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The Inexpensive Way To Go Green

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Most people believe that you have to be well off in order to go green. This is not true at all, and many people with limited funds are doing their part to help the environment. Here are several ways that you can help save resources without spending a lot of money.

Switch to energy-efficient light bulbs. This does cost a little, but the amount that you save in the end will make it all worth it. In fact, you will not have to buy light bulbs nearly as much as you do now. This means that you will save money while saving a lot of energy. This is one of the simplest ways to make an impact without spending a lot.

Recycle each week if your community has a program. Unfortunately, not all communities have a recycling program. This means that there are many tons of waste that get placed in landfills. if your community has a recycling program, make sure that you take advantage of it. You will not spend a dime since most places offer recycling bins to residents free of charge. If there is no recycling program in your community. Think about driving to a nearby community and recycling there.

Turn off light when you are not in the room. This is very simple, but many people neglect to do it. There is no reason to have every light on in your entire home if you are in one room. Many people leave their bathroom lights on 24/7, and this is not really necessary either. How hard is it to turn it on when you need to use it? Whenever you are leaving a room, flip the switch and save energy.

Unplug any electronics that are not in use. Whether you believe it or not, there ate many electronic devices that continue to use power even when they are turned off. One example of this is cell phone chargers, which continue using power even if a phone is not attached to it. You can save a ton of energy by unplugging things as soon as you are done using them. Things like this also help you decrease the amount of their monthly bills, so the benefit is twofold.

Only use heat when it is absolutely necessary. This is something else that has no investment at all. There are many people that turn the heat up just because the weather is a little cooler than normal. If you are lounging around watching TV and you feel a bit chilly, grab a blanket and/or a sweater before you turn on the heat. This will save a ton of energy, and it will help decrease the amount of your monthly bill.

As you can probably tell from reading this, there are many ways to go green without going broke. While people that have more money can do more, that does not mean you should neglect to do your part. Using all of the tips here will help you save money while conserving a lot of energy that is normally wasted.

Things To Do Before Starting A Home Business

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One of the ways that you can assure your home business will be successful is by setting things up correctly from the start. There are several things you can do that will put you far ahead of the competition very early. Keep reading for some useful tips that will help you lay a solid foundation you can grow on.

Every town is not the same, so you may need to check the zoning laws in your area depending on the type of business you want to run. The last thing you want is to be on the road to success and have it all come crashing down. Do your research to find out what the laws are and call any appropriate city officials to verify it. Never take someone’s word for it since that can get you in a lot of hot water.

It cannot be stressed enough how important a good plan is to the success of a business. How can you expect your business to go anywhere if you are not sure where you would like it to go? Write it down and read it over to yourself. If there are any ideas on there that are unrealistic, change them. You are only setting yourself up for failure if you are trying to reach business goals that are virtually impossible.

Having separate bank accounts for you business and household accounts is a necessity. This will make things easier when it comes to budgeting and filing tax returns. Many people keep all of their money together then they have a hard time trying to figure out how everything should be separated. Also, try having the two accounts at separate banks and do not link the accounts. This will only make it easier for you to dip into your business account more than you should.

Not everyone is a math whiz, so do not attempt to manage your finances if you don’t have a clue about how to do it. Making the wrong financial moves can blow up in your face big time. While you may not be able to hire a full-time accountant, have someone set up your accounting system for you. Have them use a software program that is fairly simple for a beginner to understand.

A dedicated office space is very important if you want to see your business grow. There is no way that you can concentrate on anything of there is a TV blaring in the background or your children are arguing over a toy. Try your best to find a place that is quiet and not a popular area for others. If you do not have this extra space, talk to your family and make sure they understand that you are not to be disturbed while you are working.

If you take the time to set up your business properly, you will avoid having any serious problems. While every business hits bumps in the road, you want to be able to get past them and continue. The tips here should give you an idea of how to get started.

Personal Development Tips And Tricks For You To Try

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One way to figure out how you can be more successful in your life while reaching some of your goals in personal development is to learn whatever you can about the subject. This article contains tips and tricks that can assist you with this.

Exercising is a great thing to do when you’re starting off in personal development. Not only will it make you more fit and help you get the body that you want, it can also help you to get rid of a lot of the stress that your day may have brought you. Get a membership to a gym or just make it a point to go on a walk when you can. Anything that gets you up and moving is recommended.

Read all the books that you possibly can on the subject of self improvement and personal development. Even if you don’t want to read books about that, just make it a point to read as much as you can. You can learn to do just about anything through books, and you can also use books to take your mind off of all of the stress you’ve built up throughout your day.

Don’t watch as much TV and get away from your computer and cell phone for a while each day. Sure, you may find these things to be relaxing, but if you get addicted to these quick fixes, you may find yourself depending on them too much. We all need time in our lives to disconnect from these sorts of things, so take a few moments out of your day where you can be alone without any of that stimulation.

Write down every goal that you’re trying to reach and break those goals down into smaller ones. Carry this sheet with you and check off your goals as you go along. Every day you should be trying to reach a certain goal. If you find that any of your goals are not being reached, then you should probably rewrite these goals and make them even smaller.

Above all, do not get discouraged when you are not making a lot of progress all at once. Everyone has trouble when they first start making changes because it’s hard to break old habits. Think of your mistakes as a way to learn something new about yourself. Nobody got to where they are today by doing whatever it is they do perfectly. The rich people in the world started off in the same way as you did, they just did not let their mistakes rule over them. Always try your best, and realize that mistakes are going to happen.

Now that you have gone over this article and know what things you can do to make yourself into a better person, you should know that it is not impossible. All you have to do is be willing to put the work in. Use the tips and tricks that you just went over and start bettering yourself today!

Secrets To A Successful Home Business

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These days it is very common to find people that work from home. While this has always been an option, many people have decided it is preferable to working for someone else. Many people have no clue where to begin and that makes the entire idea very frightening to them. Here are a few tips that will help you become a success from the comforts of your own home.

One mistake that a lot of new home business owners make is trying to give people products they can get from many other places. You want to give them something that is not available so easily. Do not try selling something that will give you a lot of competition. For example, selling a product that you see advertised on TV all the time may not net you a lot of cash. Look for something that is a bit unique but practical enough that many people will need it.

Write a solid business plan. Even though you are not working for a large corporation, you should still conduct business like you do. How can you expect anyone to take you seriously if you are anything other than professional? Create a plan that is workable and creates a productive work environment for you. Do not allow yourself to get sidetracked, and make sure that you stick to the plan as closely as possible.

You have to figure out who the audience is you are trying to capture and figure out how to attract them. This is the most important part since these are the people that will be utilizing your products. Try every available channel to reach them including online email blasts, newspaper ads and community bulletin boards. Make sure that you advertise in places where your audience would be likely to go.

Keeping track of your finances is something that many people have a hard time with. When you work at home, you are responsible for filing taxes. There are many deductions you can make if you can prove that they are legitimate business expenses. That is why it is vital that you keep accurate records and separate all business expenses from the personal ones.

Do not be afraid to take chances. Many home business opportunities require a certain amount of risk, so playing it safe is not always the best thing. This does not mean that you should enter into a business that seems risky and sketchy. It means that you should be open to new ideas. Even if something seems a little out of the box for you, try it and see how it works. Ask customers for suggestions and make changes accordingly.

As you can probably tell from the article above, there is a lot involved with running a business from home. While it is not a walk in the park, it gets easier as you become more comfortable with it. Make sure that you keep an open mind and work hard since those are two ingredients that will lead to home business success.

Midnight Brownies

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Midnight Brownies - illustration by Claire Roberston, loobylu.com

Tonight I’m going to the lovely Susan’s house for dinner. After faffing around on recipe websites for two hours in search of a gift to bake and take, I’ve circled back to the trusty Midnight Brownies.

Way back in 2000 the brilliant Claire Robertson of Loobylu had a Celebrity Chef feature on her website. Because there were less people online wittering about their lives back then, I managed to squeak in as a “celebrity”!

Over 14 years later I still get search requests for “midnight brownies” on this blog. Claire’s website has gone through evolutions since that time, but I found the page in the good ol’ Wayback Machine. Thanks to Claire for letting me use her original illustrations here!

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This recipe was created out of a desperate need for some sort of chocolate. As university students we’d often be up late writing essays in blind panic or watching crappy TV shows like Renegade or Sunset Beach. Inevitably the chocolate cravings would seize us, and since we were always too poor and lazy to go out and buy some, I used to knock up a batch of sweet and gooey Midnight Brownies. You don’t have to make them at midnight of course, but somehow they always taste better when you’ve whipped them up in a famished frenzy. They’re cheap, easy and scrumptious. Just like your average uni student.

Midnight Brownies - illustration by Claire Roberston, loobylu.com

Ingredients
200 grams butter
½ cup Cadbury’s cocoa powder (nothing else will do)*
2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence (the cheap and nasty stuff)**
1 cup of plain flour

* These days I use Green & Blacks because I’m a middle-aged fusspot.
** I use vanilla extract now, see *

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F. Gently melt the butter and cocoa over low heat on the stove. Add the brown sugar and keep heating gently and stir it til its all one melty chocolatey mess.

2. Remove from heat and stir in the egg and vanilla essence til it all looks smooth and glossy.

3. Gradually add in the flour. Stir it up to buggery and taste numerous times to make sure it’s okay.

4. Taste again, just to be sure.

5. Pour the lot into a tin lined with greaseproof paper. Doesn’t matter what shape the tin it is.

6. Whack it in the oven for about 25 – 30 minutes, depending on how ferocious your oven is. Watch them closely. Sit in front of the oven with rapt attention as if you were watching an episode of Bold and The Beautiful. You do not want burnt brownies.

7. Gather teaspoons and flatmates around pot and scrape up every last drop of batter. Use fingers and/or tongues if you’re bunch of savages (we were).

8. Get too impatient to wait and remove from oven after about 20 minutes. The top of the brownie should be slightly firm but when you poke it with your finger it should still be nice and gooey underneath.

9. Wait about 15 seconds for it to cool then eat. Also works well as a poor-mans mud cake for dessert with some strawberries and cream.

10. Next day, heat piece of brownie for 20 seconds in microwave and serve with glass of cold milk for delicious but nutritionally unsound breakfast.

Make These Important Changes In Your Appliance Use

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Each appliance in your home plays an important role in your total monthly consumption of energy. Carefully analyzing how you operate these machines can add up to big savings for you as a consumer and make a positive difference on the environment. Incorporate the following green energy tips in your house.

1. HVAC. Installing a programmable thermostat is one of the best ways to conserve energy and save money in your home. Set the temps to save even more when you are away at work and grab a sweater if you feel chilly. Just a few degrees can add up to significant savings for both you and the environment.

2. Washing machine. Be sure and select a lower amount of water for smaller cycles, and avoid using the hot water feature whenever possible. Try and wait until you have a full load of laundry before running the machine, and take advantage of all energy settings.

3. Dryer. Cleaning the lint filter on a regular basis will improve the efficiency of your dryer as well as reduce the possibility of fire. Again, opt for energy-saving settings at all times and never run the dryer for just a few items. Hang things like jeans up to dry on a small rack to avoid running the dryer for long periods of time and never turn your dryer on during extremely hot weather as this is very counter-productive to the effort put out by your air conditioning unit.

4. Dish washer. This is another appliance that is frequently used before it’s sufficiently full; wait until you’ve got a decent sized load before hitting the start button. Using your dish washer’s electric drying system is also a waste of money and resources, so let them air-dry.

5. Ceiling fans. These devices can really help your efforts to cool and heat the home; change the direction of the rotation to either draw hot air up or push it down, depending on the season. Always shut it off when you leave, too; despite being an asset to the home’s green energy plan, ceiling fans cost about seven dollars each to run per month.

6. TV and other electronics. Connect them safely to a power-strip and turn it completely off every night or when you will be gone for more than a few hours. Most of these gadgets draw power even when they are turned off, so it’s important and convenient to cut the juice with one single flick of a switch.

7. Water heater. The temperature setting for the water heater in most homes is 140 degrees, and lowering that to 120 will save you as much as $10 every month, along with keeping the environment cleaner. The U.S. Department of Energy recommends the water heater be kept at 120 degrees, and you probably won’t even notice the reduction when you use it.

Saving energy benefits you and the environment, and it’s not very difficult to accomplish. Simply review the habits of everyone in your household and start using appliances more conscientiously. You should see a big difference in a month or less.