Summer is a great time to clean out your garage, get rid of things you really don’t need or don’t use, and re-organize so you can find the things you do need and want to use.

The Do It Yourself Network (DYI) has a great video series on how to declutter and organize your garage.  You’ll have to bear with the Craftsman commercials at the beginning of each clip, but there are some logical and sensible tips.

One good tip that you might miss, is that donating things to charities is usually tax deductible, and much easier than saving them for a garage sale where they may or may not sell.  Put forth the effort on getting your garage organized and get the financial benefit as a write-off on your taxes while providing those less fortunate with useable items.

Get busy, this weekend is a perfect time to start!

With your help, Eureka Recycling can be awarded $20,000 from the SunChips/National Geographic Green Effect contest to grow their Composting at Home programs!

Vote up to once a day. Voting ends July 20.

For over 20 years, Eureka Recycling has been Saint Paul’s nonprofit recycler. Under a long-term contract with the city, Eureka Recycling provides recycling services to Saint Paul’s homes and apartments. In addition, Eureka Recycling is a leader in waste reduction education and advocacy.

“We entered this contest to help fund our work to strengthen the grassroots movement of composters in the Twin Cities and to spread the word about the environmental benefits of making dirt, not waste.”

Vote for Eureka at : http://greeneffect.nationalgeographic.com/  Their video is the one pictured with the woman next to the black compost bin.

 

 

Eureka Recycling  is one of the largest nonprofit recyclers in the United States and a leader in demonstrating the best waste reduction and recycling practices not only for the Twin Cities metro area, but for the nation.

Your grass is green. Your lawn care techniques should be too!
Here are a few suggestions to keep your lawn nice and green.

• Use a push mower or electric mower! They are quiet and don’t pollute. Keep blades sharp and oiled.

• Set your mower to mow high. Long blades of grass develop deep roots.

• Regardless of your mower type, dry tips on grass blades indicated that your mower blade is dull.

• Leave clippings on your lawn to provide nitrogen and moisture. Mow often.

• Use a hand weeder not herbicides. Develop a tolerance for a few weeds and weed when your tolerance is reached.

• Focus on the grass, not the weeds. Healthy grass makes it tough for weeds to thrive.

• Research has shown that corn gluten  meal (available at most feed stores like Fleet Farm) effectively prevent seeds from sprouting, including seeds from many weeds such as crabgrass, chickweed, and even dandelions. It is effective only against seeds, not existing plants. Annual weeds that are already up and growing will not be killed by products made of corn gluten meal.  To learn more check out this link.

• If you have compost available, spread a ½ inch on your lawn as a fertilizer.

Let your grass go dormant during the hot dry months (like now).  The Lawn Institute has some great tips including:

‘Summer dormancy is a perfectly normal response to the stress of heat and drought.  It is important to make sure grass is as healthy as possible before dormancy begins and not to stress the grass any more once conditions become unfavorable for growth.  Grass should be maintained slightly higher before and during drought.  Grass should only be mowed as needed and mowing should be preformed early in the morning or late in the evening with a sharp blade to minimize stress on the turf. ‘

Not sure what to do this weekend?  Click these links for Fourth of July Celebrations in:

Minnesota

Wisconsin

Iowa

Absolute Construction and Remodeling wishes you and yours a happy and safe 4th of July!!

Xcel Energy is committed to reducing the impact of their business on the environment. As of the end of 2008 Xcel had a total of 1300 megawatts of wind energy capacity in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Most of this is located in southwestern Minnesota.

Â
Xcel is required by Minnesota law to reach a 30% renewable energy mix, and wind power is one way for them to reach this goal. An average home uses around 500 kWh a month. Based on this usage, converting to 100% wind generated electricity will increase your monthly bill by about $3.50 a month, or the cost of one large designer coffee.

Â
Xcel Energy has made a committment to increase their wind resources to more than double their current capacity by 2020. If you live in Minnesota, North Dakota or South Dakota and have Xcel as your electricity supplier, you can sign-up to have wind power supply some or all of the electricity provided to your home or business. Click on Windsource® program to be directed to the Xcel site where you can sign-up and support wind power.

 

Increased demand for renewable energy will help push projects forward and ultimately reduce costs. While property owners do have wind rights that they can lease to companies like Xcel, the wind itself is free. We really should take advantage of that whenever possible.