Clear Comfort plastic film on windows, and better down lighting
from Rosemary and Peter Turner

As part of our Castlemaine 500 effort, I installed “ClearComfort” plastic film to “double glaze” some side and back windows at our Munro Court house. The main north facing and E-W facing windows were always double glazed, but we found the Clear Comfort has made a useful improvement on the other windows. Some details are on the C500 website - it can be a bit tricky to install.

Here in Geelong we have a bank of four 60W R63 spot lights as the main lighting in the kitchen - very wasteful! we’ve replaced two with Megaman compact fluoro equivalents, and are delighted with their brightness - and low energy consumption. They do take a few minutes to warm up but then provide all the light we need above the bench. For the moment we’ve kept the other two incandescent ones (separately switched) for those times when we want instant light for a few minutes. Not available for dimming switches yet, but that will probably come in due course.

Wattstopper energy saving power board
…stopping standby energy theft

The Wattstopper is an energy saving powerboard for use in the home or office. It reduces energy waste by turning off stand-by power. There are two types of board available.

The first one trialled at home was the IR sensor controlled board for the home entertainment system. It couldn’t have been easier to install. We set it up during an ad break! It’s as simple as plugging in a normal power board. There are 5 sockets to plug in TV, VCR, DVD, stereo etc and one constant power socket that can be used if there is an appliance you want to leave on standby. It only takes a couple of minutes to pair up your remote control with the sensor. This enables you to just press the off button (holding it for 3 seconds) on your remote control to turn off all power. It makes it effortless to save on standby power when it is too difficult or awkward to turn off the power at the wall, e.g: when the sockets are buried behind furniture. The powerboard also provides 24 hour protection from power surges, lightning strikes and voltage spikes

The other power board available is the USB controlled board for computer peripherals. This plugs into a USB outlet in your PC or laptop. When the computer is shut down it automatically turns off any peripherals that are plugged into the board, such as printer, modem etc. These are often left on standby as they are plugged in under desks, for example, making it too much of a hassle to turn off at the wall. This powerboard also provides surge protection.

The Wattstoppers are priced at $49.95 each. By reducing the energy costs of stand-by power you will quickly recover the purchase price.

We were impressed with the simplicity of installation and level of performance of both Wattstoppers and are continuing to use the IR sensor powerboard at home and the USB powerboard in The Down to Earth Store, 227 Barker St., Castlemaine

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thanks to Anna for the following (she mentions Lanfax - a very useful site: http://www.lanfaxlabs.com.au/)

Anna’s laundry jelly

I make my own product!

As you know, eco laundry detergents are expensive, so I started making my own, and 6 months later am very happy with the results…it even washes my 18-month-old’s toxic nappies without any hassles. It does contain washing soda, which according to Lanfax, can be a detrimental salt environmentally, but as the ratio ends up as about 1% of the finished product, I haven’t had any hassles at all using it bucketed on my fruit trees. I haven’t used it in a subsoil greywater system yet though - haven’t got around to installing one yet - so I can’t comment on it’s long-term effect in making soil water-resistant. It also performs better for shifting tough soils in warm water, which has a greenhouse implication, but I only use warm for heavily soiled loads and it otherwise does fine.

I know exactly what is in it, what goes on our skin, and it smells terrific and costs peanuts to make (at least 252 litres from a single packet of soap bars). Takes about 1/2 an hour to make up 12 litres, which lasts me a couple of weeks, and that’s hand grating the soap. The recipe forms a jelly that I keep in a big covered bucket in the laundry and scoop out with a jug.

Recipe for Anna’s laundry jelly.

Suitable for machine or hand washing, for front and top loaders. use about 2 cups in a full load. Best way is to put the gel into the empty machine, allow to fill and then to agitate for about 30 seconds to make sure the liquid is thoroughly dispersed, then add clothes. Makes 12 litres (at least 20 full washes) - need a big covered bucket to keep it in, I leave a plastic measuring jug on top of lid to measure out liquid and leave bucket on floor beside machine.

Ingredients
50g pure soap (don’t use cosmetic soaps it must be pure soap - I use Preservene)
1/2 cup washing soda crystals (I use Lectric Soda)
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons eucalyptus oil or tea-tree oil
5-10 drops of lemon or lavender pure essential oil for fragrance (I use Lavendula’s Organic Lavender Oil - heavenly)
5 L cold water
4.5 L hot water

Method
1. Grate soap into large saucepan and cover with 1 L of the cold water. bring to the boil, add washing soda and stir until completely dissolved. (Note that you will need to watch saucepan as the moment it boils it will froth up and pour over sides so needs to be turned down immediately. Also, remove from heat when adding washing soda or it will froth up like a berocca, then you can put back on heat. Need to make sure to use a saucepan significantly bigger than liquids to allow for frothing).
2. Stir in eucalyptus oil, white vinegar and essential oil.
3. Pour into a bucket, add the hot water and stir in remaining cold water.
4. When cool, transfer to smaller containers and label if you wish. Forms a gel-like substance which does totally dissolve in the wash.

Anna Hedigan