Green your home now!

Climate change and global warming are an ever-pressing concern these days. We may feel helpless in instituting change, but there are specific things we can all do to help (beyond voting for politicians who will make these issues a priority!).

By making small daily changes, you can actively contribute to helping preserve our earth. And all you have to do is go green right in your own home. Here are seven ways to reduce your carbon footprint, use less energy and more natural resources, and save money to boot:

1. Go paperless!

Sign up for online bills and statements (which is a major convenience) and request to be taken off of coupon and junk mail lists. Doing this simple act will help save trees, lessen paper loads on planes, decrease ink needed, and leave more room in landfills. And the clutter reduction is priceless!

2. Install smarter lights

Just changing your light bulbs can help use 75 percent less energy! New bulbs with light-emitting diodes will also last 10 to 25 times longer than an incandescent bulb.

3. Weather strip

Drafts coming in and out from doors and windows allow heat and air-conditioned air to escape from your home.

Buy simple weather strip materials at your local hardware store and save up to 10 percent on your heating and cooling bills.

4. Fix that leak

Leaky toilets and faucets are more than just an annoyance. They are a continual source of wasted water and money.

According to EPA.gov, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates, “10 percent of homes have leaks that waste 90 gallons or more per day, and the average household’s leaks can account for more than 10,000 gallons of water wasted every year.”

5. Buy low-flow showerheads

The agency also estimates that 17 percent of a family’s water use comes from showering, which averages about 40 gallons every day. Low-flow shower heads cap the flow at two gallons per minute, which equals big savings, both environmental and financial.

6. Replace electrical appliances with energy-efficient models

It may cost an extra few bucks to pay for new appliances, but it is cost effective in the end. The energy efficient appliances use lower amounts of water and energy, which allows you to save monthly on your energy and water bills. Just look for the Energy Star label. Many companies also offer rebates for these models.

7. Collect rainwater

Use collected rainwater to water plants and clean outdoor surfaces. You can purchase rainwater collection barrels, which collect rainwater from gutters, and store on your porch until you need to use some water. One night of rain can yield 300 gallons of water on one roof alone.

Danielle Sullivan, a mom of three, is a writer and editor living in New York City. Sullivan also writes about pets and parenting for Disney’s Babble.com. Find her on her blog, Some Puppy To Love.

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Enabling Devices

<p><strong>Enabling Devices is a family-run business that designs, manufactures and sells adapted toys and accessible devices that make life more joyful and fulfilling for children and adults living with disabilities.</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>It started with a train set, a mercury switch, and a young boy whose therapist thought he couldn’t play with toys. In 1975 our founder, Dr. Steven Kanor, walked into a room at United Cerebral Palsy/Long Island and saw a boy sitting in a wheelchair, his head resting on his shoulder. When he asked where the toys were, the OT said, “He doesn’t have the motor skills to play with toys, and he can’t lift his head.” But Dr. Kanor was not interested in what the boy couldn’t do. He was interested in the boy's potential. The next morning, he was back. He’d brought a train set, which he’d connected to a mercury switch. The switch, the first capability switch he’d designed, was attached to the boy’s ear. When the boy raised his head, the switch made contact and the train ran around the tracks. After several weeks of playing with this toy, the boy was holding his head up straight, even when the train was not running. Dr. Kanor was elated.</p> <p>Since that day, he never stopped innovating, never stopped trying to make our products better, never stopped designing new devices. Today, our design team is just as passionate, just as creative, and just as committed to innovation as the man who founded this company. Enabling Devices is the place to find toys, devices and tools that help build more joyful, fulfilling lives. We have an extensive selection of adapted toys, capability switches, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices, adapted electronics, mounts, iPad products, sensory items and products for the visually impaired.</p> <p>Over the years, the important constants remain. We’re still the same small, family-run company Steven Kanor founded in 1978, with the same values of personal connection and deep product knowledge. We’re still committed to providing caring, individualized service to each customer. And we’re still grateful for the privilege of sharing in your journey.</p>

Advantage Care Health Centers

<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-db4b2459-7fff-adc1-4601-75b3690fc174"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #434343; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Advantage Care now offers in-person and Tele-Health services to all new and current patients through their secure online platform visit: </span><a style="text-decoration: none;" href="https://advantagecare.doxy.me/"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #434343; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://advantagecare.doxy.me</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #434343; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to see how it works.  Tele-Health Services for Children and Adults include the Following: Primary Care, Psychotherapy, Psychiatry.  Advantage Care continues to take proper measures to keep their patients, community, and staff safe during the pandemic. Advantage Care Health Centers are Long Island’s premier Federally Qualified Health Centers. They accept Medicaid, Medicaid Managed Care Plans, Medicare. The mission of their centers is to provide the highest quality comprehensive primary, dental, mental, and behavioral health care services.  They offer these services to all members of the community with a commitment to those who might otherwise be excluded from the health care system, while remaining cost-effective and efficient. Advantage Care specializes in providing services to children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.</span></span></p>

The Ideal School

<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: #000000;" data-sheets-value="{" data-sheets-userformat="{">The only independent inclusion school in NYC. We enroll students from Kindergarten to Eleventh Grade in an environment of diverse abilities that inspires excellence, collaboration and growth</span></p>