Time to tune up your furnace

Now that the cold weather is knocking at our door, it's time to get your furnace tuned up. If you have an electric furnace, you could save 335 pounds of carbon per year; 252 for gas according to The Green Book. This will also save you money on your electric bill and help to keep your house cleaner. To find a qualified company near you, just go online and type in heating and air conditioning and your city. You should get some search results or at least yellow pages.

In addition, for each degree you turn down your thermostat, you save about 1 percent on your heating costs and carbon emissions generated by your furnace. Think about turning your heater down at night, and when you're not home, turn it off completely.

Halloween Safety

Halloween is a fun holiday for both kids and adults. Make sure it's a safe one by following some simple safety tips.

-have small children trick-or-treat only accompanied by an adult.

- if older children go trick-or-treating, make sure you know their route and what time they'll be back.

- make sure children know not to eat any candy until it's been inspected by an adult at home. In addition, give your children a good meal before they leave to help them resist the temptation to eat their candy before they get back.

- carry flashlights, glow sticks, or put reflective tape on costumes.

- use face makeup rather than masks, which can obscure vision.

- make sure children know never to enter a house or car for a treat.

- confine the family pet and make sure they have on a collar.

Happy Halloween.

Car wash tip

As you know, you can save time and water by taking your car to the car wash. However when you take your car in, please remember to check your child's car seat before you leave. Occasionally when cleaning your back seat, your child's car seat can come unlatched from the car whether it attaches with a seatbelt or lower latch connectors.

Age appropriate chores for children

We sometimes wonder, should our kids be doing chores? Or if they are, should they be doing more or fewer chores? We all want to raise responsible adults, right? So when is it too early to start chores, and what is appropriate?

Children 2-3 years can start chores. Most kids this age will actually be excited to help out around the house. For this age group, appropriate chores might include:

Dusting with help

Putting laundry in hamper

Help making their bed

Put dishes in the sink (or on the counter)

Pick up toys and books

Kids 4-6 years old are still usually excited about learning new skills (chores included) and can help by:

Helping put away groceries

Help clearing or setting the table

Watering garden

Help feeding pets

Putting away toys

Somewhere around 7 or 8, your child might start to be a little less enthusiastic about doing chores, but they'll have a greater sense of independence. Allowance may help with getting them to do their chores. They can:

Make their bed

Clean their room

Take out the trash

Fold and put away laundry

At age 9-12, preteens can handle increased responsibility. They can handle more difficult chores.

Load/empty dishwasher

Operate washer/dryer

Help wash car

Rake or sweep leaves

Set table

Vacuum

As our kids reach their teens, they're capable of most chores. Although it may be a little more difficult to get them to help out at this age, both because of their busy schedules and their willingness (or unwillingness) to help, chores should be a required thing for teens. In addition to everything listed above, some ideas are:

Mow the lawn

Shovel snow

Wash the car (especially if they're using it)

Clean their own room entirely

Prepare meals

Starting chores at any age helps our kids become responsible and really able to grasp what it's like to run a household. It also helps lighten the parents' load as kids get older.

The trouble with the American Diet

Check out this article in the New York Times.

Op-Ed Contributor - Big Food vs. Big Insurance - NYTimes.com

If you haven't already, please educate yourself on healthful habits for your family.

Companies we like

We have a few favorite companies who have good products and green initiatives.

Aveda - Aveda has great skin care products made with natural ingredients and they use 100% wind power to make their products.

Seventh Generation - If you have to use disposable diapers, this is one of the companies to look for. Their diapers are chlorine free and they also have many other household products. They help their employees reduce their carbon footprint and plan to obtain LEED gold certification.

Whole Foods - This grocery store chain is the largest seller of organic food in the country. They also have recycle and compost programs at their stores and don't carry any genetically modified foods.

Niman Ranch - One of the largest problems facing our planet is the production of meat for consumption. Niman Ranch knows that people want meat, but they go about it a different way. Their cattle are never given antibiotics or hormones, fed all organic feed, and are allowed to graze in a pasture all day.

Patagonia - also a wind-powered company, Patagonia finds ways to recycle and reuse when making their clothing. They have a recycled-soda-bottle fleece and print their catalogs on 40% recycled paper.

Local produce delivery companies - There are tons of them out there. Local companies that purchase local, organic produce and bring it to your door. This is not only convenient, but saves carbon emissions. They're delivering to everyone at once as opposed to each consumer getting in their car and going to the store.

Remember to support local businesses when you can. It helps your local economy and the planet.

Thoughts for the day

Be gentle with the earth; be kind to your loved ones; be friendly to people you don't know. Just think what a difference we could make if everyone did this today.