Day 305 of 365 Days of Boulderado Photos ~ Tree Coming Down

It's really difficult to say which more dramatic, watching the tree go up, or watching the tree come down. The Tree Team starts at the bottom pulling off ornaments and lights, then takes a chainsaw to the empty branches. They then work their way up the tree. The branches are composted, and the trunk is chopped into firewood, as we try to be as "green" as a hotel as possible.

The Magic of . . . Baking Soda?

Over the weekend, I was contemplating what it means to be classic. I finally decided that whatever is being designated as a "classic" must be familiar, ever-present, yet relevant. I had this epiphany while tackling some spring cleaning tasks around my home -- more specifically, while my head was in the fridge, I caught a glimpse of my baking soda.

A ha, I thought. Baking soda, like the Hotel Boulderado, is a "classic."

(Stay with me on this one.)

Baking soda, or as it's known to chemists, sodium bicarbonate, has been utilized by humans since the ancient Egyptians figured out its usefulness as a cleaning agent. Our great-grandmothers and grandmothers relied on baking soda to help with laundry, housecleaning, and food preparation. Now, with the green movement, people are once again looking to baking soda because of its effectiveness and lack of toxic properties. Here's an incomplete list of things baking soda can be used for:

• As an antacid. Take a teaspoon of baking soda, mix with one-half glass water, and drink. Or, to reduce the acidity in tomato-based recipes, add a pinch of baking soda.
  
• As an ashtray buddy. By sprinkling it on ashtrays, you can cut down on bad odor and prevent smoldering.
• As a cleanser. Add 1 cup to your toilet bowl, leave for one hour, and flush away dirt and odors. Sprinkle a handful on dirty clothes to boost your laundry detergent's cleaning power. Clean your garbage cans and refrigerator with a baking soda solution to keep smells away. If you have pans with burnt-on food, soak it in baking soda solution for 10 minutes before washing. Clean your drains by putting four tablespoons of baking soda in them weekly -- just flush it down with hot water.
  
• As a decongestant. Add a teaspoon to your vaporizer to clear up stuffy noses.
• As a deodorizer. Keep an open container of baking soda in the fridge and it will absorb odors. Sprinkle some inside boots, shoes, slippers, and socks to remove stinky foot odor.
  
• As diaper rash reducer. Add two tablespoons of baking soda to your baby's bathwater.
• As a digestive aid. Try soaking dried beans in a baking soda solution to make them easy to digest and cut down on gas.
  
• As flower life-extender. You can keep freshly cut flowers longer if you add 1 teaspoon to the vase water.
• As a gardening tool. Tomatoes will taste sweeter if you sprinkle some baking soda on the soil around the plants.
  
• As a repellent. Wiping your car's windshield with baking soda will repel rain. Put some baking soda under your sinks and along basement windows to repel roaches and ants.
  
• As relief from itchy bug bites, poison ivy irritation, bee stings, or painful sunburns.
  
• As a skin softener. Add 1 cup to your bathwater when this dry air has your skin screaming for mercy.
• As underarm deodorant. Apply using a powder puff.
  

Baking soda is one of the Hotel Boulderado's housekeeping departments favorite secret ingredients. We repeatedly receive compliments on how fresh our rooms smell, and how they don't have that "hotel smell." When asked about it, our housekeepers revealed that simple fresh air does the trick most of the time. For those stubborn odors, they recommend sprinkling some baking soda on the carpet, letting it sit for 10-15 minutes, and then vacuuming everything up.

Baking soda. So green! So historic! So very Boulderado!

The Boulderado Green Team

Earlier this year, the Hotel Boulderado employees formed a Green Team to make sure that we are doing everything possible to be as green as we can. You might remember an Earth Day blog post where I shared some of what we do to be a green hotel. The Green Team is kicking these efforts up a notch as we try to become a certified green business. They've been working with the Environmental Protection Agency on a waste reduction program -- hopefully, this will lead to certification from the EPA and PACE (Partners for A Clean Environment). The Green Team has focused on three main areas: resource management, energy efficiency, and water conservation, but is keeping in mind that no change is too big or too small.

Monthly energy evaluations measure how much gas, electric, and water/waste the hotel uses, which helps us to keep an eye on these levels. The hotel recently reconfigured our recycle and waste disposal program, and by doing so, we are able to recycle at least 25% more than before and reduce waste by 25%. This was accomplished by converting our old Glass & Can and Cardboard recycle bins into one Single Stream dumpster, where we can also recycle things like phone books, milk and juice cartons, brown paper bags, and aluminum foil. The kitchens at the Boulderado (both from the catering department and Q's Restaurant) are now partaking in composting. (And big thank you to Pete, our banquet chef, for researching special composting bags!)

Some upgrades and replacements are also taking on a greener tint here at the Boulderado. We purchased six new HVAC units on the roof of the historic building. The old units were very inefficient, being over 25 years old. (Commercial units are measured in SEER units to rate their efficiency -- the removed units rated an 8, while the new ones are rated as 13, with higher number indicating more efficiency.) As exit signs need replacement, they are repalced with LED exit signs, and the maintenance department has replaced about 30% of the signs to date. All T-12 fluorescent bulbs have been repalced with T-8 bulbs with electrical ballasts.

What else are we doing? Over half our employees have and use (and love!) an Eco-Pass. The Sales Office, which uses more paper than any other department in the hotel, tries to use recycled paper whenever possible to use up both sides of each piece of paper, and also switched over to paper that contains 30% post-consumer waste. Computers are turned off in offices overnight and during the weekends.

Way to go, Green Team! I will be sure to keep everyone posted on their work as we move the Hotel Boulderado into a clean, green world.

Earth Day 2009

Happy Earth Day! While Earth Day should be every day, I've decided to take this opportunity to share how the Hotel Boulderado strives to be as green a property as possible. Here's just a taste of what we do.

WE RECYCLE!

Office paper, cardboard, newspapers, plastics, glass, cans, coat hangers, carpets, carpet pads, batteries, computers, copper and metal pipes, wood crates, wood products, motor oil, cooking oil, and more are recycled. What we cannot recycle on our own, we take to Eco Cycle or Green Mountain Recycling. We use recycled paper products, and we also use old linens for rags.

WE DONATE!

We donate towels, sheets, blankets, and pillows to homeless shelters and local charities, along with furniture, mattresses, lamps, case goods, partially used shampoos and other amenities. Leftover food from catered events are given to the Boulder Community Food Share Program. Eyeglasses and sunglasses left behind that remain unclaimed are donated to Habitat for Humanity and charities for Tibetans and Jamaicans. Partially used bath amenities, like soap, shampoo, and conditioner, go to the Cheyenne River Lakota/Sioux Reservation in central South Dakota. And when we renovated our Events Center in 2008, we donated over 100 light fixtures to Habitat for Humanity.

WE USE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PRODUCTS!

Our cleaning products are as environmentally friendly as possible. All of our carpet cleaning products are green. Our drain cleaners use a natural enzyme instead of harsh chemicals. All of our solvents and soaps are biodegradable. No oil-based paints are used anywhere in the hotel. And our dry cleaner, Art Cleaners, uses non-toxic, environmentally friendly products.

WE SAVE ENERGY, WATER, AND HELP ELIMINATE WASTE!

We use a water recovery system to clean outside and our patios, and we have thermal blankets on our water heaters. Our toilets are the low-flush variety, and we use aerators in the showers. We use CVL light bulbs in rooms and common areas where appropriate. We encourage guests to re-use towels and linens throughout their stay. We've eliminated plastic and paper cups in guest rooms, electing instead to use china and glass. We place newspapers in common areas, like our lobby, instead of in every guest room. Our employees are encouraged to use alternate methods of transportation by offering free Eco-Passes and bike racks outside.

All these efforts happen year-round. Here at the Boulderado, Earth Day truly is every day.