Search Results for: label/water conservation

360 results

Using Greywater from your Washing Machine

Mr. Homegrown
Water and Power, Water Conservation
9 Comments
With our current bad drought conditions it makes no sense to pour perfectly good water down the sewer. So we just joined the greywater underground with our illegal washing machine surge tank, and the installation was a piece of cake. We built our washing machine surge tank based on the design in Art Ludwig’s book Create an Oasis with Greywater. The purpose of the surge tank is to prevent the built-in pump in the washing machine from burni...

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June: National Bathroom Reading Month

Mr. Homegrown
Thoughtstylings
2 Comments
...king of our congress, senate or president. Nevertheless we thought we’d celebrate bathroom reading month anyways with a look at what journals, catalogs and books grace the Homegrown Evolution throne room reading stack. Water Quality Report ’07 from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Every year we get this and pledge we’ll study up on the science behind water quality. Another year has passed and all we can critique a...

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Cleaning the Sink with Baking Soda and Lemons

Mrs. Homegrown
Cleaning, Domesticus
15 Comments
...can see it in the windowsill of the top picture. You know, it was totally worth the $1.99. Using baking soda: The trick to using it effectively is to not use it in a very wet environment. Baking soda dissolves quickly in water, unlike some scouring cleansers. Don’t try to use it in standing water, or even with a very wet sponge.  For it to work well, it has to be on the dry side. If my sink is wet, I’ll run a towel over it to ge...

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Looking for the Union Label

Mr. Homegrown
Domesticus
3 Comments
We’ve got a bad case of Ohrwurm, a German expression translated as “earworm” and used to describe a song stuck in your head. Our earworm came after a search for union made socks and underwear on the internets recalled a highly catchy ad jingle from the roller disco era, “Look for the Union Label” (youngsters can watch it on youtube here). We looked for the union label and we were surprised to find it via a company c...

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Outdoor Sink Makes Water Recycling Simple

Homegrown Neighbor
Design
12 Comments
This is my new outdoor sink. I found the cast iron sink on the side of the road in Pomona and gleefully dragged the heavy beast several hundred yards to my car. I had a frame built for it out of scrap wood lying around the yard, the faucet and pipes came from another discarded sink, and we hooked it up to the hose outlet. It drains into a simple 5 gallon bucket which I can then pour out into the nearby landscape. It is super simple grey water. N...

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Mistakes we have made . . .

Mr. Homegrown
Animals, Chickens, Permaculture, Thoughtstylings
13 Comments
...successes. And oh, how many blunders there have been in the past ten years. It’s about time to round up the top 6. I’m sure there are many more that I’ve forgotten, but here’s a start. 1. Installing a water garden. That water garden looks great in the picture above. That was before the neighborhood raccoons spent several nights a week treating it like rock stars used to treat hotel rooms, and before scum and slime clogged...

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Your Essential Oil Toolkit

Mrs. Homegrown
Domesticus
31 Comments
...ops with a cheaper, nuetral oil (olive oil will do) and massage it into the skin to ease tired, aching muscles. Try the same thing for sunburn. Put a few drops in your hot bath to unwind Lean over a steam bowl filled with hot water and a few drops of lavender for headaches, sinus problems, or just a really bad cold. Pass a bottle around the car on a long trip when everyone is getting fractious, or use it on your own to survive your commute. Sniff...

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Propagating herbs via cuttings

Mrs. Homegrown
Gardening, Herbs
11 Comments
...nts, but in this case in particular it would be disastrous because they’d disintegrate in the constant moisture, and/or attract mold.) –A bottle of rooting hormone powder (available at nurseries) –A glass of water –A small dish or tray –A plastic bag or two, or a plastic lid for your tray, or some plastic bottles. See below –Maybe a spray bottle full of water–for watering later How to to do it: This is y...

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Addendum to the previous post: Nasal irrigation and pressure points

Mrs. Homegrown
Domesticus
7 Comments
...17;t own a neti pot, so can’t speak to how to use one of those. I learned to do this the messy way long ago from my stepmother, who was a nurse. All you do is dissolve 1 teaspoon of sea salt or kosher salt in 2 cups of water. The water should be close to body temperature, otherwise you’ll be uncomfortable when you snort it. Put the water in a cup or bowl big enough to get your nose into. You’ll have to play around to get the ha...

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Thirsty bees

Mrs. Homegrown
Animals, Bees
14 Comments
Did you know bees need to drink water? They seek out shallow water sources like puddles and bird baths. Even if you don’t keep bees, you can help out our little pollinator friends (and a host of other wildlife) by keeping a bird bath or even just putting a saucer of fresh water out for them. You can do this even if you don’t have a yard–try keeping a saucer of water on, say, a balcony railing or in a window box. If you keep...

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