There are so many ways for us to contribute to a 'greener world'. The inside of your house is the first place to start.

The Joburg Homemakers Expo has these tips on how to be green in your home:

In your kitchen

Use natural cleaning products:

• Lemons and lemon juice cut grease.
• Baking soda provides a good grit for cleaning as it fizzes when mixed with water, lemon juice or vinegar and this speeds up cleaning times.
• Olive oil not only picks up dirt but works superbly as furniture polish.
• Washing soda unblocks pipes, is a stain remover and can be used as a general cleaner.

Salt has many different uses, and by making use of this information, one can learn to be more environmentally friendly:

If you have an oil or egg spill, cover the area with salt — it will be much easier to pick up.

Mix salt and vinegar into a paste — this makes a great polish for copper, silver and brass.

Equal amounts of salt and hot water can be poured down the drain to eliminate nasty odours and dissolve grease. This will also help slow future build up.

Soak your kitchen sponges in a salt solution to kill germs and bacteria.

Pour one part salt and three parts water onto weeds, this will kill them.

Use a salt solution as a mouthwash.

Rub coarse salt onto your chopping board, let it stand and then rinse it. This will kill the bacteria.

Bathroom green tips:

Just like other sections of the house, there are different ways that one can make the environment 'green' friendly by making a few small changes in the bathroom.

If you need to let the water run to heat it up, catch this cold water and use it to water your plants.

An average bath uses about 160 litres of water and a five-minute shower only around 60 litres.

Place a bucket in the shower when showering to catch the water. This can be used in the garden to water your plants.

When shaving or brushing your teeth, turn the tap off.

Use a low flow shower head. This can save between 50-70 percent of your shower water. Try to opt for one that has an off button to conserve water further while you are getting soaped up or washing your hair.

Fix leaking toilets and taps around the house. A leaking toilet can waste up to 300 000 litres of water a year.

Reduce the toilet flush volume by placing a two-litre filled bottle in your cistern. This can save 20 percent water consumption. Most toilets now come with a dual flush option, which allows you to save water by using only a half flush when needed.

Turn off your geyser if you are going away for more than two days.

Insulate your geyser with an insulating blanket; this saves energy by keeping the water warmer.

A more 'green friendly' bedroom

The most important thing to do is to reuse your old pillows:

• Use the stuffing to make new pillows that are too soft firmer.


• See if a local animal shelter could make use of them.


• Use as packing material for transporting fragile packages.


• Use as stuffing in scatter cushions.


• Use as stuffing in toys.

Organic mattress options:

• All natural latex


• Wool

Bed linen:

Pillows, comforters and blankets:

How to make your living area green

It is very important to look for furniture that is made with renewable, recycled and eco-friendly materials such as bamboo and organic materials like cotton.

You also need to think about alternative fibres for your carpet:

Wool carpeting has a large advantage over synthetics because it is made from a renewable and biodegradable resource.

Plant fibres are a sustainable flooring component as they have the advantage of being VOC free, chemically untreated and biodegradable. This hand-woven fibre is easy to care for, doesn't attract mites or allergens and is antistatic and sound absorbent.

Seagrass is a woven carpet that is a thicker fibre grown underwater in Asia. This fibre is easy to care for, and because it doesn't take dye well the green-brown colour ties in well with its eco-friendly properties.

When purchasing products for the living area:

Doors and windows also make a difference

The most energy efficient doors are made of fibreglass or wood-clad steel, or painted steel filled with a core of polyurethane foam. To increase the eco-friendly factor, choose doors that are made from recycled steel.

Doors that are made from recycled wood fibres have greater insulating values than wood and are a good use of lumber mill waste products.

Windows that are situated in doors are less energy efficient than a solid option window.

By making use of the tips mentioned, you can be sure of an environmentally friendly home. These are simple steps to take, but it will make a huge difference to your home as well as the rest of the environment.

The new Green Living project will be one of the highlights at this year's Johannesburg Homemakers Expo, on from 19 to 22 February 2009. As part of this project, visitors will be given the opportunity to make their homes more environmentally friendly with green tips on areas such as the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and living room. For more information visit www.homemakersonline.co.za