Archive for lifestyle
How to Reduce Electricity Use for Dishwashers
Posted by: | CommentsAs with washing machines, the vast majority of the energy consumed by a dishwasher is used to generate heat – both to warm the water and, for drying cycles, to warm the air inside the machine. So if you do use a dishwasher, always select the coolest setting that will get the job done.
But should you use a dishwasher in the first place? How do they compare with washing up by hand? This depends on the individual machine, the efficiency of your hot-water heater and, most importantly, how economical you are when washing up by hand. One much-cited 2004 study from the University of Bonn suggested that dishwashers use less than half the energy of the typical person at a sink. However, the study assumed the dishwasher is used efficiently (with full loads and no pre-rinse) while giving figures for hand-washing that can be slashed with just a bit of care. For example, soaking washing in a bowl instead of leaving it to stand, limiting the dregs that get mixed with the soapy water when washing up, and using cold rather than hot water for rinsing can all substantially reduce the amount of energy required to wash up by hand. If you follow these steps, and you have a fairly efficient boiler, then you can fairly easily match a modern dishwasher for energy use.
But why bother to wash up by hand if the energy use is the same? The answer is that the dishwasher uses electricity as its heat source, while most homes use gas for their hot water system. Since each unit of heat produced by electricity generates more than double the CO2 emissions of the same amount of heat produced from gas, then carefully washing by hand will tend to be greener in households with gas boilers. And that’s before you consider the energy used in producing, delivering and eventually disposing of the dishwasher – figures that were ignored by the Bonn study.
Eco Lifestyle – Write Memos or Notes on Used Printer Paper
Posted by: | CommentsHere is a simple way to stop wasting paper for business or school.
We use tons of paper for computer or fax printers.
I went to the famous Kikumaru Beauty Salon in the Ginza in Tokyo. The owner is very well known in the media, so high-fashion models or famous people go there to have their hair styled.
I noticed the scratch paper next to the phone and on his office desk. It was all used printer paper.
I felt curious about this. In this shop, people paid over $150 for a haircut. The owner gave expert advice and suggestions about hairstyles, shampoo, conditioners, and fashion coordination. Yet instead of using fancy memo paper, he would cut up squares from old ads (printed on one side) or printer paper.
He reminded me of Grandma. She was always cutting up old ads or calendar paper for memos.
I asked him, “Why?” Dumb question!
He said, “If each one is careful about using paper, it will eventually make a big difference in the future for saving trees. When you are done with the memo, you put it in the recycle bin.”
He is very concerned about going green.
Eco Lifestyle – Use a Handkerchief
Posted by: | CommentsDo you have a handkerchief? Before sending her family off to work or school, a Japanese mom always asks this. It has been a custom in Japan for a long time. The Japanese did not have paper towels or hot air blowers in public restrooms in years past, so the handkerchief was a necessity for going out to public places. That said, there are many ways you can go green with a handkerchief.
How else do the Japanese use a handkerchief? Here are some of the ways:
- Wrap up a small gift in a handkerchief.
- Wipe the sweat away from your face or arms on sticky, summer days.
- When you spill sauce or ketchup and make a stain, you can wet a handkerchief with water or soap and clean up the mess immediately.
- Wipe a runny nose.
- Wrap it around your neck on a cold or windy day.
- If you get an injury on the arm, leg, or foot, you can use it for first aid: clean up, tie it up, and stop the bleeding.
- Wear it as a headband to absorb sweat from your brow.
- When a chair or floor is dirty, you can cover it and sit down.
- Use it as a napkin for lunch at your desk or on a bench.
- Put it in the pocket of a formal suit jacket.
Eco Lifestyle – Practice “Coolbiz” And “Warmbiz” At The Office
Posted by: | CommentsIn the summer of 2005, the “coolbiz” campaign was proposed by then-Prime Minister Koizumi. This was an effort to help reduce consumption of electricity in the workplace by limiting the use of air conditioning. Thermostats were set at 82°F (28°C) until September. Prime Minister Koizumi started to wear short-sleeved shirts without jackets or ties. The coolbiz dress code advises workers to starch collars so they stand up loosely and to wear trousers made from materials that breathe. Many government workers said they felt improper or impolite not wearing a tie when meeting counterparts from the private sector.
Could government bureaucrats go without ties and jackets? A couple years later, everybody was dressed for coolbiz. They felt less sweaty and fatigued from the heat, and learned to feel properly comfortable for doing business without the jackets and ties.
Also, in the winter of 2005, the major news networks began promoting a “warmbiz” style for winter. Office temperatures were set at 68°-72°F (20°-22°C). This can feel kind of cold for an office. It was suggested that people wear heavy tur-tleneck shirts instead of collared shirts and a tie. Warmbiz was not endorsed by the Japanese government, but people began to wear warmer clothes at the office to help save energy.
So, if adapting your style of clothing helps to save energy, it just naturally contributes to saving our precious resources—oil, natural gas, and coal. This is an idea for all the world. British trade unions and the U.S. Congress have promoted their own coolbiz campaigns since the summer of 2006.
Eco Lifestyle – Cool Off with a Paper Fan
Posted by: | CommentsPeople have forgotten many useful ideas from the old days.
A handheld fan (sensu or uchiwa) is used for cooling or refreshing oneself. A paper hand fan waved back and forth creates airflow.
When it is very hot, you move it quickly back and forth; the fan provides cooling by increasing the airflow over the skin, which in turn increases the evaporation of sweat droplets on the skin. This evaporation has a cooling effect.
A hand fan is shaped like a half circle. Its thin material is mounted on slats that can be folded and closed when not in use, so it’s very compact. You can put it in your bag or backpack and take it anywhere you go.
Use it on public transportation, at the office, at school or anywhere you cannot control air temperature. You get relief from the heat even when others around you don’t.
It is very simple and there is no cost for electricity.
You can get cool air you can control by yourself.
What a simple idea!
Eco Lifestyle – Carry a Thermos
Posted by: | CommentsWhen I was young I always carried a thermos out with me to public places. In those days we didn’t have plastic water bottles. You had to carry drinks in a thermos.
On school trips or for special events or afternoon activities, we brought our own drinks.
It was convenient to have a thermos, but in recent years, we’ve learned to think of convenience differently. Our habits have changed. Just buy a drink in a plastic bottle when you get thirsty rather than carry the thermos with you from home.
When you are done, throw it away.
Well, now look what’s happening. People have started to get concerned with protecting the environment.
Working people and school kids are carrying their own cups and thermos bottles to job sites and school for sensible, economical reasons.
If you buy a bottled drink every day for a month at $1.50 per bottle, it costs $45.
And, if you use a thermos, you don’t need to worry about toxic chemical pollution from the highly reactive plastic molecules in the “convenience” bottles. For that matter, you don’t have to worry about being poisoned by them.
Any way you look at it, a thermos is environmentally friend ly and protective of your health.
It’s kind of fun choosing your own thermos. They come in a different materials, colors, and sizes.
So be sure to always carry your thermos with you. You can fill it at any time with hot or cold water. Take green or herbal or black tea bags or drip coffee packets with you too, so you can enjoy a variety of tastes anywhere you go.
How to Do Sectional Breathing Exercise
Posted by: | CommentsBreathing is one of the most effective and most practical relaxation and calming techniques. Once you are familiar with the exercises, they can be practiced quickly and effectively at any time, even if you only have a few minutes to spare.
By placing your hands on your abdomen as you breathe, you will be able to feel your abdomen expand, causing your hands to move outward. Effective breathing comes from the diaphram, not the chest.
Sectional Breathing Exercise
This exercise will further increase your awareness of how you breathe. Once you have become familiar with this exercise you will find it useful as an almost instant stress reliever. On a long-term basis, this exercise can improve your digestion, reduce muscular tension in the shoulder and neck areas, and increase your lung capacity.
- Place your hands over your lower abdomen. Breathe slowly in through your nose, focusing on filling your lower abdomen and pelvic area with air. Exhale slowly and as fully as possible through your mouth.
- Repeat this for another six breaths.
- Move your hands to the lower half of your rib cage. Make sure your shoulders are relaxed and take seven breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth, focusing on expanding your rib cage with every inhalation.
- Rest your fingers on your collar bone. Focusing on expanding the upper chest and shoulder area, without moving your shoulders upwards, take seven deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.
- Now take seven long, deep breaths and fill all three areas with each breath, then feel these areas contract as you exhale.
- Return to normal breathing and remain seated for a few minutes.
How to Do Deep Breathing Exercise
Posted by: | CommentsIt is easiest to first practice correct breathing lying down. Once you have become comfortable with the technique you will be able to use it standing, sitting, or when walking and exercising. Remove any tight or uncomfortable clothing and support your head with a rolled towel, making sure the support is not too high and keeping your airways straight.
- Place your hands at the bottom of your rib cage. This keeps your attention on how you are breathing. It may take a few breaths before you feel comfortable with this technique, so don’t become anxious and concerned about doing it right the first time. If you become lightheaded return to your normal breathing for a few moments then try again.
- Inhale through your nose and, breathing slowly and deeply, try to fill your abdominal cavity with air. Try not to move your shoulders or puff out your chest.
- Exhale through your mouth and feel your abdominal muscles fall. If you also feel your shoulders fall, it means that you lifted them while inhaling. Be aware of this and try not to lift them with your next breath.
- Repeat this step several times until you feel comfortable with the rhythm. On each exhalation, imagine all the tension in your body leaving with your breath.
- Finish by returning to a normal depth of breathing, but try to maintain the style of breathing. Rise slowly.
How to Use Auto-Suggestion and Affirmations to Relax
Posted by: | CommentsAuto-suggestions and affirmations can be used with other relaxation techniques, such as during a bath or while practicing meditation or breathing exercises.
Auto-suggestion and affirmations both work on the verbal or mental repetition of a positive phrase that states — as though it is fact — your situation as you would like to experience it.
The emphasis in auto-suggestion is to repeat the phrase while in a deeply relaxed state, thus allowing the subconscious mind to absorb the meaning of the phrase and create change in behavioral and belief patterns. The principle of affirmations is based on the concept that you create your own environment by how you think. You are therefore more likely to achieve your goals if you think positively than if you dwell on the negative. Affirmations can be used at any time, whether you are deeply relaxed or not. They also act as reminders of your goals or your desired states of being.
To be effective, the phrases you use should be:
- specific — contemplate what it is you want
- in the present tense
- in the first person — use “I”
- positive — state what you want, not what you don’t want
- repeated — either in your mind, audibly, or by writing it down.
Examples of affirmations/auto-suggestions for relaxation include:
- “I remain relaxed and calm throughout the day.”
- “I choose to work in a relaxed and peaceful manner.”
- “I am more than capable of dealing with today’s challenges.”
- “I am confident and relaxed.”
- “I am calm, cool and collected.”
A Visualization for a Stressful Situation
Posted by: | CommentsIf there is an event approaching that you feel nervous and anxious about, it will help to develop a visualization about this event. The length of time it takes to do this will depend on how stressful the event is to von. You may like to come back to it on a few occasions until you can complete the visualization from beginning to end, without feeling stressed.
Again, try to incorporate taste, touch, smell, sound, and vision into the visualization. Begin with images just before the anticipated event. In your mind’s eye, see the room around you. Visualize the clothes you ate wearing, and feel the sensations created by the fabric on your body. Become conscious of the smells in the room. Hear the sounds in the room and those that are coming from outside.
Once this visualization is cleat in your mind, slowly increase the visualization to include every step toward the event, including all moments that are causing you, or will cause you, concern.
If at any time you are not progressing as you would like to or negative mind-chatter begins to creep in, simply stop and begin again at whichever point you feel comfortable. If you begin to feel anxious, distance yourself from the image for a moment and take a few deep breaths. You may decide to finish the session at this point or begin again once you have relaxed.