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Make sure your indoor air is healthy this springYou also go on a cleaning spree, vacuuming, dusting and getting rid of all the dust bunnies hiding under furniture. With a fresh, clean house, you assume you'll be breathing much easier. Think again. Air pollution is a very serious concern indoors. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists poor indoor air quality as one of the top five environmental threats. It also reports indoor air is three to five times more contaminated than outdoor air, on average. "When the house is closed up for winter, pollutants in the air have nowhere to go," says Aaron Marshbanks, board member of the National Air Duct Cleaners Association. "Then spring rolls around, and the natural thing to do is open up your windows and bring new air into your house. However, this is when allergy season is at its highest, and you're welcoming new pollutants into your home and contaminating your air with pollens." These pollutants are then blown through your house five to seven times each day by your heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. And the spring cleaning you're doing? All those dust bunnies are just groupings of millions of little particles of dust, dander and pollen. When broken up, many of the particles go back into the air, circulate around through your house and once again collect under your sofa. Some tips to keep the air you breathe inside as clean as possible include: * Install hardwood floors versus carpeting. Carpeting traps particles, and with every step you take across it, those particles are released back into the air. * Have carpets professionally cleaned with a truck-mounted system. * Use natural- or botanical-based cleaners instead of chemicals. * Regularly change your furnace filter - most experts recommend doing this every two months. This will help remove particles circulating through the air. * Have your heating and cooling system thoroughly cleaned. This is because dust and other air pollutants collect in the vents, and then are picked up by the air stream and blown back into the house. NADCA recommends homeowners take off the cover of an air vent and look down the vent with a mirror and flashlight or a digital camera. If the ducts are covered with dust or debris, it's time for a heating and cooling system cleaning. NADCA recommends a thorough duct cleaning, as well as cleaning the evaporator coil and all parts of the system that air touches. Not only will this clean up the air inside your house, but it will also help your system work more efficiently and save you money. A study taken by Pacific Gas and Electric showed that a dirty condenser coil can result in 30 percent higher energy usage. To find a qualified heating and cooling system cleaner in your area, visit NADCA.com. Courtesy of ARAcontent Cloth vs. disposable: Modern moms switching back to clothWhen Schellhammer was pregnant, there was no doubt in her mind that she would use disposable diapers for her baby, Catherine, who is now 16 months old. Cloth diapers were a distant thought in this mom-to-be's mind. "I grew up hearing stories about cloth diapers. We all thought they were pretty icky," says Schellhammer. "I even talked about my diapering options with my doula, but I was set about using disposables." For the first few months of Catherine's life, Schellhammer used disposable diapers. But shortly thereafter, her perspective changed when her daughter began getting frequent and painful diaper rashes. Schellhammer says she felt so helpless and that's when she knew it was time to re-investigate cloth diapers. "I spent a lot of time researching and talking to cloth diapering pros. I fell in love with the idea that cloth could not only help lessen the severity of my daughter's diaper rash, but also that I could save money and save the planet from one more unnecessary disposable. It became clear that I needed to reform my diapering ways," admits Schellhammer. Today, Schellhammer says that she has been a loyal cloth diaper user for more than a year. "I laugh at what I was like before ... so negative about cloth diapers because I'm so in love with them now. During the first two months we used cloth diapers, I was so excited to take my daughter out in public because I wanted to tell the world, 'My daughter is wearing a cloth diaper today,'" chuckles Schellhammer. Kelly Wels, the owner of KellysCloset.com, a large online cloth diapering boutique that offers modern brands with cute names like FuzziBunz, bumGenius, Smartipants and Rumparooz, is a reformed cloth diaper user too. "I used disposables on my first two children before I discovered the joy of cloth diapering. I was a horticulturist, so protecting the environment was in my blood. When I saw those trash bags full of diapers, I just felt horrible and knew I needed to reform my ways. That's when I discovered cloth and began my mission of bringing modern cloth diapers to moms around the world," says Wels. Why isn't cloth diapering more mainstream? Wels says that many new moms aren't properly educated about how easy cloth diapering can be, as even saying the word "cloth diapers" to a new mom conjures up images of work, laundry and stinky poop. Schellhammer agrees, "From the time you give birth in the hospital, you're inundated with information and coupons for disposable diaper brands. If you don't plug yourself into the cloth diapering community and do your due diligence, disposables seem like the best and only option." Julia Wreyford is another mom who says her diapering ways have been reformed. After using disposables for the first six months of 10-month-old son Asher's life, she became so discouraged at how much money her family was wasting. "I wanted to stay home with my son full-time but that meant our budget would have to be slashed. I learned that cloth diapering could save us approximately $40 per month, which can turn into thousands of dollars in savings over time," says Wreyford. Wreyford admits that while costs go down, the laundry cycle goes up. "My friends say, 'I could never do that much laundry.' But if they only knew how easy it was, they'd try it too," she contends. "Some of my friends think I'm crazy ... but most people just say, 'I wish I was as brave as you.'" "It's a process, but once I figured out the best washing routine, I was hooked," Schellhammer says. "I don't miss the smell and the chore of taking out the dirty diaper pail. Living in a small condominium complex, I always felt guilty about our smelly diaper garbage as it was shared with our neighbors. Now I wash them every few days and there's no waste and no icky smells." Wels of KellysCloset.com says that she knows many reformed cloth diaper users. "The great thing about a reformed cloth diaper user is that they are so adamant about sharing their experiences with their friends. You never hear someone say, 'Let me tell you all these great things about disposable diapers,' but you always hear, "I have to show you my baby's colorful bumGenius or cute little FuzziBunz cloth diapers.'" Courtesy of ARAcontent |
Family cookbooks keep cooking memories alive"As we were preparing the dishes, my nieces were laughing and having a great time remembering stories about their childhoods at Grandma and Grandpa's house," says Paul, who lives with her husband, Don, on a farmstead that has been in his family for more than a century. She wanted a tangible way to preserve for younger family members all the memories and recipes that have been so important to her family. "I was sitting at home making notes for the reunion and trying to think of a way to make it really special. I thought a cookbook would be a really great thing for every family member to have, and, hopefully, pass on to future generations." First, Paul sent out letters and e-mails and called relatives, asking them to bring special recipes and memories to the reunion. Then, she started collecting family photos dating back to the mid-1800s, plus photos of the original farm house, barn and the still-blooming rose bush that has been part of the farmstead since it was transplanted from Pennsylvania by Don's great-grandparents around 1865, when they first came to Iowa. "I put the photos on display for the reunion and it got everyone talking about the things they remember," says Paul. With about 50 family members in attendance at the reunion, she was also able to snap a group photo that day to include in the cookbook. Once gathered, Paul was able to send the recipes and photos to G&R Publishing. The custom cookbook company then typed and formatted her information to create "The Paul Family Cookbook, From Pennsylvania to Illinois to Laurel, Iowa." G&R Publishing's expertise in creating family cookbooks, as well as cookbooks for fundraisers, churches and schools, made the project simple to complete and gave it the professional touch that Paul was looking for. She explains, "My son-in-law created our custom cover and the people at G&R brought it all together, adding the special touches I wanted." From start to finish, cookbooks can be in your hands in less than eight weeks. After Paul received her shipment of cookbooks, she could hardly wait to distribute them to her family. "I use my mother's recipes and Don's mother's recipes all the time. I like to think that future generations can go back to this cookbook and remember the recipes their mother and grandmother used to make." Whether it's a family cookbook or one for a local church, custom cookbooks make a great keepsake with recipes that can be shared and enjoyed by many. For more information, call (800) 383-1679 or visit www.GandRPublishing.com. Courtesy of ARAcontent |