Easy Way to Clear Your Closet & Donate to a Good Cause

If you are getting ready to put your house on the market or are just doing a house cleaning, there is an easy way to clean out your closets and storage areas while donating to a good cause. The United War Veterans Council offers a free pick-up service of a wide range of household goods. By recycling your unwanted items you help people in need and divert goods from landfills which helps the environment. Pick-ups can be scheduled online and items can be left outside your door. Items in good condition that can be donated include clothing (for adults and children), shoes, bedding, window treatments, dishware and glasses, cookware, tools, toys, electronics, small furniture and appliances. You can schedule a pick-up and see a comprehensive list of items that are accepted at www.UWVCPickup.org.

Kitchen Renovation: Build Green, Save Green

If you are planning a kitchen renovation there are some great ways to save environmental and financial resources. Build-it Green! NYC offers a FREE kitchen de-construction for qualified kitchens performed by fully insured professionals. Build-it Green! NYC will deconstruct your kitchen and remove everything for free preventing building materials from being tossed in a landfill. You will also save money by not having to pay your contractor to do the work. If that wasn’t enough of an incentive, Build-it Green! NYC is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization, so every deconstruction project gets treated as a standard donation so you will also get a tax-deductible receipt!

Once your kitchen has been de-constructed, you can also construct it with materials from the Build-it Green! NYC’s salvaged and surplus building materials. They stock everything from cabinets, flooring, countertops and hardware to yes, kitchen sinks.

To see if your kitchen qualifies contact deconstruction manager Max Rubinstein at 718-777-0132 ext. 26 or max@bignyc.org. Send photos of your existing kitchen to Max at max@bignyc.org to speed the evaluation process along. Visit their website for more details at the link below.



Visit The Jill Smith Team's green webpage for more information on green building:

Save Energy While on Vacation

Summer is a great time to take a vacation and just get away from it all. However, unless you take action, the appliances and electronic devices in your home will not get a break and your next month's energy bill may be business as usual. Before you leave on your next trip, take a few minutes and follow these simple steps. You can minimize energy consumption in your empty house and maybe save a few dollars for your next vacation.

Water Heater—Unless you have a tankless unit, your water heater will keep running (and costing you money) to keep the water warm until you get back. Turn down the setting to as low as possible to reduce this "standby" heat loss while you are away.

Refrigerator—Your refrigerator is one of the biggest energy users in a typical home. If you are leaving for a short period of time, change the refrigerator thermostat to a higher setting, such as 38 degrees for the refrigerator and 5 degrees for the freezer. For longer trips (such as four weeks or more), consider emptying your refrigerator and unplugging it.

Air Conditioner—There is no need to keep your house cool while you are sitting on the beach hundreds of miles away. Turn off your air conditioner or set the thermostat to 85° or higher. To avoid coming home to an overheated house, use a programmable thermostat and set it on vacation mode to re-cool your house shortly before your expected return.

Lights—Turn off all lights in your home before you leave. You may wish to maintain an outdoor or indoor light for nighttime security. Consider installing a timer. This will limit the illumination to only a few hours a day and help to make it appear as if someone is at home.

Electronics—There may be a “phantom load” haunting your empty home (and costing you money) while you are away. Turning off electronic devices is a good energy savings strategy, but remember, digital displays, instant-on features, and remote controls consume energy while not in use. Unplug all electronic devices while you are away.

Courtesy of PSE&G

Visit TheJillSmimthTeam's Your Green Home page for more ideas on how to reduce your energy usage and green your home.

Have a Certified Wildlife Habitat™ in Your Own Backyard

Have a Certified Wildlife Habitat™ in Your Own Backyard

The National Wildlife Federation offers a great program to restore natural habitat in your community whether you have an apartment balcony or multi-acre estate. By addressing 5 categories you can apply to have your home habitat certified by The Nation Wildlife Federation. The categories include supplying food, water and shelter for wildlife and creating green space that uses native species and conserves soil and water. This is a great project for families or anyone wanting to help sustain their local ecosystems.

The application process includes a $20 fee and a simple form outlining the features of your habitat. Included in the application fee is a certificate recognizing your certified habitat, free NWF membership with a one-year subscription to NWF quarterly newsletter and your habitat’s listing with the NWF’s Certified Wildlife Habitat™ registry. Once certified you can also purchase a Certified Wildlife Habitat™ yard sign to show your neighbors your commitment to the environment.

I have reposted The Nation Wildlife Federation’s guidelines for the Certified Wildlife Habitat™ requirements. Please visit their website for all the details and particulars.

Provide Food for Wildlife

Your habitat needs three of the following types of plants or supplemental feeders: Seeds from a plant • Berries • Nectar • Foliage/Twigs • Nuts • Fruits • Sap • Pollen • Suet • Bird Feeder • Squirrel Feeder • Hummingbird Feeder • Butterfly Feeder

Supply Water for Wildlife

Your habitat needs one of the following sources to provide clean water for wildlife to drink and bathe: Birdbath • Lake • Stream • Seasonal Pool • Ocean • Water Garden/Pond • River • Butterfly Puddling Area • Rain Garden • Spring

Create Cover for Your Habitat

Wildlife need at least two places to find shelter from the weather and predators: Wooded Area • Bramble Patch • Ground Cover • Rock Pile or Wall • Cave • Roosting Box • Dense Shrubs or Thicket • Evergreens • Brush or Log Pile • Burrow • Meadow or Prairie • Water Garden or Pond

Give Wildlife a Place to Raise Their Young

You need at least two places for wildlife to engage in courtship behavior, mate, and then bear and raise their young: Mature Trees • Meadow or Prairie • Nesting Box • Wetland • Cave • Host Plants for Caterpillars • Dead Trees or Snags • Dense Shrubs or a Thicket • Water Garden or Pond • Burrow

Garden in an Environmentally Friendly Way

You should be doing two things to help manage your habitat in a sustainable way. Soil and Water Conservation: Riparian Buffer • Capture Rain Water from Roof • Xeriscape (water-wise landscaping) • Drip or Soaker Hose for Irrigation • Limit Water Use • Reduce Erosion (i.e. ground cover, terraces) • Use Mulch • Rain Garden Controlling Exotic Species: Practice Integrated Pest Management • Remove Non-Native Plants and Animals • Use Native Plants • Reduce Lawn Areas • Organic Practices: Eliminate Chemical Pesticides • Eliminate Chemical Fertilizers • Compost

Please visit TheJillSmithTeam.com's green page.