While I was on maternity leave I emptied out my closet (got rid of 8 bags of clothing), cleaned out the kitchen (2 boxes of glassware and vases), cleaned out my office (filled 6 boxes), and started getting rid of baby stuff (7 bags).  I may still have some baby weight on me, but my house doesn’t!

Where did I donate everything?

The e-waste went to the El Cerrito e-waste event which is held 2x’s year and to CARH, the Community Assistance for the Retarded and Handicapped- every couple of months they come to the house and pick up unwanted household items.  CARH also took a lot of the clothing.

The Alameda County Computer Resource Center accepts most electronics and offer free pick-up for Berkeley residents.

I also love the El Cerrito Recycling and Berkeley Recycling Centers.  In addition to recycling your standard plastics and paper, the El Cerrito Recycling Center offers free mulch, has a free community book exchange, and a Goodwill reuse station on its premises.  the Berkeley Recycling Center will take or buy back most materials and appliances.  The Davis Transfer Station in San Leandro also accepts most materials.

We also recycle food scraps in our house.  El Cerrito will allow you to put food scraps in your greenwaste bin which has greatly reduced the amount of trash we have.  As a family of four we were able to downgrade our trash can size to the smallest one.  (I suspect many people are doing this because trash prices keep going up!)

Recycling mattresses?  Ask the retailer you are buying it from if they can recycle your old mattress.  Salvation Army accepts mattresses in good condition, as well as other items such as furniture and clothing.  The Berkeley Transfer Station takes mattresses for $10.

For the compact fluorescent bulbs I was able to drop them off at Ace Hardware.  Home Depot and IKEA will also take them.  EcoLights.com has prepaid return shipping and recycling kits for fluorescent lights, batteries and mercury-containing devices.

The Household Hazardous Waste Facility in Richmond is a fantastic resource for getting rid of things such as batteries, cleaners and solvents, paints, used oil, car products, and pesticides.

I like the free iRecycle iPhone app- it lets you access the national recycling database run by Earth911.org.

Now if only I knew where to start in the garage.

RECYCLING HOTLINES:

Alameda County: 877-STOPWASTE
Contra Costa County: 800-750-4096
Oakland: 510-238-SAVE
Berkeley: 510-527-5555
StopWaste Hazardous Waste: 800-606-6606

• Remote energy usage reading by PG&E
• Allows you to view hourly and daily energy usage
• Faster problem resolution
• Faster power restoration
• Energy alerts via text, email or phone
• A positive impact on the environment by helping customer make better energy choices

Since getting the Smart Meter my husband and I have been able to discern exactly when we are using the bulk of our energy throughout the day.  We know that the heater takes up X-amount of energy when it comes on, we can now determine just how much the washer and dryer suck up, and our computers as well.  Very cool!

Watch your bills though, seems a few of the meters are faulty.  May take a couple of billing cycles to see the new meter results.

For more information about the PG&E SmartMeter program, visit www.pge.com/smartmeter or call 1-866-PGE-0263.

Federal law requires contractors that disturb painted surfaces in homes, child care facilities and schools, built before 1978 to be certified and follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination. Always ask to see your contractor’s certification.

Federal law requires that individuals receive certain information before renovating six square feet or more of painted surfaces in a room for interior projects or more than twenty square feet of painted surfaces for exterior projects or window replacement or demolition in housing, child care facilities and schools built before 1978.

• Homeowners and tenants: renovators must give you this pamphlet before starting work.

• Child care facilities, including preschools and kindergarten classrooms, and the families of children under six years of age that attend those facilities: renovators must provide a copy of this pamphlet to child care facilities and general renovation information to families whose children attend those facilities.

Click here for more information: http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovaterightbrochure.pdf

Checked the weather lately?
Did you know that it is supposed to rain for the NEXT TWO WEEKS?

A biologist friend sent me an email from a climate scientist that said “The next 2-3 weeks (at least) are likely to be more active across California than any other 2-3 week period in recent memory. The potential exists for a dangerous flood scenario to arise at some point during this interval, especially with the possibility of a heavy rain-on-snow event during late week 2. This is likely to be a rather memorable event.”

My friend also said that she remembers waking up a few years back to a flooded basement so it got me thinking:

Are you prepared?

Is your house prepared?

This is that time of year when you want to check that your sump pump is working, that your windows seal, that your gutters are cleaned out, that your roof is in good shape, that your outside drains and rain barrels are free of debris, and that you have fresh batteries in case of a power outage.

The scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are predicting heavy precipitation, powerful winds, and dangerous flooding. I know I wouldn’t want to be wading through my basement when it could have been prevented. If you need a referral to a tradesperson to help you out, just let me know. Until then, here is a recipe for your rainy day forecast:

DVD’s? Check. Jammies? Check. Hot Cocoa? Check. Sump Pump? Uh oh.

Time to pull out your slickers and galoshes…hope you stay dry!

We are all making an effort to become more green.  The easiest switch is changing out your lightbulbs.  So when I walked into a house over the weekend I noticed that one of the CFL’s was broken.  I thought, “Hmmm, this can’t be good.”  It never occured to me what would happen if it did break.  Here is what I found.

1. Isolate the site.

Get everyone out of the area. Open windows, leave the room, and close the door behind you. Turn off the heating or cooling system. Children and pregnant or nursing mothers should not return until cleanup is complete.

2. Air out the room for 5 to 15 minutes.

Give mercury vapor time to disperse and settle into tiny dust-like beads. Don’t wait longer: mercury spreads easily.

3. Don safety gear.

Wear rubber gloves, safety (or other) glasses, work clothes and a dust mask or face covering when cleaning up the broken bulb.

4. Put large bulb pieces and other waste in a large glass jar with a screw-on metal lid, such as a Mason jar.

Scoop up glass fragments and dust with stiff paper or cardboard and deposit in the jar. Pat the area with sticky tape to collect tiny splinters and dust, then wipe with a damp cloth, baby wipe or moist paper towels. (Second choice: a plastic jar with a screw-on lid.)

5. Seal up the waste.

Put paper, cardboard, tape and wipes in the jar and close the lid. Throw away any contaminated fabrics, like clothing or bedding, that have come into direct contact with bulb fragments.

6. If a bulb breaks on a rug or carpeting:

Fabrics are harder to clean than hard surfaces; removing all mercury may be impossible. Hang a CFL-contaminated rug outside. Experts disagree on whether to vacuum carpeting. EPA recommends doing so and cleaning the vacuum afterward. Scientists with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection disagree: after testing various CLF cleanup scenarios [link], they concluded that vacuuming can spread mercury vapor and permanently contaminate the vacuum.

Keep infants, children and women of childbearing age away from the carpeting for several weeks.

7. Wash up.

The clothes you wore to clean up the breakage can be washed unless they made direct contact with the broken bulb or dust. Wipe your shoes with wet wipes or a moist paper towel, then add the wipes to the waste jar.

Wash your hands and face.

8. Follow your state’s disposal rules.

Use EPA’s website to find the nearest location for disposal of household hazardous waste www.epa.gov/bulbrecycling If no facilities exist it may be legal to send well-packaged waste to your local landfill.

http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/wastetypes/universal/lamps/index.htm

10. Ventilate the room for several more hours.

Next time you clean the area:

Turn off heating or cooling systems, close the room’s doors and open the windows before vacuuming. Leave doors closed and heating or cooling off for 15 minutes post-vacuuming. Follow this regime for several cleanings.

CFLs can be smart choices. Just be careful.

Did you know that there are programs out there to help low-income homeowners fix up their homes?  In Contra Costa County there is a program called the Neighborhood Preservation Program which is operated by the CCC Building Inspection Department. 

The program, created in 1975, makes loans to very-low and low-income homeowners to help fix up homes, making safer, more comfortable environments.

The type of work that can be done includes:

• Improved disabled accessibility
• Painting, inside and out
• Plumbing/heating/electrical repairs
• Reroofing
• Security
• Termite/Dry Rot Repair
• Other work

There are two types of loans available: 1) 3% interest loans, with affordable monthly payments, payable in 15 years and 2) 0% interest loans with no monthly payment and reviewed every 5 years depending on income.

The maximum loan amount is $40,000 and the money is supplied through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant fund.

For more information, including who decides what gets fixed and who does the work, call the county at (925) 335-1137.

Berkeley, California (Friday, October 24, 2008) – City of Berkeley Police Department (BPD) Property Crimes detectives are alerting the community about a series of daytime burglaries that have been plaguing the North Berkeley Hills in the past two months.

I have clients and friends in the hills. They know people who’s homes have been burglarized. They are scared themselves.

Gone are the days of leaving our doors unlocked during the day. Gone are the days of leaving windows open while you head out to run a few errands. Gone are the days of feeling completely and utterly safe in your home.

The burglar or burglars have been focusing on homes during daytime hours and making off with laptops, electronic equipment, jewelry and bikes. The suspect or suspects have been primarily kicking doors in order to get into the houses, however not exclusively.

According to the Berkeley Police Department, most burglaries are “crimes of opportunity.” But kicking in a door does not signify a crime of opportunity. Here are some things that you can do to try and prevent a burglary from occuring in your home:

1) Keep your doors locked and windows shut at all times
2) Track down who has keys to your house and closely monitor who you give them to
3) Install an alarm system
4) Start a neighborhood watch (we just did this in my neighborhood)
5) Keep all entrances well lit
6) Ask to see ID of all utility workers
7) Do not open your door to solicitors, unless they have a permit from the city
Insure any items of value
9) Inform neighbors if you will be out of town
10)Report any suspicious activity to your local police department

BPD is asking for the community’s help with stopping this series. Community members in Berkeley are urged to call BPD at 981-5900 if they note suspicious people or activity in their neighborhood. (Non-emergency dispatch line)

For Crimes in Progress please call 911 or (510) 981-5911 from your cell phone.

BPD is a partner of Bay Area Crime Stoppers. (BACS) BACS offers up to $2,000 cash in reward money to those who offer information that detectives determine is helpful to any felony investigation. Anyone with information can call 1-800-222-TIPS. All Bay Area Crime Stoppers calls are completely confidential.

How safe do you feel neighborhood?

(sing to the tune of the Calomine Lotion jingle)

“Icky, sticky, drippy, crusty…oh I see that shiny stuff-y!” (end song)

You know what I am talking about, right? Huh? CREOSOTE! That black stuff that sticks to the inside of your chimney. The stuff that, when you open your flue, sometimes trickles down in a fine, powdery substance.

Did you know that it was flamable? I didn’t.

In comes The Irish Sweep. I figured I would get down and dirty with Sally, the knower of all-things-chimney, and the owner.

Sally said there are some easy things that you can do to help maintain your chimney to keep it in good, running order. To watch a cleaning in action, and to hear some of Sally’s important tips, click on the video link above. And to contact Sally and her crew of amazing workers, visit http://www.theirishsweep.com/.

But there are some bigger things that can be done to your home. Think solar. Yes, we have all heard about the benefits of solar electricity and how it can drastically save you money on your energy bill. But going solar can cost some serious cash. Here is something you don’t hear a lot about, solar water. Yup, a solar water heater. Huh?

Last month I had the pleasure of interviewing Martin Morehouse of Sun Light & Power. I met with Martin at the home of one of his current projects in Rockridge. Martin was kind enough to tell me a little bit about solar water heating and just how it works.