I know I need to make the switch from paper to cloth, but I have this idea that cloth dinner napkins would get kind of gross eventually. Got some tips in this area?

Debra Lynn Dadd "Queen of Green"

EXPERT ANSWER: I’ve been using cloth napkins for years–more than ten–and I love them. 

The trick to being happy with cloth napkins is to know how to choose, use and maintain them.

* Buy natural fiber napkins, especially cotton and linen. While it may be difficult to find organic cotton napkins locally (try your favorite natural food store), it’s pretty easy to find conventionally-grown cotton napkins at places like Pier One, Ross Dress for Less, Target, and Bed Bath & Beyond. Do watch for dyes that might run in the wash, as some napkins may be made in India, where the dyes are not colorfast. But most will be fine. It’s always best to buy organic natural fibers because of the pesticide use on conventional cotton, however, if you can’t find or afford organic cotton, regular cotton is the next best choice. Don’t buy polyester napkins. In addition to being made from petroleum, a non-renewable resource, polyester napkins are also not very absorbent or soft against your skin.

* Buy enough napkins to always have plenty on hand. Over the years, I’ve been collecting cloth napkins whenever I see napkins I like, especially when they are discounted or on sale. I probably have two dozen or more for my husband and I, and enough for parties too. Though I do buy them in sets, I don’t mind using them mismatched, which, to me, is part of the charm.

* Wash napkins when needed. Cloth napkins don’t actually need to be washed after every meal, but if you reuse napkins, you do want to reuse your own napkin. An easy way to keep track of whose napkin is whose is to get some inexpensive decorative napkin holders and have one for each member of your household with their names on them. This way, each person always knows which napkin is theirs and can change it whenever it suits them to do so. I have only colorfast napkins, so I just toss them into the washer with other laundry. Washing them requires no additional water or soap or energy for drying.

* Don’t bother ironing. I’ve found a lot of my napkins don’t need ironing at all. After all, for daily use, it’s not a formal dinner party. I do iron my napkins if I am having a dinner party, but every day, for my husband and myself, it’s not mandatory.

Over the years I’m sure we’ve saved hundreds of trees from being made into paper napkins. We also have a stash of cotton cloth towels we use instead of paper towels.

I TRY to remember my reusable shopping bags, but I’m not perfect just yet. So where do I recycle the plastic bags that I end up with?

Debra Lynn Dadd "Queen of Green"

EXPERT ANSWER: The best thing to do is to just take those plastic bags back to the store and reuse them. Reuse is better than recycling because it doesn’t require any of the resources needed to transport and melt and reform the recycled material into a new product.

Here’s a tip. I had a difficult time getting into the habit of using reusable bags. I just couldn’t remember to take them back out to the car after I brought them into the house full of groceries. Now, the minute I unpack my reusable bags, I hang them on the doorknob of the back door, where I leave the house to go to my car. This way, the very next time I go to the car, the bags are in my hand. I tried putting them on a table next to the door, but they didn’t make it out the door. Hanging them on the doorknob was the answer.

If you do want to recycle your plastic shopping bags, every Publix supermarket has recycling bins right in front of the store, and one is for plastic bags. You don’t even need to walk in the store or even shop at Publix. But Publix is very green-minded and has many green products. Look for their private “Greenwise” label throughout the store.

I do a lot of traveling and I am concerned about bed bugs. How do I recognize one? If I end up with an infested mattress, what do I do?

Linda Green Expert

EXPERT ANSWER: Bed bugs have become a HUGE problem around the world in recent years, and the typical way to treat them has been with toxic chemicals, with limited results. One of the major ways people get bed bugs in their home is by bringing them back from a trip.  Hotels, dorms and even public transportation frequently have bed bug infestations.

The good news is you don’t have to use these poisons to rid your house of bed bugs.  There are natural products that will work when used correctly. Our favorite natural method of eliminating bed bugs is through the use of red cedar oil because, used properly, it kills bed bugs as well as pest control companies using toxic chemicals and you can do it yourself, but other methods that also work include the use of steam (heat kills bed bugs) and diatomeceous earth products.

The bad news is bed bugs are really hard to get rid of because they lay their eggs in hard-to-reach places like in your box springs, in light fixtures, behind electrical outlets and any available dark crack that is nearby where you sleep.  So unless you hit bed bugs HARD right from the start, your chances of having a major infestation are pretty good and that’s why people give up so and call in an expert to get rid of their bed bugs.

Bed bugs in a mattress

The key to getting rid of bed bugs and protecting yourself from them (and bringing them back with you) when you travel is knowing what to look for.  Killing Bed Bugs Naturally is a website that has cedar oil and steam products and can give you some answers too.

Is a barter system something that might work for the Tampa Bay area? It’s something I’ve been hearing about, and it seems like something that might be needed, but I don’t know “how to get there from here.”

Linda Green Expert

EXPERT ANSWER: That’s a good question, especially today! I feel that bartering is an essential part of a local green economy, and definitely a viable option. But just to make sure we are on the same page as we discuss this, here are the definitions I’m using:

GREEN: Green is a term used to imply that a service, product, or technology is environmentally friendly (i.e. sustainable).

For the purposes of this discussion, the definition of a Local Green Economy is an economy that is sustainable, based on the local production of goods and services that are adequate to support the local community and are exchanged within the community (for a moment imagine that the rest of the country ground to a halt – with a local green economy functioning, we would still be able to sustain our local community and survive).

Using that definition, it’s easy to see that bartering, exchanging goods and services you produce for goods and services another produces without the need to use outside currency for that exchange, is an essential part of a healthy green economy.

Bartering is an age-old method for exchanging good and services, and through time, it has become an alternative to cash for many people. In fact, if you look around your community you’ll find examples of bartering going on every day. And today, with the turmoil and economic woes much of the country is experiencing, bartering is more in use than ever. If a business does not have the cash to get something, many are trading for the things they need.

Often this is accomplished through some kind of barter exchange, sometimes in a newspaper or magazine, but more commonly today through a website.

A great example of this is Craigslist, http://tampa.craigslist.org/bar/

I just checked and every day over 100 different barter opportunities are listed by people wanting to trade something they have for something they need. There are some pretty interesting things in there to trade for.

Here are some online and local barter resources you might be interested in learning more about:

http://tampa.craigslist.org/bar/
http://www.Dibspace.com
http://www.barterswitch.com/
http://www.floridabarter.com/
http://www.babm.com/directory/Barter_Trade_Exchange.htm

I’ll close by mentioning there are some IRS accounting requirements when you barter.

Here are some good barter tips: http://su.pr/9IihUA

And here is the word from the IRS on bartering: http://su.pr/2XCAb8

I just got a great deal buying a house, but now I need to renovate. Is there any place I can buy building materials that don’t cost an arm and a leg?

Busy Builder in St. Pete

Larry Redalia Green Building Expert

EXPERT ANSWER: Yes! We have many local resources for what is called “architectural salvage.” This includes everything from door and windows taken from old houses to materials leftover from construction sites. My wife–Debra Lynn Dadd–and I always go to the salvage yards first when we are looking for building materials and often get exceptional materials at great prices.

One of our favorite places is the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store. There are two in St. Petersburg (3962 Central Avenue and 3071 118^th Avenue North) and one in Tampa (8100 North Florida Ave.). Not only do they have a lot of building materials at great prices, the proceeds go to building houses for Habitat for Humanity.

We also love Layman’s Used Merchandise in Clearwater (12190 US Highway 19 N). They have an amazing assortment of old and new everything. A few weeks ago we went looking for a a long, narrow window to put over our kitchen window to let in more light. We scrounged around through all the windows and finally found a window designed to go vertically alongside a front door. But it was missing it’s frame. It happened to be exactly the length we needed to lay horizontally over our window and we got it for $16. Nice old window that matched the style in our 1940′s house.

Going to archetectural salvage is like going on a treasure hunt on Christmas morning! It’s fun!