Here are some actions you can do at home to be more sustainable

Around the house

General

• Lower heat when nobody is home.
• Your old clothing that are too old to give away can use by this company Certex Canada
• Sprinkle peppermint oil in crawl spaces, inside cabinets and around exterior walls to deter rats and mice. 
• Get rid of cockroaches by caulking all cracks along baseboards, shelves and cabinets. Make a trap by greasing the inner surface of a bottle and putting a little stale beer or raw potato inside.
• Most home electronics and appliances consume electricity even when they are turned off. For tips on reducing your passive energy visit this link 
• Remove watermarks from wooden furniture be rubbing with a dry cloth and a dab of olive oil. 

Garbage 

Before you put something in the garbage, ask yourself the following questions: is this really garbage? Can it be recycled or composted instead? Could it be reused by someone else?

If it could be reused consider

• A Yard Sale.
• Give it away online via Freecycle or the free sections on kijiji and craigslist.
• Organizations which pick up large items:
•  http://crcinfo.ca/items-to-donate/
• http://habitatqc.ca/restore/donate/?lang=en 
• http://wiwc.ca/links/west-island-community-resource-centre-crc/
• http://www.rapsim.org/123/Listeedesemembres.montreal 

Bathroom

• Use biodegradable soaps and cosmetics from lush or druide
• Use Shampoo bars instead of those bottled shampoos. Available at Le Frigo Vert and lush
• Keep your shower efficiently by preventing lime deposits to build up on your showerhead. Remove the showerhead and soak it in white vinegar to de-scale and clean. 
• Get rid of mold and mildew rub tile and grout with a cloth moistened in white vinegar then scrub with an old toothbrush. 

Kitchen Area

• Composting organic waste.
• composting outside in a bin 
• year round vermicomposting great for appartments
• Curbside Composting Collection Service provided by Compost Montreal

Note - Keep compost pile from attracting insects by adding lemon peel or basil.

• Bring my own containers when I go buy "take-out" style food (like sushi or pastries). Owners will be happy to save on containers!
• Keep your the seal on your refrigerator door clean. 
• Use baking parchment  paper instead of aluminum foil.
• Place a dried bay leaves into opened bags and storage containers to keep weevils out of flour, rice and dried beans. 
• Trap fruit flies with the following set up
• pour a small amount of beer in a jar
• secure a plastic bag across the top of the jar with a rubber band
• poke a small hole in the bag 

Office Area

• Refill your ink cartridges. Islandinkjet
• Turn your gadgets off! This article describes why

Laundry

• Remove stains with these treatments 
• vegetable and fruit based stains -> applying lemon juice before washing as usual.
• Grease on white cotton fabric -> strain boiling water through the fabric, follow with dry baking soda
• Grease on other fabrics -> blot the stain with dry towel, dampen with water and rub with soap and baking soda, wash in hot water.
• ink -> soak in milk. Wash as usual.
• chewing gum -> rub with ice until it flakes off
• Add vinegar 1/4 cup to your washer's rinse cycle to soften fabric. 

Garden/ house plants

• Use mild soapy water to kill aphids on roses and other plants.
• To deter aphids, plant chives between roses.
• Protect outdoor wooden furniture with linseed oil. 
• Surround plants with sawdust to prevent slugs and snails from eating them.
• Make your own pesticide -> Place hot peppers, half an onion a clove of garlic in 2 cups of water, boil, cool, store in airtight container for 2 days, strain out the solids and place in spray bottles.   
• Place a collar of stiff paper to fit around the base of a plant, on top of the soil, to prevent hatching larvae from burrowing into the soil.

Stop JUNK mail

1. Place a "no junk mail" sticker on your door. Stickers are free and available at your local eco-quartier.
2. If you have a sticker but it is not respected, call 514 331 1722 for advertising bags or 1 800 267 1177 for other advertisements.
3. Make a request to the Canadian Marketing Association to stop receiving advertisements, by phone or mail, by visiting this link.

Homemade Cleaning recipes

A considerable amount of common household cleaning products are harsh, abrasive and toxic for the environment and your family. If you are concerned about risks to your health or the environment, you may want to consider using homemade, all-natural cleaning products. The following cleaner recipes are simple, inexpensive, protect water quality, and reduce packaging waste.

Lemon-scented all-purpose cleaner

Mix 1 tbsp borax, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 cup hot water in a spray bottle.

You can use this for cleaning bathroom and kitchen surfaces, as well as other water-safe surfaces. You should make it fresh just before you need it.

Toilet bowl cleaner

Pour 1 cup vinegar into toilet bowl and let stand for 30 minutes. Sprinkle 1/2 cup baking soda onto toilet brush and scrub.

To keep bowl fresh, pour 1 cup of vinegar into the toilet bowl once a month and let stand overnight. Another option would be to pour 1 cup of borax into the toilet bowl before going to bed, and in the morning scrub and flush the bowl.

Furniture polish

Mix 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup vinegar and 2 tsp lemon juice in spray bottle. Spray on wood surfaces and wipe dry.

Drain Opener

Pour 1/4 cup baking soda 1 cup vinegar and 1/4 into the clogged drain. Wait 15 min, and pour a kettle of boiling water down the drain. Repeat if necessary. (Just use very hot water if your pipes are plastic.)

Glass/Hard Surface Cleaner

Combine 1/2 cup white vinegar with a gallon of water. Soak cloth, ring it out slightly and use on your surface. Dry with a cloth as you go.

Fabric Softener

Add 1/4 cup white vinegar to your washer's final rinse cycle.

Tea Stained Cups

Salt is a great basic scrub, and is great for removing tea stains from the inside of cups. To clean the stains out the coffee pot, just fill it with ice-cubes, pour in some salt and swirl.

Pet Odor

To mask pet odor apply 5 or 6 drops of essential oils directly into the vacuum bag before vacuuming. Lemon and orange work well.

Cleaning Grout

Make a paste of baking soda, 5 drops tea tree oil and water. Apply paste to grout and let it sit a while. Scrub with a stiff brush and rinse with vinegar.

or

Get rid of mold and mildew rub tile and grout with a cloth moistened in white vinegar then scrub with an old toothbrush. 

Broken Eggs

Pour salt on spill, wait 5 minutes and sweep up.

Crayon Marks on Floor

Apply toothpaste, scrub and rinse.

Hardwood Floor Wash

Combine 1 ½ cups water, 1 ½ cups vinegar and 20 drops peppermint oil in a spray bottle. Apply sparingly in small areas and wipe dry as you go.

or

Brew two teabags of tea in hot water, cool to room temperature. Apply with a mop or cloth. No need to rinse.

Homemade Liquid Soap

Grate a bar of pure soap into a quart of warm water. Heat until dissolved, cool and store in an airtight container. Use to refill plastic pump bottles.