How to Organize a Small Workshop

...ial out-feed table for a table saw, miter saw etc. Use chalkboard paint to label cabinets and drawers. Clean as you work. I don’t always live up to this principle in the workshop or in the kitchen, but when you don’t have a lot of room you’ve got to put stuff back and get rid of scraps otherwise things get ugly and dangerous. Thou shalt not store crap in thy workshop. A clean and organized workshop is inspiring. Banish the crap and you’ll make spa...

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Non-Toxic Cleaning for the Home

...ally not all that safe–there is no regulation of the use of these terms in labeling. (e.g. Simple Green is neither “green” nor simple!) Check all cleaning products against the EWG database, and keep in mind that even within a single brand, some formulations will be well rated and others poorly rated. A good rule of thumb is to seek unscented products, because fragrances and perfumes carry toxins, and are often at the root of a poor EWG rating. Gre...

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Incandescent, Compact Fluorescent or LED?

...sealed, enclosed or recessed lighting fixtures. You also have to check the label and perhaps even call the manufacturer to figure out if a CFL will work in a horizontal, base-up or base-down fixture. CFLs perform poorly if turned on and off without at least 15 to 30 minutes to warm up. CFLs contain mercury and other toxins and must be disposed of responsibly. Stick to major brands. Avoid non-UL-listed cheap import bulbs. A trip to the light bulb a...

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Saturday Linkages: Saris, Punk Rockers, Poppies and Young Agrarians

....net/2014/04/24/humanoid-wasps-nest-built-ov.html … Punk rock homesteading resources: http://punkrockhomesteading.com/e-books/ Two new California poppy species: http://www.pensoft.net/journals/phytokeys/article/6751/two-new-desert-eschscholzia-papaveraceae-from%C2%A0southwestern-north-america … Contrasting Front Yards: Turf Only v. Wildlife-Filled | Garden Rant http://gardenrant.com/2014/04/contrasting-front-yards-wildlife-v-turf.html … When Pedes...

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Block Party Weekend

...os Angeles is an army camped far from its sources of supply, using distant resources faster than nature renews them . . . Our region today is so dependent, so uninhabitable, yet so inhabited, that it must transform or die. Sooner or later it must generate its own food, fuel, water, wood and ores. It must use these at the rate that nature provides them. It can . . .” -Paul Glover Los Angeles: A History of the Future as quoted in the LAEV Overview S...

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