Celebrate the 4th With Luminaries

It is almost the 4th of July, and it is the best time of year to gather friends, neighbors, and family to enjoy this summer celebration. Outdoor parties are fun for everyone in the summer, whether it is a casual gathering with all of the kids, or an elegant evening event, just for the adults. Either way, the details including beautiful luminaries can be used in many creative ways to decorate an Independence Day party.

For the 4th of July, use luminaries to lead guests to a home by lining a walkway or driveway. Choose from all colors, including red, white, and blue, or choose pre-printed stars and stripes luminary bags. Colored bags can be mixed and matched to make patterns and images including an American flag that can be featured on a lawn! To do this, line the red and white luminaries to make stripes, and add a blue field with white bags interspersed for an amazing flag representation. Neighbors and guests will love the bold statement. Other ideas include lining pools, ponds, patios, and decks for a lovely summer evening party setting for guests.

In addition to traditional flame candles, there are several options to light luminaries. For a summer party, citronella candles are available to keep away the bugs and keep guests comfortable. LED lights are also available which look like real flame, and add an element of safety to the luminaries. They are battery operated and come in white or color options, and some are submersible for a festive and glowing display in a vase or ice bucket. Electric luminaries are also an option for an indoor or outdoor exhibit.

Lumabase.com creates a large selection of creative and well-made luminary products. In addition to traditional luminary bags and candles, they offer unique products including LumaSleeves, which are die cut inserts for luminary bags that have decorative designs. The LumaBase is a reusable candle holder which fits into the luminary bag. It holds the bag in place by weighing it down, and it hold three candle sizes. LumaLanterns combine the LumaSleeves with the luminary bag for beautiful and practical repeat use.

Grace Enderlein is a freelance writer and editor. “Celebrate the 4th With Luminaries” notes the various creative ways to decorate with luminaries. Lumabase.com has a large selection of a Luminaries and accessories

Window Well Covers – The Facts

High quality, custom fitted window well covers provide safety and protection to a home in many ways, and they are an excellent investment for the maintenance of a home. While allowing normal ventilation and access to light, window well covers help to avoid falls from children and animals, they protect a home from water and debris, and they can protect a home from intruders. A window well cover should not be a flimsy, one size fits all cover. It should be custom fit and made of strong materials for true safety and protection.

Open metal window well cover are a safety hazard for children, house pets, and wild animals. There have been many reported falls of children, and even some adults, into open, unprotected window wells. Animals like deer, squirrels, and cats have fallen or even nested in window wells, creating the safety hazard of wildlife accessing a home. A well-fitted window well cover helps avoid these security risks for those who are potentially hurt, as well as protecting the home.

A continued problem for metal window wells is debris and water leaking into a house during seasonal changes and storms. Water or moisture in a basement leads to the damage and cracking of a home’s foundation. Additionally, mold growth and air quality issues can occur from moisture leaking into a home. A window well cover keeps out dirt, water, snow, and leaves, and protects a home by keeping the window wells clean and dry.

A custom fitted window well cover offers additional security to a home in several important ways. A well installed cover protects a home from intruders, while also offering an emergency exit from inside the home. Proper escape, or egress, from the inside is a necessary characteristic of a window well cover.Emergencies do occur, and a suitable exit must be readily available to inhabitants.
Windowbubble.com is an established supplier of high quality, custom window well covers that insulate, protect, and keep out water and debris from metal window wells. The covers are well built, lightweight, and secure, and are an attractive part of a home’s exterior.

Grace Enderlein is a freelance writer and editor. “Window Well Covers – The Facts” outlines the ways window well covers provided by Windowbubble.com protects metal window wells

Why Use Recycled Paper?

The impacts of society’s paper use on the environment are significant and alarming. For example, to paper produce each week’s Sunday newspaper, 500,000 trees must be cut down. Recycling a single run of the Sunday New York Times would save 75,000 trees. If Americans would recycle just one-tenth of their newspapers we would save about 25,000,000 trees a year. Paper waste accounts for 40% of all municipal waste by weight and 50% by volume.
Recycling helps preserve the environment, supports our economy and can save you money. One of the best ways to really make recycling work is to use recycled paper products. It’s up to us to close the recycling loop by purchasing recycled content paper products. Use this guide on recycled paper to learn about the benefits of recycling and using recycled paper.
What is recycled paper?
Recycled paper is paper made from recovered waste paper and re-made into new paper products.
What are the benefits of using recycled paper?

• Using Recycled Paper Saves Our Natural Resources

Recycling saves trees and water. Making a ton of paper from recycled feedstock saves up to 17 trees and uses 50% less water (that’s 7000 gallons) than virgin paper manufacturing.

• Using Recycled Paper Saves Energy

Recycling paper uses about 65% less energy than the process of cutting down new trees and manufacturing them into paper pulp. Significant amounts of energy and fossil fuels are required to complete the virgin paper manufacturing process.

• Using Recycled Paper Saves Our Environment

Recycling reduces greenhouse gas emissions and helps slow global climate change. Methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, is created by gasses escaping from entombed paper in landfills.

• Using Recycled Paper Reduces Pollution

The paper industry is one of the largest water and air polluters in the world. The EPA has found that recycling achieves 35% less water pollution and 74% less air pollution. Also, recycling mills tend to use more earth-friendly bleaching processes than traditional mills that will often use chlorine compounds to whiten paper. Chlorine bleaching compounds can create dioxins and furans which are extremely toxic and harmful to humans and wildlife.

• Using Recycled Paper Cuts Waste

Landfill sites are filling up with waste paper that could be used to make recycled paper. By converting waste into new products, we slow the pace in which our landfills will fill and reach capacity.

The benefits of using recycled paper are significant contributors in our quest for a better environment and a better world both for ourselves and the future generations. Recycling and using recycled paper in our homes, offices and schools creates a positive impact on our natural environment, available energy resources and our economy. Start today.

Linda Dunkelberger is a freelance writer and editor interested in saving the environment by using Greenline Paper Products. “Why Use Recycled Paper?” outlines the benefits of using recycled paper and how it affect our world. Greenlinepaper.com is a provider of environmental paper/recycled paper products for office & home.