Donating used (but still operating) electronics for reuse extends the lives of valuable products and keeps them out of the waste stream for a longer period of time. Reuse, in addition to being an environmentally preferable alternative, also benefits society. By donating your used electronics, you allow schools, nonprofit organizations, and lower-income families to obtain equipment that they otherwise could not afford.
Where Can I Donate or Recycle My Old Computer and Other Electronic Products?
Before donating your computer or other electronics, make sure the equipment is reusable. Donation organizations have limited or in many cases no resources and employees to diagnose and repair hardware. A functional, working system—especially with monitor, wiring, and software licenses—is a lot more useful and requires less upgrading than a nonworking, incomplete computer.
Scientists have known about the radiation since the 1970s. It is created high above the planet, where charged particles from the solar wind collide with Earth's magnetic field. It is related to the phenomenon that generates the colorful aurora, or Northern Lights.
The radio waves are blocked by the ionosphere, a charged layer atop our atmosphere, so they do not reach Earth. That's good, because the out-of-this-world radio waves are 10,000 times stronger than even the strongest military signal, the researchers said, and they would overwhelm all radio stations on the planet.
Theorists had long figured the radio waves, which were not well studied, oozed into space in an ever-widening cone, like light from a torch.
But new data from the European Space Agency's Cluster mission, a group of four high-flying satellites, reveals the bursts of radio waves head off to the cosmos in beam-like fashion, instead.
The Auroral Kilometric Radiation (AKR), as it is called, is beamed out in a narrow plane, as if someone had put a mask over a torch and left a slit for the radiation to escape.
This flat beam could be detected by aliens who've figured this process out, the researchers say. The knowledge could also be used by Earth's astronomers to detect planets around other stars, if they can build a new radio telescope big enough for the search. They could also learn more about Jupiter and Saturn by studying AKR, which should emit from the auroral activity on those worlds, too.
The AKR bursts -- Mutel and colleagues studied 12,000 of them -- originate in spots the size of a large city a few thousand miles above Earth and above the region where the Northern Lights form.
"We can now determine exactly where the emission is coming from," Mutel said.
Our planet is also known to hum, a mysterious low-frequency sound thought to be caused by the churning ocean or the roiling atmosphere.
If you want to get rid of clutter in your home, you don't have to just throw everything away. There are many creative ways you can de-clutter your home and still be green.
#1 - Make some money
:Themost satisfying, green way to get rid of stuff is to make some green.
:High-end clothes can go to consignment. :Collectibles do well on ebay. :Toys, children’s clothing, and knick knacks are yard sale best sellers.
:For large numbers of antiques or vintage china, silver, or porcelain, try an auction warehouse or etsy.
#2 - Have a place in your home
Designate the corner of a closet or your laundry room for housing discards to donate. Try to do this every other month. Keep a hamper or garbage can in your designated spot and whenever you see an item cluttering your home that you or your family members 1) don't use, 2) don't love, or 3) have outgrown, put it in the hamper. At the end of each month, bag the items and take them to a donation center, or call to have them picked up. The Veterans and Big Brother Big Sister will pick up clothing and small household items at your home.
#3 - Have a swap party
My friends and I have a seasonal purge party. We all bring items we no longer need or use: clothes, jewelry, purses, home décor, small furniture, magazines, etc. It goes into a pile in the middle of the room and we all dive in! It is a fun way of getting rid of things, getting a few new things, and catching up with friends. At the end of it, we bag all the items we don’t want and donate them to a women’s shelter. This also works well with a group of moms and the clothing and toys your children have outgrown.
#4 - Re-use your own stuff
Reusing common house hold items for new organizational ways can really save you money. Try thinking outside the box as to the way you use common items. For example, empty gift baskets make great mail bins, in-boxes, planters, magazine bins, small toy organizers and more. Walk around your house and really look at your stuff. Can any of it be used for a different purpose? A bookshelf hung on the wall instead of on the floor, a TV cabinet for a night-stand, a shoebox to divide different kinds of socks in a drawer? Try to think creatively and objectively. Wanna check some great upcycled items andgreen tips?
Sorting is the easiest way to take a bite out of a cluttered space. Whether it is a nasty pile of paper clutter or a closet bursting at the seams, sorting is the cure.
When you take a look at a huge cluttered pile or space it can be very overwhelming. By sorting the items into categories you are actually breaking them down, simplifying, into a much more manageable project.
Sort items into the following categories: Keep, Donate, Long-Term Storage and my favorite Trash. Here are the definitions for the above categories:
Keep--Items used on a regular basis--ones you cannot function without in your "daily living space." Organize your keys so they have a place.
Donate--Items that are no longer used or are duplicates. You have decided that you can do without this item and would rather give it to someone else for them to benefit from it.
Long-Term Storage--Sentimental things that you want to hold on to but don't need to have cluttering up your daily living space. Out-of-season pieces of clothing qualify for this category as well.
I'm member and Admin of the Spanglish Team. We are featuring Auclairdelalunethis week. Her lovely items are made from vintage fabrics or as she says "The past lives of clothes, or where everything old is new again!"
From her profile:
"Au clair de la lune is when elves and busy mommies work on their projects -- and by the light of the moon, through the window of my attic workshop, is where you'll find me on most nights".
You can enjoy more of this great artist on her blog
Several month ago I bought a custom made banner from Earmarkand I still love it, I've used it when I have some craft shows as a promo item for my shop help me identify my web address, so hopefully potential customer can remember.
From her profile..."BRIDGETTE: Hello! My name is Bridgette. I am a 29 year old, happily married stationer. I went to Pratt Institute of Art in Brooklyn, New York for Illustration and Design. This is where I met my wonderful husband, Mike, the other half of Earmark. I am in love with traveling and fascinated with new languages, places and cultures. You can often find me practicing, Thai, Italian or German all on the same day...
MIKE: My name is Mike Berndt. I am the Director of Operations at Earmark. I have been married to my wonderful wife, Bridgette for 4 years now and each day is better than the last. I started at Earmark over two years ago and could not imagine doing anything else.
GETTING TO KNOW EARMARK: We welcome you to our Etsy shop, inside you will find cards, stationery, journals, prints, decor, invitations and so much more. Each design created by us.
Everything we do, we do because we love it. Every item is a reflection of us and our ever changing tastes and ideas."
You can enjoy more of these great artists on their blog
1.- After painting, set your brushes in fabric softener for about 10 minutes (I have left mine even over night) and then clean as usual. This works for brushes used for all types of paint, even oil based paints.
Then I tried the same thing with hair conditioner after using acrylic paint and it worked too. I was in a hurry and just dropped the brushes into the conditioner until I went back to the craft room... my brushes cleaned up faster and it worked well even after using gesso."
2.- If you have small items to paint that are hard to hold onto, try this... Make a loop using a piece of masking or duct tape and stick it to the back of your project. Now, tape the item to the eraser end of a pencil. Hold onto the pencil to paint the item - to dry, simply place the pencil in a cup!
Well, as you know I'm very proud to be a Co-Admin of the Spanglish Team. And this month we've decided to make Our First Giveaway... hosted by calabaza one of our fabulous members.
To check for more details about the Giveaway check this link, participate and have fun getting some FREE stuff.
Here is a online pal that I appreciate very much. I love her shop, she has great taste for design. Her shop name LanaKole her artwork is very inspiring and fresh, gorgeous designs for this time of the year.
From her profile... "Here in the Lana Kole Studio, we specialize in textile and surface design! We do everything from designing fabric to etching glass decor accents and creating beautiful and fun surface graphics -- the hottest new trend in interior design! We work out of our sunny little design studio in Baltimore, Md. We really enjoy what we do and we love making people and their homes smile :) "
You can read herblog and know about her a little bit more.
A gold necklace that dates from more than 4,000 years ago was found near the Titicaca Lake in Peru and constitutes the device oldest fact with the metal golden in America, said investigators.
Tests with carbon-14 to define the antiquity of the material suggest the necklace, fact of accounts plated like a tube, was elaborated around the 2100 before Christ, reported investigators in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Anthropologist Mark Aldenderfer of the University of Arizona and colleagues discovered the necklace next to a skull of an adult person in a pit who exhuming in Jiskairumoko, a village formed by hunting-recollectors between the 3300 and the 1500 before Christ.
"We hid the discovery by a time for several reasons. One is that we wanted to have fact a chemical analysis of gold, "explained Aldendorfer in a telephone interview.
"and second it was that we did not want that the people of the place or any other knew of gold because we feared thieves," it added. Those preoccupations already were surpassed.
"We finalized our excavations in the 2004. And the place soon was plowed by the inhabitants of the place who simply returned to use it for agriculture. Then, we are not worried about sackings. This he was destroyed of all ways, "said Aldendorfer.
The investigator added that the finding was unexpected because the people who lived in Jiskairumoko were the initial stages of agriculture. "Much people have argued who the gold and gold worked like this one would only have to be found in the societies of people who were based in agricultural villages with excessive of production and, of fact, even in more complex societies," explained. The accounts were done of local gold hammered to flatten it and soon to coil it, and beaded in a wool cord.
Aldendorfer says that to the finding sample that somebody had time to become more influential and important. "the This reflected social process of people with sedentary behavior. When they become sedentary, all the rules of the society begin to become from a style of nomadic life, "said.
Well I have to admit one of my favorite sellers, I love the style of this wonderful artist, her work is very colorful and joyful. She enjoys Latin American culture and folk art.
From her profile: "I love to travel and have fallen in love with the colors, textures and designs found throughout the Latin American world. A couple of years ago I started sewing items inspired by this culture for myself and my friends and recently decided to share them with the Etsy community, too. Over the years I've collected a great stash of fabrics and trims and look forward to making more and more items as my new shop grows."
You can read herblog and know about her a little bit more.
Being organized not only means that you have de-cluttered all the unnecessary objects in your home, but that you are efficiently and cost-effectively utilizing the ones you do want and need. Being green means keeping an eye on waste and consumption. Keeping consumption down is good for the mind, body and house!
1. BE FREE FROM JUNK MAIL. Get rid of your junk mail and unwanted catalogs and stop killing trees by signing up with GREENDIMES.com.
2. GIFT GIVING: Give an experience rather than stuff. A gift certificate for a massage, facial, restaurant, or theater. Donate to a charity in the person's name. Spend quality time with that person. The memory lasts longer than any "thing."
3. REGIFT. Make a gift area for things that you receive and don't like but know they will be appreciated and loved by someone else.
I’m here to make your life and my life colorful, fun, interesting, funky, hip and help you to create a place that brings you pleasure; and that is called Bululu Studio.
What? You want to know about me? I’m an Interior Designer, 34 years old (shh don’t tell anybody). I’m a mom. Married, I have three beautiful girls, a Rock Star husband that he thinks he can fly (He likes Superman) My hubby says I’m like a termite...because I love wood :D. Of course, I’m a crafter since I remember. I remember selling some knotted bracelets made by me and my cousin; I used to sell them at school when I was just 9 years old.
I have two cutie pies named Toto and Po (our guinea pigs) and our red betta fish called Max, you know “Betta Max”…old school ;-)
I have one brother and one sister. I’m the sandwich daughter LOL, they are all amazing persons, very creative.
What inspires me?
Nature inspires me, organic shapes, flowers, birds, owls, leaves, I also enjoy vintage patterns. Clean lines, contemporary designs. Bauhaus. I don’t like busy patterns or antique styles, sorry that’s just me.
