Practical CLothing Dryer Rack

So here is a great option for indoor drying with 50 feet of drying space! The top folds down for a flat area for a sweater, etc. It is called the Robbins Lumber HG-305. Available from GAIAM.com as well as other companies if you care to search.

Now that we have solar panels I am even more aware of the electricity drain from using the dryer. I don’t put many of my clothes in the dryer as it is, but, my wooden drying rack is getting warped and it is not very feasible to have an outdoor clothes line, although I am looking at this, too, $41 at Target:

 

According to LaundryList.org about 5.8 percent of residential electricity use goes towards the clothes dryer, according to DOE EIA statistics from 2001. If all Americans would use the clothesline or wooden drying racks, the savings would be enough to close several power plants. From their site:

 

Clothes Dryer
Do Not Use a Clothes Dryer…………………… 23.6 million (21.2%)
Use a Clothes Dryer……………………………… 87.5 million (78.8%)

Electric…………………………………………….. 67.2
Natural Gas………………………………………. 19.4
Propane/LPG……………………………………. 0.9

These figures do not take into account the millions of Americans who do their wash at commercial Laundromats and multi-family housing locations. The number of American households with a washing machine at home but no dryer is 4.3 million (or 3.9%). We assume that this is roughly the number of hard core air dryers, who use clothes lines and drying racks exclusively.

 

 

 

 

 

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5 Quick and Toning Standing Poses

From Gaiam, here is an interesting video of not-so-easy, very toning and balancing poses with Pat Moreno, that engage your core and can crack a small sweat  in 6 minutes. Take these with you through the holidays when you might not be able to slip away for a workout.

 

Just Because She’s Famous

Just because someone is famous- does that make them an authority on health? I think we all can make up our own minds on that. I will say that the excerpt that GAIAM posted from Alicia Silverstone’s new book is engaging, sincere and invites the reader to see life simply and with possibility. We read that through eating yummy and healthy food, Silverstone changed her life and she encourages the reader to try it too. Sounds good to me. She writes about healthy lifestyle- I love what she says about yoga:

The reader reviews I have read are mixed- one writes that there are too many photos of Alicia and her husband. So what. It’s her book. I’m more interested in the recipes about which someone else complains that there are obscure ingredients like umeboshi paste and lotus root. Those are easy to find Asian foods – can’t have a book with only potatoes and carrots, can we? Being vegan means one will have to work hard at finding variety and new tastes. This book offers some interesting options. The Kind Diet is about being kind to oneself and the planet. I personally feel there is a place for animal quality food in our diet, however, if you are Vegan, there are good things for you in this book.

Jessica Porter (author of the Hip Chick’s Guide to Macrobiotics) co-wrote this book with Alicia- although I cannot find her name associated with it online.

via: Gaiam.com

Small Garden, Big Harvest

Gaiam.com has 3 simple and smart strategies to get more veggies from a small garden. I am determined to eat out of our garden to the max this summer and there seem to be too many things I want to grow an not quite enough space. I have been interplanting, planting and planning to grow things in succession and experimenting with vertical gardening (cucumbers and beans up the fence), too. You can harvest loads of beans and not take up room by growing vines up poles or fencing. My photos coming soon. Meanwhile, check out these suggestions from Gaiam.com.