EcoMetro Portland Team / Tuesday, March 16, 2010 05:18 PM By Kyla Burnet, Sustainable Business Accounts Manager

This is your guide to making spring cleaning happen, making it fun (yes, really), and making it environmentally friendly.

1. Reserve a few hours in your calendar for spring cleaning. Treat those hours like an appointment with your house and stick to the schedule. Also reserve an hour or two following the cleaning for something to reward your efforts, like a rejuvenating hot tub soak More... Read Post
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EcoMetro Portland Team / Monday, March 1, 2010 07:05 PM With the recent reprieve in winter weather, warm sunny skies inspire gardeners to begin work in the yard and garden.  Cherry blossoms, tiny crocuses and new buds renew the hope of spring and remind us that now is the time to plan for the bounty of summer.  In the NW we are fortunate to have a long growing season, and thoughtful preparation will provide a healthy and productive yard and garden all year long. More... Read Post
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EcoMetro Portland Team / Tuesday, January 26, 2010 04:15 PM Have you ever needed to borrow a specific tool to begin or complete a project? Sometimes neighbors and friends come to the rescue by lending us exactly what we need. Other times, we’re not so lucky. Tools are expensive to buy, and we often don’t end up using them for more than one project. Renting tools can be very costly too. Fortunately, Portland residents have a resource they can turn to for their tool borrowing needs.
 
The Portland Tool Library, a non-profit founded in 2004, allows local residents to check out up to seven tools per week- for free! More... Read Post
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EcoMetro Portland Team / Monday, December 7, 2009 01:17 PM Friends of Trees is offering an extra special gift this holiday season: Gift Trees! A Gift Tree from Friends of Trees costs only $35, and a Gift Grove of 6 young native trees costs only $100. Once you place your order, your Gift Trees will be planted in Forest Park, in the Collins Sanctuary. More... Read Post
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EcoMetro Portland Team / Monday, November 23, 2009 06:13 PM Contact Metro Recycling Information for reuse and recycling resources in the metro region. Packing peanuts, Styrofoam and batteries are just a few of the items that can be reused or recycled, and Metro can help you find a convenient location. 503-234-3000 oregonmetro.gov/findarecycler

Ribbons, Bows: Save to reuse next year or donate to SCRAP’s Creative Reuse Center (503-294-0769, scrapaction.org). In addition to ribbons and bows, SCRAP accepts items that can be used for crafts, including corks, fabric pieces, carpet samples, and dozens of others. More... Read Post
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EcoMetro Editors / Thursday, November 19, 2009 07:47 PM Buy Green Power
Portland General Electric (greenpoweroregon.com) Purchase 100% of your energy for .012 kWh (usually $9 per month) with Green Source, or buy units of wind power with Clean Wind for $2.50 per unit (about 25% average usage).

Clark Public Utilities (clarkpublicutilities.com) For $1.50 each, buy
100 kWh units of Green Lights power.

Pacific Power (pacificpower.net) Purchase Blue Sky power for $1.95 per 100 kWh block, or pay $.0089 per kWh for all your power. Add an additional $2.50 per month to support native fish habitat.

NW Natural (nwnatural.com) The Smart Energy program supports environmental projects, particularly biogas, for a set $6 per month or just under $.10 per therm. More... Read Post
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EcoMetro Editors / Thursday, November 19, 2009 04:18 PM Scrub the tub Mix baking soda with water for an abrasive scrubbing paste, or substitute castile soap such as Dr. Bronner’s in place of water for extra power. To disinfect the bathroom, spray with hydrogen peroxide and rinse with water.

Claim the drain Pour baking soda in the drain, add 1 cup white vinegar, and watch the volcano, just like in grade school. Flush with hot water and repeat if necessary.

All hands on the pans Mix white vinegar with enough salt to form a paste, and watch the grease slip away. Add 1 tsp lemon juice for scent and extra power. More... Read Post
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Jennifer Morkunas, Celilo Group Media / Friday, September 25, 2009 07:29 PM When shopping for a laundry detergent, my primary concern is to choose a brand without a long list of chemicals or petroleum-based products. Despite my best intentions, my research occasionally leaves out additives or terms I'll come across that I’m not sure about, such as “optical brightener” or “surfactants.” Although these terms may sound "sciency", I have a feeling they're not the best for my skin or our water supply. Rather than expound on the various vagaries detergents list as containing (or claim they are free of) OR digress about how scary it is that companies are not required to disclose their chemical ingredients, I’ve decided to spotlight the little-known soapnut, also known as the soap pod.

You can order organic soapnuts online, as they are not common yet in the United States. Soapnuts have no chemical additives and make your clothes smell nice and clean! Although there are some good eco detergents out there, soapnuts are reusable for several washes, and are also much less expensive. They're also great if you have sensitive skin or allergies to other soaps- read on… More... Read Post
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Scott Thomsen / Tuesday, August 11, 2009 07:15 PM

Every now and then you run across a situation where instinct tells you to zig when you really ought to zag.

For saving electricity and keeping a few more dollars in your bank account, THIS SPACE is about to bend your mind around the idea of using electricity to save it.

This week’s ONE THING you can do to conserve energy is to try online billing for your utility bills and any other payments you need to make. The switch will increase your time on the computer, which would seem to increase your energy consumption, but this is a situation where one step back can lead to two or three steps forward.

Here’s why. More... Read Post
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Scott Thomsen / Tuesday, June 9, 2009 01:27 PM After an extended, gray winter, Seattle is now enjoying the kind of summer that reminds us why we live here.

As the long-awaited sunshine pulls us from our fleece cocoons and recharges our vitamin D levels, THIS SPACE is here to remind you that sunshine also offers one of the simplest, low-investment opportunities for saving electricity -- the solar clothes dryer. You might recognize this energy-efficient technology better as a clothesline.

Hanging clothes to dry used to be a commonplace event, but largely disappeared with the arrival of affordable, convenient appliances.

That convenience comes with a cost, which you can turn into a savings. More... Read Post
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Cheryl Janis / Wednesday, June 3, 2009 06:35 PM The sign post that read “I’m an Oregon Native” was the first thing that caught my eye as I drove up to the Oregon native plant nursery, Bosky Dell, located at 23321 SW Bosky Dell Lane in West Linn, Oregon (about 25 minutes southeast of Portland). 

I am a self-confessed city girl who like thousand of others heard the “Portland calling” and moved here on a whim. It’s now five years later and I’m starting to understand the concept of “native” as I appreciate all of Oregon’s natural surroundings. More... Read Post
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Carissa Wodehouse / Tuesday, June 2, 2009 06:53 PM I recently headed to the upholstery store to find fabric for an old rocking chair in need of rehab. Surely they would have organic fabrics to choose from...and yet the saleswoman shook her head. There just isn't much interesting green upholstery fabric, she said. So I was pleased to find Mod Green Pod, out of Austin (found via their Twitter), and revive my project.

Mod Green Pod's fabrics are 100% Organic cotton that is grown, woven, and printed with non-toxic dyes in the USA ($39.75/yard). The line of wallpaper is PVC-free and also uses non-toxic inks ($60/roll). Using organic cotton grown in the USA is especially impressive. And those patterns!

Pictured is the Room Creator, where you can play with prints and get an enthusiastic environmental message from the furniture (and the cat). See their blog for inspiring cover ups. More... Read Post
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EcoMetro Editors / Friday, May 29, 2009 06:57 PM