual that came with your dishwasher for the manufacturer’s recommendations on water temperature; many have internal heating elements that allow you to set the water heater in your home to a lower temperature (120°F).
  • Scrape, don’t rinse, large food pieces and bones from dishes. Soaking or prewashing is generally only recommended in cases of burned-on or dried-on food.
  • Be sure your dishwasher is full, but not overloaded, when you run it.
  • Avoid using the “rinse & hold” on your machine for just a few soiled dishes. It uses 3 to 7 gallons of hot water for each load.
  • Let your dishes air dry; if you don’t have an automatic air-dry switch, turn the control knob to “off” after the final rinse and prop the door open slightly so the dishes will dry faster.

Long-Term Savings Tip

  • When shopping for a new dishwasher, look for the ENERGY STAR label to find a dishwasher that uses less water and 41% less energy than required by federal standards.

Excerpted from U.S. Department of Energy.

Making Green Atlanta Real Estate More Affordable

Interesting read: Green Atlanta Real Estate

It is a desire of mine to restore my 1920’s bungalow in a more  “Green” manner but who has the money? NSP is helping low-income families make this a reality in helping them purchase EarthCraft homes from the start!

West End BeltLine Open Air Market- Summertime & the food is good!




A True Community Market
2011 market season (June to November, 1st & 3rd Fridays, 4pm-8pm)

This year four entities have come together to bring a green market to southwest Atlanta in the West End area. We plan to gather our strengths and varied skills to create a vibrant market on Atlanta’s BeltLine.

Vendors – August 5th

Patchwork City Farms (PCF) is a small multi-family owned urban farm located in the West End.  They are dedicated to practicing sustainable agriculture. Patchwork grows vegetables, herbs and flowers.

Angel Green Eyes One of a kind handcrafted jewelry; aluminum, copper, semi-precious stones.

Mother Clyde Garden is the well nurtured project of Sister DeBorah Williams.  Currently, peppers (all types) are being grown to supply farm to table restaurants and the West End BeltLine Open Air Market.

Honeysuckle Moon Natural Skin Care has handcrafted body products.

Serenity Healing Arts Center offers gift items and children’s books.

Halene’s Gardent has a homegrown selection of organic produce.  She offers varieties often found in the Caribbean such as callaloo, Caribbean pumpkin and cerasee.

Wood is Wonderful features hand carved wood treasures such as bowls, earrings and drums.

Life’s Essentials Market has produce straight from their organic garden.  Okra, tomatoes, herbs, squash and callaloo are just some of their offerings.

The Kroof Loom specializing in handdcrafted soaps that are revitalizing for your body, mind and soul.

Lisa Miles is a poet, vocalist and visual artist.  Come and see her available artwork.

Stacey’s Shortcakes are homebaked buttery shortcake cookies.

Asian Long Beans

The Yardlong Bean is a subtropical/tropical plant and is widely grown in Southeastern Asia, Thailand and Southern China. The plant is a relative of the black eyed pea and grows 14 to 30 inches in about 60 days.  They come in shades of green and purple.  Also known as the Chinese Long Bean, they are chewy, crisp and are perfect for spicy dishes.  Try them stir fried in an Oyster sauce and you won’t be disappointed.  Find them at West End BeltLine Open Air Market.

Spread the Word!
$1=$2 double your EBT dollars ~ We’re a Wholesome Wave Market.

Remember that West End BeltLine Open Air Market is your green market!

Contact: marketmgr.westend@gmail.com
Location: 1310 White Street – Atlanta, GA in the parking lot of SPACE Atlanta Restaurant


Do You Recycle?

This summer I have enrolled my daughter into a 1 week  “Recycling Camp”.  Day 1 had her going through our trash and informing us of all the harm “WE” were doing to “HER” world.  I must say-after that conversation, I was not looking forward to the rest of this week and her gaining more information in this area.
We recycle. At least I thought we did. We have a recycling bin from the city- to which we seem to slowly fill and pull to the curb I think, once a month. Is that not enough?  Thinking about how much trash we use and toss each day-I’m sure we have more paper, plastic and metal going out to have that filled weekly.
*hangs head in shame*
To be a bit more supportive, today I bought Lydia a 3-bin recycling kit and did more research in this area.
Here is a link I found to be helpful. You can also earn some cool points and prizes to recycle!