Good ol’ Wal-Mart and Costco have started using a new design for their milk jugs, and I think they’ve come up with a real winner. The new design has a whole mess of environmental and cost advantages compared to the milk jug design that you’re probably used to, but there are some people that jes’ plain don’t care for it. Here’s a brief summary of its pros and cons.
New Milk Jug Design Pros
Less shipping materials - The old jugs had to be packaged with heavy shipping crates. The new ones can be stacked with just a layer of cardboard between them.
More efficient transport - Less shipping materials means more milk jugs can be transported in each truck, so companies save money on gas and cut down on air pollution.
Shipping labor cut in half
Water usage cut by 60-70% - The old shipping crates had to be sprayed off after each run, since milk would spill on them and birds would roost in them
Amy Wise, a homemaker in Ohio, said the new-fangled gallon jug spilled milk everywhere. Judging from the picture, I’d say her main problem is that she’s trying to pour the milk into an imaginary cup in her left hand. No wonder she looks frustrated.
Many people say the new milk jugs are harder to pour. But I think with more practice, people will get used to them quickly. With all the benefits (less pollution, cheaper milk, easier transportation, and more efficient use o’ materials), methinks that the new milk jug may be here to stay.
* The bodacious picture of Amy Wise was taken by David Maxwell of The New York Times.
UPS has 93,637 vehicles (cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles, and tractor-trailers) that drive over 2 billion miles a year, so they have had a lot of practice in finding ways to save gas, save money, and reduce air pollution. Here are three of Brown’s gas saving tips for any of y’all driving this holiday weekend.
Avoid left turns - UPS plans its routes to minimize left turns. This reduces gas usage because left turns generally mean you car has to sit and idle while waiting to turn. This helped UPS save $12 million last year!
Reduce idling - I did not know this, but UPS has a “no idling” policy, so no matter how short of a stop a UPS driver makes, they turn off their engine. This reduces idling time by 24 minutes per driver a day, which saves them $188 per driver per year!
Plan your route - UPS plans out its routes to be as efficient and direct as possible. Remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail!
If you can’t read that good, here are some gas saving tips from UPS… IN VIDEO FORM.
It’s true; after 6 months of using the same razor blade (by applying the ancient Immortal Razor Technique), it is time to lay the ol’ blade to rest. Faithfully it has served me, but in the last week or so, I could feel some dullness.
By cleaning mess out of my razor and drying it every time I used it, I stretched its life to half a year, a lot longer than the average razor!
If you haven’t tried it, I heartily suggest you try cleaning out your razor blade and drying it (with a towel or what have you) after each time you use it. Not only will you save money, but you’ll also be reusing some good ol’ resources by putting forth only the slightest of effort. ‘Tis a win-win situation, ’tis.
P.S. It turns out my razor came with two blades, so I didn’t have to buy a new razor at all, just put in the new blade and bah-bam, new razor.
Way back in November, back when I was young and carefree, I wrote about how to find your car’s miles per gallon. Back then I got 29.5 mpg, which is not too shabby, but by gumbo, I wanted to save some money on gas. Recently, I found some simple ways to increase my car’s fuel efficiency. By following these three simple tips, I’ve increased my horseless carriage’s miles per gallon up to a whopping 36 mpg (about a 22% improvement).
How to Improve Your Car’s Fuel Efficiency
Easy on the acceleration - when the light turns green, slowly ease down the gas pedal. No need to burn rubber, just accelerate slowly and steadily. This makes a big difference in improving fuel efficiency.
Don’t idle for over a minute - if you’re at a stoplight where you know you’ll be waiting for over a minute, just turn your car off. When the light is about to turn green, turn your car back on. Only do this at stops that you’re very familiar with, and where you know you’ll be waiting for over a minute.
Drive your optimal speed
Believe it or not, driving at 70mph on a highway or belt-line is not very fuel efficient. For most cars, the optimal speed is 40-60 mph. Yes, lots of cars will pass you. Stay in the slow lane to let them. They are just wasting their gas (and money).
By following these oh-so-handy tips, I only use about 80% the gas that I used to use. That means I’m saving about 20% in gas money, which these days is a big chunk o’ change. So help out your wallet and the good ol’ environment, and don’t drive like a maniac.
Fill out the short form (use “EARNRWG” as the promo code)
Immediately sprint to your mailbox and wait for several weeks
Have fun with that free light bulb. Not only will you be saving money by getting a free CFL, but you’ll also be saving money by using a more efficient light bulb. Remember, even though it saves a lot of energy, it’s not all good. If it breaks, I do not recommend sniffing the fumes that come out. Instead, follow these here guidelines on how to clean up a broken CFL bulb.
There you stand, in the grocery store, wishing that you had enough money to get you some of those crazy expensive protein bars. Sadly, you turn away, lamenting your puny muscles, wishing that there was some way to get protein bars without all the extra packaging and high prices. Well pay attention, for here is how to…
Make Your Own Protein Bars
Thanks to Krista’s protein bar recipe, I was able to make some protein bars of my own. Follow along with this picture essay, and you will learn the secrets of how to make some cheap, homemade protein bars.Here are the ingredients. If you want to use some eco-friendly protein powder, or organic bananas, or what have you, then by all means do. I opted for the cheapest ingredients for this demonstration.
This is a perfect example of how saving money and helping the environment can go together. When you reuse something, you save money and help conserve resources. Anyhoo, without further ado, I present some good sites for saving money and getting some free reused stuff.
This here site has a good “free” section for most cities. There are all kinds of things being offered for free here. You don’t have to register to browse through the list of reused things, so feel free to head over right now and see what’s available for free in your area. I just joined this site a couple days ago, and it’s a bit stricter than craigslist. This has its pros and cons. Some cons are that you have to be registered in a group, and that a moderator has to approve of a post to the message board before it is shown. Some pros are that you can post “Wanted” ads, and that you can be sure that any message you see has the seal of approval from a moderator.To get started, search for a group in your area, and sign up. You’ll be reusing and giving away unwanted items in no time.
This last one doesn’t involve reusing things; instead, i’s just a good place to get lots and lots of free samples of all kinds of things, such as food, drinks, shirts, and more. Just go to the site, click “Free Goods”, and you’ll be transported to a magical world of free samples. Not quite as dependable as craigslist or freecycle (sometimes the samples never arrive :(), but the price is right. Besides these websites, you can always go to a local thrift store and donate any unwanted items that you have. If anyone knows of any other good websites for getting free, used things, por favor let me know.
Good ol’ Wal-Mart and Costco have started using a new design for their milk jugs, and I think they’ve come up with a real winner. The new design has a whole mess of environmental and cost advantages compared to the milk jug design that you’re probably used to, but there are some people that jes’ plain don’t care for it. Here’s a brief summary of its pros and cons.
It’s true; after 6 months of using the same razor blade (by applying the 
