1. Good earth, good health

Ditching store-bought cleansers in favor of green cleaning products is good for the planet and the wellness of your employees. Rather than polluting waterways – and your employees' lungs – with toxic chemicals, switch to natural cleansers like baking soda and vinegar to keep things looking shiny and new around the office. Fewer sick days for your employees means higher productivity and happier clients.

2. Easy to do

There's little effort involved in going a little greener. You can easily mix up a bottle of cleanser for use around the break room or kitchen (especially helpful for office microwaves). Make the switch interactive by getting employees involved. Encourage them, for instance, to mention your 'gone green' policies on Facebook or Twitter and see if you can't influence others in and outside your industry.

3. Cost-effective

Rather than pouring money into buying cleansers from your favorite major retailer, give some thought to buying supplies like baking soda in bulk. Some companies will sell the product in quantities up to a ton. When it comes time to scour the office, consider hiring a green cleaning service. The cost of doing so is comparable to working with a traditional service. Any additional cost your company might incur will pay off in the long run with a safer working environment and the knowledge that you've contributed to sustainable efforts.

4. Reap rewards

Companies who go green can realize incentives from organizations like the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System and the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star® program. Companies can qualify for LEED points, which is a certification system for buildings that have gone green. Businesses who can provide clear evidence that they are working greener may even be eligible for tax credits.

Quick tips for going a little greener around the office:

• Don't just throw away toxic cleansers. Pouring chemicals down the drain is not good for the water supply and you don't want cleanser bottles crowding out a landfill. Keep an eye out for 'tox drop' days in your community where harmful substances can be properly disposed of.

• Improve your indoor air quality and decorate public areas, offices, or cubicles with plants. They're excellent for filtering out pollutants, such as those left over from store-bought chemicals that can make your employees sick. Likewise, a nice selection of plants will be visually appealing to employees and visitors alike.

Now that you know some of the benefits of switching to green cleaning, hopefully you can join the revolution against toxins that are harming the planet. Educate, engage, and be extolled!

Holly Lee is an avid yogi, animal lover, and vegan. She enjoys blogging on behalf of Sears and other brands she loves. Holly hates winter but enjoys wool socks, warm mugs and other comforts of home the seasons forces on her.

Green the wash

In the past 20 years, washers have become much more energy efficient than older models. To live greener at home, invest in a more efficient model and consider saving the washer for bulky and/or large items like denim, towels and comforters, all of which take considerable effort to wash and rinse by hand, negating the Earth-saving measures you were undertaking in the first place. Hand-wash smaller items with a washing board and homemade detergent and let air dry on drying racks or clothesline.

Power down

Appliances use a lot of power, even when they're shut off. Energy-sucking culprits include computers, printers, televisions, DVD players and TiVo. Plugging items into one power strip will make it easier to shut them on and off when you're leaving for the workday or going to sleep at night. Though it might initially take a little practice, it will become second nature to unplug rather than switch off, perhaps more so when you notice a difference with your utility bill.

Also make sure you unplug phone chargers when you're done charging your phone, as they too will draw power that you need not pay for. What starts as small increments can really add up and unnecessarily inflate your utility bills.

Around the house

Installing a low-flow showerhead can reduce your average water use by up to 50%. On average, a regular showerhead uses four gallons of water per minute. If installing a new showerhead is not an option, get wet in the shower and then shut off the water off while you soap up. You'll accomplish the same result without wasting needless gallons of water. As good as it feels to linger, keep in mind that an average 10-minute shower can use more than 40 gallons of water.

Use natural ingredients to clean up around your house. A plethora of cleansers can be made using non-toxic materials like baking soda, lemon juice, and vinegar. These handy household items will efficiently clean your house without exposing you or the environment to toxins.

You can make a number of green health and beauty aids, including alcohol-free mouthwash. Mix together 1 ¼ cups of mineral water (such as Evian or Perrier) with six drops each of peppermint oil and tea-tree oil. Pour into a sterilized bottle, shake well before each use and gargle as you would with a store-bought mouthwash.

Thankfully, this list of 'go green' suggestions isn't exhaustive. If you're new to greening your lifestyle, be sure to start small. Giving yourself time to adjust to your new habits will help you succeed down the line. Before long, you'll probably be advising friends about steps they can take to green their lives.

Holly Lee is an avid yogi, animal lover, and vegan. She enjoys blogging on behalf of Sears and other brands she loves.

If you're a webmaster, or can get in the ear of a web site owner, please encourage them to participate in this important campaign.

For more details visit the Red Cross Donation Button page at AVG.

Along with the change in design, there's also a Buy Water Tanks section which lists rain water tanks available for purchase on ebay. You can also subscribe through rss or through email.

We hope you enjoy the new digs.

On Sunday you will be able to take a tour of a sustainable home near you for the princely sum of $5 ($10 for families). So if you're building a new home, or you'd like to green you current abode, check out the Sustainable Homes website for venue detail.

• Hamburger - 2,400 Litres
• Cotton T-shirt - 2,000 L
• Cup of coffee - 140 L
• Slice of bread - 90 L
• Glass of beer - 75 L

Source http://www.waterfootprint.org/

The water sensor sits a-top your tank and uses ultrasonic radio waves, kind if like a fish finder I guess, to see how much water's in your tank.  It transmits a signal back to the receiver plugged in to a power-point in the home to give you a water level reading.