Why Eco-Tips for the Weekend? – because we reckon this is when most people have time to think about or try something new to make their life more eco-friendly :-)

Well, it’s a Bank Holiday, so really you should be relaxing…Well, that’s ok, because this week we’ve got LAZY TIPS!

And you will just LOVE the suggestion at the end from a male customer in Tipperary!!

If you have any suggestions for future eco-tips, please email them to us:
Contact Us

Bonus Discount Code at bottom of this newsletter, so why not forward to a friend?

Follow us on Twitter at:
www.twitter.com/GiftedbyNature
www.twitter.com

To rinse or not to rinse, that is no longer the question!People assume that the dishwasher will perform better if you put in cleaner dishes, and that’s not true. Just scrape.

Dishes should be put in the dishwasher dirty and here’s why: The new detergents are so high-tech they are engineered to attack food. If there is no food to go after, the soap attacks your drinking glasses – a process known as etching that can cause permanent damage with some glasses ending up looking cloudy.

And Don’t Rinse dishes before you put them in! Pre-rinsing with hot water is doubly bad, because you’re needlessly wasting water and electricity to heat it.

Did you know: An efficient automatic dishwasher will use less water than hand-washing those same dishes?

According to tests by Consumer Reports, newer machines use between three-and-a-half to 12 gallons of water per load -much less than the 20 gallons you use by hand-rinsing and hand-washing. That saves about 6,500 gallons per household per year!

Here’s another Tip: Place the soiled side of dishes toward the centre of the machine for better exposure to the spray.

(And, be sure to use phosphate-free enzyme detergents that won’t hurt the environment by promoting algae growth)

Well – don’t ‘mow low’ or cut the grass too often (like, this weekend…!) The optimal length is 3” or 7.5cm, so don’t over-mow.
The good reason for your neglect? Taller grass grows a deeper root system, grows slower, requires less water and helps prevent weeds!

Also – go easy on the watering – lawns only need an inch of water per week so this means about ONCE a week. And if mother nature is helping (via rain!), even less frequently. Too many shallow waterings also bring roots to the surface and burn out the lawn faster.

Consider timing – don’t mow in the heat of the day because grass loses moisture fast (Or because you’ll be snoozing in your hammock…)and water in the early morning or evenings to prevent evaporation.

Don’t go to the Recycling Centre this weekend! Instead, ask your neighbour if you can combine forces and share the task.

It’s a winner all round – less fuel wasted as only one car makes the trip; more space for everyone else at the centre (it’s always jammed); good community relations; more time to spend doing other things….

Now – you can make the first trip – next weekend!

This is a genuine tip from a male customer in Co. Tipperary. He says his wife was in hospital recently, and he was looking after the cooking and cleaning for a change.

He was very proud to be able to do this by recycling and using less energy:

He recycled newspapers by placing them on all surfaces and floors – he says they caught crumbs, absorbed spills and footprints and kept surfaces dust free…

He used no electricity for vacuuming or washing the table cloth – he simply folded up the newspapers, with all the dirt inside – and put them out for recycling…!!

(He had to read every page before he recycled of course :-)

Our Special Offer for August means you can treat yourself or someone else to luscious Natural Skincare, and get a free Bamboo Hand Towel!

Simply buy a Large Organic Velvet Balm 250ml PLUS any Organic Handwash or Organic BodyWash and let us know in the Instruction Box at the check out which colour Hand Towel you would like.

And –

For Newsletter Readers, there’s an extra 5% off anything you buy if you type the word Holiday into the Promotion Code box at the checkout.