It can be a lot of fun to engage in DIY activities. These not only give you something to do on the weekends, but can help you to save money. There are plenty of ways you can save money on DIY projects. We found a great article to help with this at thisoldhouse.com by Josh Garskof. Discover the 50 ways to save money now....

50 Nifty Tricks for Big DIY Savings

The best why-didn't-I-think-of-that ideas for shrinking your household expenses

Remember when the tightfistedness of relatives raised during the Depression was amusing? Our grandparents' certificates of deposit and plastic couch protectors seemed downright quaint when our own home-equity and retirement portfolios were ballooning. Suddenly, though, the pot-roast-and-potatoes ethic doesn't seem quite so kooky. We'd even say it's worthy of a salute. So tip your cap to all your penny-pinching kin and read on for the best why-didn't-I-think-of-that ideas for shrinking your household expenses, from getting free trees from your town's public works department to installing an under-sink filter to cut costs on pricey bottled water.

SAVE UP TO $50

1. Shorten your dryer-vent hose. First, disconnect it and vacuum it out. Then trim the hose length so that it's just long enough for you to pull the dryer a few feet out from the wall. A short and unobstructed line makes your dryer run more efficiently.
Cost: Free.
Savings: $25 a year on electric, gas, or propane.
Bonus: Your clothes will dry about 20 percent faster.


2. Borrow specialized tools—gas-powered post-hole diggers and table-mounted routers—from a DIYer in your area for a small fee. Go to Zilok for far better deals than rental retailers offer.
Cost: $1 to $100 per day.
Savings: $50 or more for the same tool at a rental center.
Bonus: Getting to know fellow renovators in your neighborhood with whom you can swap tips.


3. Close closet doors to lower the square footage you're heating (and cooling). Shuttering closets along exterior walls also helps to insulate the house.
Cost: Zilch—although it may take a few minutes for your clothes to reach room temperature before you put them on.
Savings: About $50 per year off your energy bills.
Bonus: You and your guests won't see closet clutter.


4. Choose one neutral trim paint for the entire house rather than buying a gallon of a particular color for each room and using only a fraction of each can.
Cost: You have to forgo the trendy color combos in the paint manufacturer brochures.
Savings: $50 on paint for three rooms.
Bonus: Crisp white trim is always in style, and you'll never have to rummage around for the right can for touch-ups.


5. Sign up for your utility's time-of-use plan. Many regional power suppliers offer rebates for reducing electricity consumption during periods of peak demand.
Cost: Washing clothes and dishes at night during nonpeak hours, and turning the thermostat up or down a couple of degrees during a cold snap (or heat wave).
Savings: $25 to $50 per month on your energy bills, depending on the season.
Bonus: You're easing the strain on the power grid—and lowering the odds of a blackout.


6. Make your own cleaning solutions using inexpensive kitchen staples, such as white vinegar and baking soda. See The Green Guide for recipes.
Cost: A few bucks in extra pantry supplies.
Savings: $50 or more per year on commercial cleaners.
Bonus: Cleaners that don't contain harsh chemicals are healthier for your household.


7. Turn down the thermostat on your water heater. It's probably set at 140 degrees F to shorten the wait time for a steamy shower. But 120 or even 110 degrees is plenty hot.
Cost: A few minutes with a screwdriver in the utility room.
Savings: $30 or more per year on gas, oil, electricity, or propane.
Bonus: Your kids are less likely to scald themselves if the max water temperature is 120.


8. Install dimmer switches and use energy-efficient halogen bulbs, rather than incandescents. Dimmable CFLs are even thriftier, but some flicker at low power.
Cost: $10 per switch at The Home Depot, $5 for a Philips Halogena bulb at Bulbs.com.
Savings: $20 per fixture on electricity over three years.
Bonus: Halogens tend to outlast incandescents, saving more money over the long haul on replacement lights.


9. Replace central-air-conditioning filters every month during the summer to keep air flowing freely through the ducts and reduce strain on the blower motor.
Cost: About $11 for three filters.
Savings: $40 or more on cooling costs.
Bonus: New filters keep dust and mold from collecting on condenser coils, extending the equipment's life.


10. Get your chimney swept in the summer for an off-season price.
Cost: Just a little forethought.
Savings: $50 per flue.
Bonus: Get the job done at your convenience because sweeps' schedules are wide open.


11. Use your microwave instead of your range; it consumes half the power.
Cost: $15 for the Microwave Gourmet cookbook at Amazon.com.
Savings: $40 or more per year on electricity or gas.
Bonus: Having dinner ready in a fraction of the time.


12. Use your laptop. It runs on batteries, which use 80 percent less electricity than a desktop computer.
Cost: Being vigilant about unplugging the battery charger once your computer is juiced so it doesn't sap unnecessary energy.
Savings: $30 per year off your electric bill.
Bonus: You can relax on the sofa while perusing coupon sites.


13. Insulate hot-water lines. Preformed foam tubes fit right around the pipes, thanks to a slit along their length.
Cost: 29 cents to 35 cents per foot of insulation, depending on pipe dimensions, at Energy Federation.
Savings: $50 per year on energy.
Bonus: Halving the wait for hot water to reach upstairs faucets.


14. Set up a makeshift kitchen when a remodel project temporarily leaves you without a cooking area. All you need is a prep surface, micro-wave, coffeemaker, and fridge.
Cost: Nada. (Get the work crew to help move your fridge.)
Savings: $50 per day on take-out and Starbucks coffee.
Bonus: You won't pack on extra pounds from stuffed-crust pizza.


15. Choose a light-colored roof. Using pale shingles, particularly if you live down south, will reduce the solar heat your roof absorbs, reducing the need for air-conditioning. Up north, the cooling benefit is offset somewhat by the loss of solar warming in the winter.
Cost: The same as dark roofing.
Savings: $40 per year or more on summer cooling costs.
Bonus: Your "cool roof" may earn you a utility company rebate.


SAVE UP TO $150

16. Get your fall yard-cleanup crew to clear your gutters instead of having a gutter guy make a special trip.
Cost: $100 for your lawn crew.
Savings: $200 or more that you're not paying the gutter guy.
Bonus: There's no risk of gutter gunk being dumped onto your lawn after all the leaves have been blown and bagged.


17. Set your computer to sleep—not just the monitor, but the hard drive, too—so that it automatically dims after 10 minutes of nonuse.
Cost: It may doze off when you don't want it to and you'll have to punch a key to wake it up.
Savings: $75 per year off your electric bills.
Bonus: Like people, screens and hard drives age more gracefully with plenty of rest.


18. Wait to replace your grill, lawn mower, or patio furniture until the fall, when stores mark down their inventory to make room for holiday decorations and snowblowers.
Cost: Making do with what you have this summer.
Savings: $150 or more per item.
Bonus: Retailers—especially online ones, such as Target—often provide free shipping on leftover warm-weather gear.


19. Shop for phone, electric, and cable service at Whitefence; it's like Travelocity for utilities. Enter your ZIP code and compare rates offered by providers in your area.
Cost: A few minutes online.
Savings: Up to $150 per year on your utility bills.
Bonus: The switch to a new carrier can usually be made without an in-home service call or fee, and you can keep your old phone number.


20. Prune that overgrown rhododendron rather than replace it. If the shrub is blocking your front windows, cut it down to 18 inches high in late March. It'll regenerate into the plant you want with routine maintenance in one to two years.
Cost: 1 hour with pruners.
Savings: $100 to $200 for each new mature shrub you don't have to buy.
Bonus: Because the plant is already established, it won't need the intensive watering a new specimen requires during its first growing season.


21. Buy a deluxe battery recharging station and stop using disposables. A combo unit keeps a supply of AA, AAA, C, and D batteries at the ready.
Cost: A one-time investment of $40 for the La Crosse Technology BC-900 AlphaPower charger and assorted NiMH batteries (the best kind) at Amazon.com.
Savings: As much as $100 per year on disposables for dozens of tools and gadgets.
Bonus: Never again having to raid your kid's battery-operated toys to power up the TV remote. 


22. Plant a deciduous tree on the south, west, or east side of your house. Once mature, it'll shade your roof and cut your cooling costs by up to 30 percent.
Cost: $25 to $70, depending on the tree species, at Fast Growing Trees Nursery.
Savings: About $120 per year on air-conditioning.
Bonus: The tree drops its leaves each fall, so you'll still get the warming benefit of winter sun.


23. Skip extended warranties. They're a hedge against the cost of repairing everything from LCD TVs to furnaces. But odds are that you'll never make a claim.
Cost: If something breaks, haggling with the manufacturer to get it fixed for free or paying for repairs out of your own pocket.
Savings: $50 to $200 per warranty that you don't buy.
Bonus: Not getting snagged by the fine print. Warranties may exclude your particular problem or contain a depreciation clause, meaning the product's value goes down as it ages—and hence, the payout shrinks.


24. Comparative shop online for everything from light fixtures to fridges. Then ask your local retailer to match the lowest price you find. Sears, for example, will match most online quotes for appliances and even reduce it by 10 percent of the difference between their advertised price and the better deal you found.
Cost: A few minutes surfing the Web, plus some printer ink.
Savings: $150 off a new French door–style fridge.
Bonus: Better customer service than you'll get online, and no worries about shipping charges or mail-order returns.


25. Install a ceiling fan. In the winter, run it at low speed in a clockwise direction to recirculate the warm air that rises to the ceiling. This will allow you to lower the thermostat a couple of degrees.
Cost: About $200 for the fan.
Savings: $100 per year off your heating bills.
Bonus: Reverse the fan direction in the summer and the airflow creates a windchill effect, making you feel cooler.


26. Get gently used tools, electronics, and furniture from Freecycle, an online community of folks who swap what they no longer need for stuff they can't do without.
Cost: Your fellow Freecyclers expect you to donate items, not just take freebies.
Savings: $75 or more for a new-to-you wireless router for your computer.
Bonus: Freeing up space in your garage and helping reduce the millions of tons of waste dumped into landfills each year.


27. Buy firewood in the spring when it’s cheap. Logs will dry out and be ready to burn by the time snowflakes fall.
Cost: Time stacking wood in a dry spot outdoors so that it can season in the open air.
Savings: Up to $100 per cord.
Bonus: In the off-season, you won’t run into any shortages of your favorite hardwood.


SAVE UP TO $250

28. Comb through your contractor's bid in search of places where he overestimated your job. For example, if the bid includes installation of a bathroom basin, vanity, and countertop but you've got a pedestal sink, point out the error and ask for a lower price.
Cost: Time reviewing an itemized estimate.
Savings: Easily $200 or more.
Bonus: Using the money you saved to splurge on that high-end overhead light fixture you thought you couldn't afford.


29. Plug in a SmartStrip. Three-quarters of the energy that electronics burn is consumed when the equipment is turned off. Rather than unplug items after every use, hook them up to a SmartStrip surge protector, which automatically kills power to electronics when you turn them off and returns it when you switch them back on.
Cost: $31 for a seven-outlet strip at SmartHomeUSA.com.
Savings: As much as $240 per year in energy costs.
Bonus: Two always-hot outlets ensure that slow-to-reboot devices like your digital cable box can be left on all the time.


30. Raise the deductible on your homeowner's insurance from $250 to $1,000.
Cost: Potentially $750, but only if you make a claim.
Savings: $200 per year or more if yours is a high-value home.
Bonus: You won't be tempted to make a nitpicky $400 claim, which could lead to a rate hike.


31. Toss the extra fridge. It's likely more than 10 years old, inefficient, and sapping tons of electricity. Many utility companies collect old fridges for free or even pay money for them.
Cost: No more stocking up on extra frozen waffles and OJ.
Savings: As much as $200 per year off your electric bill.
Bonus: Your garage or basement just got a lot bigger.


32. Install a shower timer in the kids' bathroom. The battery-operated device limits showers to 5, 8, or 11 minutes.
Cost: $115 at Shower Manager. (You can install it yourself.)
Savings: $200 or more per year.
Bonus: Speeding your kids' morning routines eases the struggle to ensure they (a) eat breakfast, (b) brush their teeth, and (c) make it to the bus on time.


33. Do your own energy audit. Pick up Black & Decker's new Thermal Leak Detector to find weak spots in your home's "insulation envelope." Fixes are often as simple as installing foam gaskets under switch plates and outlet covers ($3 for 10 gaskets at Home Energy Solutions) and adding new weatherstripping around your entry door ($3 for 17 feet of self-adhesive foam strip at Lowes).
Cost: $40 for the leak detector at Black and Decker (available in March).
Savings: $160 or more per year in energy costs.
Bonus: In addition to lower bills, you'll feel fewer drafts, which will make your house more comfortable year-round.


34. Schedule a furnace or boiler tune-up every year to boost its efficiency.
Cost: $100 to $150.
Savings: $200 per year in energy costs.
Bonus: Tune-ups remove scale, soot, and corrosion, postponing repairs and extending the life of your heating plant.


35. Get the contractor discount on home- improvement products. Many local dealers offer a 5, 10, or even 15 percent discount to tradespeople. So, for example, drop the name of your plumber when buying new bath fixtures. Don't have a pro? Explain that you're contracting the job, and ask if they'll extend the discount.
Cost: Occasionally you may have to do a bit of sweet talking.
Savings: Easily $250 for a new tub, sink, and toilet suite.
Bonus: Once you get in the seller's computer as having received the discount, you likely won't have to ask again. 


SAVE UP TO $500

36. Cancel your phone line and replace it with a magicJack, a tiny gadget you insert into your computer's USB port, instantly transforming the broadband access you're already paying for into free phone service.
Cost: $40 for the device and one year of service, $20 per year after that.
Savings: $400 or more per year on land-line phone service.
Bonus: You get unlimited calling, with free long-distance in the U.S. and Canada, and the company says it's about to roll out a feature that allows you to keep your existing phone number.


37. Start wisteria, crape myrtle, or other ornamental landscape plants from cuttings of a family member's or neighbor's plant (with permission, of course).
Cost: $10 for rooting hormone and potting soil at the local nursery, plus a few years of patience as the plant matures.
Savings: $300 or more for a nursery-grown plant.
Bonus: You can carry on a family tradition by putting an offspring of your grandfather's prized redbud in your own backyard.


38. Install an under-sink water filter, and stop buying expensive bottled water.
Cost: $55 for the DIY-friendly Kenmore Single Undersink Drinking Water System at Sears.
Savings: $360 per year on purified water.
Bonus: Reducing the environmental impact caused by the manufacture and disposal of plastic bottles—as well as shipping them to your home from far-flung places like Fiji.


39. Install a wireless light switch. Simply attach a battery-operated device to the wall and screw its receptor into the lamp socket, which then receives the bulb.
Cost: $27 for the Carlon Wireless Light Socket Switch at Smart Home USA.
Savings: $250 to $300 to have an electrician install a switch and snake in wiring.
Bonus: You won't need to patch or paint any holes in the walls.


40. Appeal your property tax assessment yourself. One in three homeowners who do so are successful in getting their fees reduced, according to the National Taxpayers Union.
Cost: $7 for a How to Fight Property Taxes brochure at National Taxpayers Union.
Savings: As much as $400 per year off your tax bill.
Bonus: The tax reduction will last for many years to come. 


41. Work with a designer— lighting, kitchen, bathroom, or interior—from the retailer where you intend to buy your products. Many stores, such as Ethan Allen, offer the service for free, while others rebate the pro's fee against your purchase.
Cost: Zilch.
Savings: About $300 per hour that you would otherwise pay for a consultation with an independent designer.
Bonus: These in-store folks know their products well and know what'll work best where.


42. Get free mulch and compost at your town's yard-waste recycling center.
Cost: $30 for pickup truck rental.
Savings: $300 for all the amendments you'll need to fortify and cover your raised beds and foundation plantings, per ¼ acre.
Bonus: Unlike bagged products from the home center, compost comes from leaves collected by your neighbors and the mulch from town tree pruning, so there's little risk of introducing non-native pests or weeds.


43. Cancel your trash pickup service if you currently pay a private company to cart away your refuse. Bring it to the dump yourself.
Cost: A few tanks of gas per year.
Savings: As much as $450 per year to the garbage man.
Bonus: There's no better place to meet fellow townspeople or hear the latest gossip.


44. Lock in a price cap for your heating oil or natural gas when prices are low to protect yourself from rate hikes over the coming months. Check prices at your supplier's website.
Cost: Some utility companies charge a lock-in fee.
Savings: $500 or more on energy costs—if prices climb significantly.
Bonus: Because you're taking a cap and not paying a fixed price, you won't lose out if prices drop, as they did last fall.


45. Replace worn-out air-conditioning equipment (or install a new system) in the winter, when HVAC guys offer discounts to drum up jobs.
Cost: You'll have to keep an eye on the calendar—spring may be closer than you think.
Savings: Perhaps $500.
Bonus: Air-conditioning makers typically provide off-season rebates on the equipment.


46. Get a free tree. Many municipalities gladly provide and plant ornamental trees in the swath of grass between the sidewalk in front of your house and the street.
Cost: Just a phone call to your town's public works department.
Savings: $300 you don't have to pay for the tree and a professional landscaper to plant it for you.
Bonus: You get free advice from an arborist on which flowering trees will thrive best along your property's border, given such factors as sidewalks, power lines, and snowplows.


47. Pay your January mortgage bill in December to take the interest and property tax deductions in the current tax year.
Cost: Freeing up cash flow to mail your check early. (Make sure the bank processes it before the end of December.)
Savings: About $500 on taxes.
BONUS: Lowering your taxable income may qualify you for child tax credits, Roth IRA contributions, or other benefits that phase out at higher incomes.


48. Choose in-stock materials, including tile, wood flooring, entry doors, or cabinetry, when remodeling. Retailers want to empty their warehouses, which means you'll pay less for the same quality as special-order stuff.
Cost: Fewer choices, but that can be good when you're looking at a thousand different tile options.
Savings: $300 or more on home-improvement items.
Bonus: Not having to wait three weeks for the product to arrive.


49. Pay your property taxes yourself instead of having your mortgage lender do it. If you have good credit, ask your lender if you can set up your own escrow cushion in an FDIC-insured savings account, such as those at ING. These earn around 3 percent interest.
Cost: None.
Savings: A check for $500 or more from the mortgage company, which is probably holding two months' worth of tax payments in escrow—plus you'll earn better interest in your own escrow account than what your lender credits you.
Bonus: Paying your taxes every six months (or every three, depending on the town) instead of with your monthly mortgage, gives you more cash-flow flexibility.


50. Buy a new furnace or water heater. The 2008 federal economic bailout package includes tax credits for energy-saving upgrades made in 2009.
Cost: Between $500 and $3,000, including installation, heavily offset by the money you'll save on fuel.
Savings: As much as $500 in federal credits, which come right off your tax bill.
Bonus: You may also qualify for state credits as well as rebates from your local utility company. Find out at the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency.


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Why You Should Never Drink Bottled Water 

#15 The Beginning of the Insanity

Imagine there was a time when bottled water didn't exist in our catalog of popular commodities. Perhaps the trend started in 1976 when the chic French sparkling water, Perrier made its introduction. There it was seductively bottled in its emerald green glass amongst the era of disco and the spectacle of excesses . . . who could resist right?!

What could be more decadent than to package, sell and consume what most consider (in the western world) a common human right easily supplied through a home faucet! It wasn't until the 1990s when bottled H2O became an everyday common sight and a symbol of our cultural desire towards fitness and "health-consciousness". Even today health enthusiasts claim drinking water often helps to "detox and boost the metabolism!"

There have been controversies about chemicals leeching into the water from the soft plastic material of bottles, but the FDA determined the containers "do not pose a health risk to consumers." IBISWorld reports that the "U.S. is the largest consumer for bottled water in the world, followed by Mexico, China, and Brazil".

#14 The Bottled Water Scheme

Regular drinking water competes with itself in a bottle, but reviewing the cost difference, you've got to wonder why or how? As for the water piped into your home or work place, it costs less than one penny per gallon! Fairfax Water organization, (FCWA) states, "The average price of water in the U.S. is about $1.50 for 1,000 gallons."

Let's look at your favorite 20 oz. bottled H2O, it will run you up to $3 per bottle at the corner convenience store and up to $4 at a posh restaurant or nightclub. If you buy bulk at Costo or other markets, the price averages are .31 cents per bottle, but that still remains enormously expensive when compared to tap water. Granted many don't like tap water quality, but modern technology allows for an array of water filters.

In the mid-1990s, soda companies found that the niche market for bottled water could be huge, why not? The profits were obvious! Pepsi and Coca-Cola jumped into a race with their brands Aquafina and Dasani; they led the way to making bottled water what it is today.

#13 What's in an Ad?

It appears people really love their bottled water, today there are dozens of brands and that merits big advertising! The Huffington Post stated that in 2013 Americans drank 58 gallons of bottled water per capita!

With the help of advertisements, bottled water has gone from "reservoir to faddish luxury item to mass commodity." Bottled H2O is being directly or indirectly sold as: healthy, smart, pure, sexy, clean and simple, it is "the stuff of life." Ad slogans go like this, Dasani by Coca-Cola: "Treat yourself well. Everyday." Volvic: "Fills you with volcanicity." Aquafina by Pepsi-Cola: "So pure, we promise nothing." Arrowhead by Mountain Spring Water, USA: "Arrowhead. It's Better Up Here!" Evian: "Approved by your body as a source of youth." Pure Life by Nestle: "DRINK BETTER. LIVE BETTER."

No matter how much emotion an advertisements conjures, be it love, fear or rage, in the end water is just water whether bottled or tap. The difference is only in taste, and Evian has to be the only one tastier than tap water, but that's only if tap water hasn't been filtered. "Taste comes from negligible amounts of minerals" and filtered tap water removes minerals and chemicals rendering it with no hint of aftertaste, even at room temperature and most importantly the "2 hydrogen to 1 oxygen" part of water we need never changes.

#12 The Costs: Beyond Money

It’s absurd that the cost of designer water is at a "280,000% markup" to your tap water and it's reaching record heights in consumption.The comforting illusion of better water (bottled water) requires a lot of resource to manufacture and merchandise. The industry requires the cost of natural rivers and streams, semi-truck exhaust and diesel fuel, packaging, labeling, pollution of non-biodegradable plastic and the managing of recycling centers.

If you visit a gas station store or grocery store, you're bound to see that a full third of all cold beverages on sale are bottled water. The Sierra Club explains, “Annually the water bottles themselves take about 1.5 million tons of plastic to manufacture for the global market.” Did you know plastics come from oil and therefore it takes 1.5 million barrels of oil a year?

Additionally the manufacturing process releases toxins into the environment, such as nickel, ethylbenzene, ethylene oxide and benzene. Even with current plastic recycling centers, “most used bottles end up in landfills, adding to the landfill crisis."

#11 What About Health and Safely?

There are relatively few regulations on what bottled water contains. The Natural Resources Defense Council's scientific study showed over 1/3 of the tested brands contain contaminants like arsenic and carcinogenic compounds. Scientists agreed though that the contaminants were negligible amounts and all of the bottled water was safe to drink, but importantly the study clearly showed how "bottled water purity" can be misleading.

On the World Health Organization's (WHO) website, they claimed many Europeans believe natural mineral waters have medicinal or health properties. Although WHO didn't find evidence to support the mineral water benefits. Many researchers conclude that the benefits of bottled water are based mainly on a common misconception.

A large majority of (regular) bottled water consumers drink bottled water because they believe it has better health benefits, as well as better taste. Interestingly the Environmental News Network reported, on the TV show Good Morning America, a taste test revealed that NYC tap water was chosen as the favorite over the oxygenated water 02, Poland Spring and Evian!

#10 Reviewing Ecosystems

Corporations like Coca-cola, Nestle, Pepsi, Evian and Fiji Water are making billions of dollars on water. Many people are unhappy with their practices, such as sucking up spring water from underground aquifers that are the source of water for nearby streams, wells, and farms.

In Mecosta County, Michigan, Nestle was court-ordered to stop taking spring water as it proved threatening to the surrounding ecosystem. They have around 75 springs in the U.S. and are actively searching to take on more. They own water rights in Aurora County, Colorado, in which they’ve built a diversion of water to the Arkansas River to replace water there, which they are siphoning from underground aquifers that would normally feed into that river.

What's important about the aquifers is that they safely store precious water underground throughout Colorado during the dry seasons. Sarah Olson, producer of the documentary 'Tapped,' notes, "Nestle has a history of pumping more water than its permits allow." She claims the situation is difficult to monitor and easy for Nestle to take advantage of. Aquifers are significant to the state's community survival, especially with current warming climate trends.

#9 Nestles' Monopoly

In order to sell and make money from water you have to own or lease the land to which it's found. Nestle has contracts with various small towns for which they own water rights; these towns are often also small in capital and influence. Are we in the U.S. not thinking about the bigger picture?

Nestle's powerful army of scientists, PR consultants, lawyers and lobbyists allow them to stifle and suppress local opposition to its operations. In California, it took 6 years for the tiny town of McCloud to defeat Nestles plans to build a facility and take 1,250 gallons per minute of Mount Shasta spring water. Nestle then swiftly moved its plan to Sacramento with more success, ‘The Sacramento News and Review' reported that Michelle Smira, one of the mayor's top volunteer advisors, "stepped down to run her consulting business, MMS Strategies. Guess who her big client was? That would be Nestle."

Evidently she was hired by Nestle Waters to win the "hearts and minds, and gain building permits" for the controversial water bottling facility. Sacramento exists currently in a drought and residents are asked to conserve water, all-the-while Nestle by contract has no limit on how much water they can pump, they're on a flat rate. The City Councilmember Kevin McCarty calculated "their profits margin will be roughly 10,000 percent!"

#8 Nestle As The Multinational

In Pakistan, Nestle controls a town’s water supply, forcing local residents to dig deeper for any non-polluted water that remains or they must pay Nestle’s high price to get their water back. In the documentary film 'Bottled Life', director Res Gehriger explains that in the U.S. and E.U., Nestle mainly sells spring water in the location that it originates. Although in developing countries, it's gone another route by extracting local water and enriching it with minerals. This bottled water is the company’s Pure Life brand, it’s the top-selling bottled water brand internationally.

Filmmaker, Gehriger was prevented from entering into Pakistan’s bottling facility, although he researched the area and found that the water levels had indeed dramatically fallen. This is concerning because Pakistan's public water system is known to be failing or is "close to collapse."

Pure Life is harvested, manufactured and marketed locally, but it's price is too high for the natives to afford. In places like Nigeria, where Nestle has also set up camp, African families spend half their salaries on water. Only the very wealthy can afford to purchase Nestle's Pure Life.

#7 The Case of Nestle/Perrier in Brazil

France's bottled mineral water Perrier made it's debut in the 1770s, but by 1990 the company ran into trouble when tested in a U.S. lab, it and found the carcinogen, Benzene. Soon after in 1992, Nestle bought Perrier and today the green emerald bottle sells in 140 counties worldwide. Nestle also since acquired Poland Spring, San Pellegrino and numerous other bottled water brands.

Nestle/Perrier, the corporation opened a bottling plant in Sao Lourenco, Brazil. The area is well known for its, "water circuits, and it's has the country's most historic sources of mineral water. This was perfect for the Nestle/Perrier's Pure Life brand, as the natural spring had what many believed to be healing minerals. But natives accused the company of over-pumping and drying up the local waters.

Then a member of the International Free Water Academy, Franklin Frederick said, "If the water is pumped in quantities greater than nature can replace it, its mineral content will gradually decrease, bringing the change in taste that we were noticing". In 2006, four years later, the Federal Government found Nestle/Perrier in violation of constitutional prohibitions on de-mineralizing water; they were stopped and fined.

#6 It's All About The Filter!

The thing about tap water is it's treated with chlorine to kill bacteria. The other part of the treatment is a filtration process, which is more or less the same as what the bottled water company’s use. Tap water is good and safe to drink, that's unless there’s fracking in your state, then there’s fracking fluid seeping into the ground and that can't be good!

If you don't care for the taste or "feel" of chlorine coming through your tap, then it can be removed easily enough with a filter. In fact, a Brita water filter works wonders and if you'd like to keep the skin on your face soft and younger looking, fill a washbasin with home filtered water and wash you face! Also to save money, keep the Brita filters longer than the company recommends, it just the tap water will drain through the filter a bit slower.

We wouldn't recommend walking about with a big Brita jug and chugging from it, like in the image. Instead, consider getting those Aluminum Water Bottles that are quite inexpensive and come in various sizes; they'll last forever!

#5 California's Water

Water and water rights is an on going political issue for The Golden State. It holds 30 million people and there are over 5,680,000 acres of agricultural farmland. The question California rubs up against, is whether to increase the redistribution of water to agricultural and urban sectors, or increase conservation and preserve the natural ecosystems of the water sources.

The majority of California’s water supply (75%) comes from north of Sacramento, while 80% of the water feeds the southern 2/3rds of the state. We've mention that Nestle has a legal grip on a large portion of Sacramento water, and the city is battling it out after realizing in hindsight that they agreed to more than they should give. The farming industry is huge in California and 80-85% of all its water is being used for agricultural purposes.

The Los Angeles Aqueduct carries water from the Eastern Sierra Nevada down to Los Angeles. The drinking water quality has less chlorine and is noticeably "softer" nearer to its source. Although controversial, 30% of all public water providers in the state, fluoridate their water.

#4 Is It or Is It Not?!

There’s a good chance that fancy water you’ve just forked out a couple bucks for comes from the same place, a municipal water supply! Yes, there's an estimated 25% of bottled water that actually comes from the municipal water supply. Of course the water goes through a filtering process, like reverse osmosis, deionization, activated carbon filtration and other treatments.

Look at the label carefully, does it read "purified" or "drinking water"? If so, chances are it is from a municipal water supply, and unless the water has been “substantially” altered, it’s required to be stated on the label, that the water’s from a municipal source.

Here's a list of bottled waters which are from municipal sources: Pepsi's Aquafina, Coke’s Dasani, and now it looks like Nestle's Ice Mountain Natural Spring Water is up in the air with a class action lawsuit for a document revealing a 5 gal water bottle that was defined by Nestle as, "municipal water and/or well water" processed by Nestle's treatment plants and repackaged with images of pristine glacial lakes and mountains.

#3 Should Water Be Privatized?

Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, is the CEO and current Chairman of the $65 million Nestle Corporation. In a youtube video he describes that people's access to water, "being a basic human right is extreme". He's also argues that the water supply ought to have a market value and be privatized, "because people have a sense of entitlement that causes them to waste copious amounts of water."

This would mean the price we pay today for our home tap would be small in comparison. Corporations like Nestle, Pepsi and Coca-cola are pining to buy up or lease land and water rights globally, some of us in the end could be obligated to their fees!

Brabeck-Letmathe is quoted in The Guardian saying that he would allow people a limited amount of water as a human right, this would be, "five liters of water for daily hydration and 25 liters for minimum hygiene and he would charge for the remainder of the 98.5% of the water if used." What would happen to the poor who cannot afford to pay these said corporations? Should they suffer from starvation due to their lack of financial wealth?

#2 Water Wars?

With climate change, it seems that reports show droughts are our new reality. Mark Twain wrote, “Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over”. Water seems to be everywhere, but throughout history it's always been a precious resource.

The water source taken from the Colorado River is divided up for U.S. states, and they’re running at abnormally low water levels. The river feeds the upper states (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming) and then it delivers a certain amount of water to the Lower Basin (New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada). An early provision also allows California and its rapidly growing coastal cities to grab excess water coming off the Colorado River, but since Arizona and Nevada cities have expanded, the surplus has disappeared and California is left with no water.

If the Nestle’s Colorado bottled water operation doesn’t appear totally irrational, consider CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe strict ideas on water rights. It kind of all falls into place, his reasoning behind “water privatization”. Nestle knows first hand as they pine for water around the world that the golden source is getting precarious.

#1 End the Insanity!

The Goethe University at Frankfurt conducted another study: they found that a high percentage of the bottled water contained in plastic containers was polluted with estrogenic chemicals.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a U.S. research and advocacy organization that acts as a watchdog on behalf of citizens. They report, "Unlike tap water, where consumers are provided with test results every year, the bottled water industry is not required to disclose results of contaminant testing it conducts." They felt the water bottle industry is not held to the same safety standards of tap water. Their tests revealed 10 brands that had pollutants, including not only disinfection byproducts, but also common urban wastewater pollutants like caffeine and pharmaceuticals (Tylenol); heavy metals and minerals including arsenic and radioactive isotopes; fertilizer residue (nitrate and ammonia); and a broad range of other, tentatively identified industrial chemicals used as solvents, plasticizers, viscosity decreasing agents, and propellants.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a U.S. non-profit, non-partisan international environmental advocacy group and in 1999 they tested 22% of brands and at least one sample of bottled drinking water contained chemical contaminants at levels above strict FDA health limits. What can we do to drink with confidence? Buy a good filter and use it!

ATTORNEY'S ADVICE - NO CHARGE

ATTORNEY'S ADVICE - NO CHARGE

Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it someday. Maybe we should all take some of his advice! A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company:

1. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put 'PHOTO ID REQUIRED.'

2. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the 'For' line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it.

3. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks. (DUH!) You can add it if it is necessary. But if you have It printed, anyone can get it.

4. Place the contents of your wallet on photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place.

I also carry a photocopy of my passport when I travel either here or abroad. We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in stealing a Name, address, Social Security number, credit cards..

Unfortunately, I, an attorney, have firsthand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieves ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and more.

But here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:

5. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.

6. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).

But here's what is perhaps most important of all: (I never even thought to do this.)

7. Call the 3 national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in my name.

The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit.

by the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.

Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet, if it has been stolen:

1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-62851-800-525-6285

2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742 1-888-397-3742

3.) Trans Union : 1-800-680 7289 1-800-680 7289

4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line):

1-800-269-0271 1-800-269-0271

We pass along jokes on the Internet; we pass along just about everything.

If you are willing to pass this information along, it could really help someone that you care about.

~Please Share~

originally posted on facebook ☺

Basement Renovations

If you are finding that your floors are cold in the winter, you would probably be in the market to have someone come in and insulate your basement walls. Having this done can also help lower your winter heating bills.

When J had his basement insulated last fall, he wasn't sure if it would really make a difference or not. But he found that he saved nearly $50 a month and his house felt more cozy and comfy. He's also noticed that he doesn't have nearly as many spiders, bugs, and little critters invading his home this spring.

Click this link for more information on insulating basement walls.