Last week the ACEEE released it’s 2011 State Energy Efficiency Scoreboard and Massachusetts came out on top. Massachusetts beat California for the first time, by making big leaps in energy efficiency after the 2008 passing of the Green Communities ACT.

This is great news for everyone in Boston as we become more and more efficient in our energy usage. For those of you that are looking for ways to improve on your energy bills, check out our friends at myenergy.com. These guys will help you track and improve your energy costs and then reward you when you use less!

If you live in the city but would prefer to live a bit of a greener life style, we’ve put together a list of 10 tips for composting in the city. This certainly isn’t for everyone but if you do have some outdoor space it’s great way to live a more green.

10.Understand How It Works- Know the four basic requirements, air, water, carbon and nitrogen. The right amount of each is necessary for the process to be effective.

9.Select the Bin That Fits- Selecting the right bin is especially important for city composters. The right bin will keep warmth and moisture in and pets and rodents as well as other pests out. Keep in mind the amount of space you have available when selecting a bin.

8.Think Green and Brown- Nitrogen comes from your green kitchen and yard waste, and carbon comes from brown waste. You will need both for the compost. Nitrogen rich materials are green fresh  moist items like plants, garden trimmings, leaves and flowers. Eggshells tea bags and coffee grounds are great kitchen replacements. Carbon comes from dry garden materials, suitable kitchen items include shredded newspaper, bread and grains, nutshells, corncobs, and food soiled paper towels and napkins.

7.Cover It Up- As the nitrogen rich materials decompose you will notice an ammonium odor coming from the compost pile. To prevent odors be sure to mix carbon rich items thoroughly into the pile. Covering your green items with brown ones you alleviate the odors and keep pests away.

6.Make it Rodent Proof- We cannot stress this enough especially for those of you attempting this in the city. Check the bin you’ve selected weekly for holes or gaps  that might allow insects to get inside the bin and potentially into your home.

5.Keep It Damp- Dried out compost will eventually break down but it could take a while. Keep the pile most by wringing out a sponge over the top of the pile.

4.Let It Breathe- In order to do their work, micro-organisms need to breathe. Turn the compost pile often so that the mix will get the proper aeration it needs.

3.Speed Up the Process-If you start now and turn the pile every so often it will likely take a year or more for you to get the finished product. The best way to speed it up is to use small items, smaller pieces of material breakdown faster than bulky items. Turn the pile frequently also helps speed up the process. Following these tips you should have compost in 3 months.

2.Testing the finished Product-The time it takes for the finished product to come together varies on lots of factors. However, when it is finished the mixture should be dark and crumbly and in no way reflect the items that were put in. Items that were put in and still exist are likely to attract pests and are signs that your compost is not done. The best test is to take a ziplock bag and put a handful in. Seal the bag and open it a week later, if it still smells earthy your compost is done.

1.Use it Wisely- You have now spent the past 3 months or more working to create this mixture, so it’s important that you don’t waste it.

For more on all of these tips visit This Link.

File this post under Doh!

A company in Australia has created the best and easiest to install bathroom upgrade in years. Most people when they brush their teeth want to rinse out afterwards with a glass of water. This urge, forces some to keep a glass in the bathroom at all times and some to keep paper cups which they use once and throw away. Well Dreamfarm has the answer, Tapi! Tapi is a small rubber piece that fits right over most faucet taps and can redirect water into a fountain like arch just by squeezing the bottom. The  rubber device can also be cleaned in your dishwasher. If your interested in purchasing this great little device Shubies in Marblehead is supposed to carry them. You can also order it online by clicking here.

It never ceases to amaze me what a big change some paint and furniture can make in how you view a space. Take a look at what Ashley Whitaker Design was able to do with this dining room.

Now see what some minor and major work can do.

The difference is pretty amazing and when you look at was done, it really was a lot! No worries though, you can get a similar look accomplished for much less. The major work that was done: removing the beams in the ceiling, staining the floors, minor electrical and adding the built in cabinet. Now how do you accomplish this all for much less?

1. Don’t worry about the floors! (If you don’t own, you can’t make this change anyways!) If you notice, an area rug covers most of the floor so there’s little bare wood showing anyways. Find a rug that works with your furniture in terms of colors and you won’t have to worry about the floor at all.
2. Don’t worry about custom built-ins. There are plenty of companies that make pieces you can self assemble that serve the same purpose. Ikea will allow you build a similar cabinet at half the cost of a custom built cabinet.
3. Paint changes everything! Perhaps one of the biggest changes you can make in a room, is the color you paint the room. Know what colors work well with the furniture you’re planning to place in the room. This is what will help make the change seem so dramatic. Most landlords allow tenants to paint as long as the tenant paints it back before they move out.

Three simple steps that can dramatically change the way a room looks and how it is used.

Looking for another reason to change your outdoor lighting to something more green and still think cost is an issue? How much are fewer mosquito bites worth to you? I recently heard story that LED lights attract far fewer mosquitoes than regular conventional lights. After doing some research, it turns out the story is true. Mosquitoes are attracted to ultraviolet light which LED’s produce zero of. So if you’d like to enjoy some longer nights outside this summer but would like fewer bugs, switch to more environmentally friendly LED lights. You’ll be saving the environment and yourself a lot of pain.

Special thanks to Mike Holmes for this information.

This week will be the first of a multipart series in how to find the leak you may have in your toilet. This tip will help you if you have water puddling on the floor or you think your toilet might be running but aren’t sure.

Step 1: Clean the Toilet!
Cleaning the toilet and make sure the surrounding area is dry will go a long way towards making this process easier.

Step 2: Add Food Coloring to your toilet tank (red is easiest to spot) then flush the toilet.
After you’ve flushed the toilet give it a few minutes that take a dry paper towel and wipe around where the toilet meets the floor. If your paper towel turns red you now know where the leak is. (Most likely it’s the wax flange that the toilet rests on.)

Step 3: If you think the toilet might be running and want to be sure…
After you flush the toilet then add food die when the tank is half full. As the tank begins to fill, if it’s working properly the water should stay inside the tank. If you come back 45 mins later and see that water in the toilet bowl turning a red color you know that yes your water is running because you’ve got a leaky stopper.

As part our sponsorship of Home Ownership, we’re going to be giving a weekly home improvement tip here on our blog. Seeing as it’s week one, we thought we’d start with something simple: Garbage Disposal Maintenance.

Now some of you may already know the tricks listed below, but for those that don’t, try these over the next year to keep your disposal smelling fresh and running clean.

Tip number 1: Throw some ice cubes down the disposal every once in a while! (Note: you must be running cold water when you do this.) The common misconception is that doing this will sharpen the blades, but that is not the case. What the ice cubes do, is clean off any gunk or food that maybe collecting on the edges of the blades. This allows the blades to slice food better in the future. For those that want bonus points, make the ice cubes from lemon juice.

Tip number 2: Have you ever wondered why your dishwasher sometimes smells? The answer is your garbage disposal vents into your dishwasher. So if you’ve ever opened your dishwasher after doing a load of dishes and wondered why despite looking clean, they didn’t smell so hot, you now have your answer. The cure for this problem is to put some citrus into the disposal. Take either a lemon or an orange and cut it into quarters or slightly smaller pieces and then start sticking the pieces down 1-2 at a time and run the disposal. The citrus will get rid of the odor and hang around for a little bit so when you just turn on the water you’ll get that sweet smell as it goes down the drain.

Well that’s all for week 1! We hope we have helped some of you and encourage everyone to test out our tips this weekend!