After you’ve been around something for a while, you start to take it for granted.

Things like dissolvable cornstarch packing peanuts.

It took one imaginative 11-year-old boy and an email from a happy customer to remind us just how nifty these little earth-friendly peanuts are.

If you’ve received a shipment from Pegasus Lighting in the past few years, your box most likely had a sticker on it with those words. Inside the box is a note that shares the reasons behind our choice to use biodegradable cornstarch packing peanuts, not the least of which is because they are really fun to play with.

Thank you, Happy Customer, for restoring our packing peanut fascination by sending this great note and photo of your son’s clever art sculpture (whatever you decide that it will be)! Oh, and for the record, I’m voting Rocket Ship.

Do you have a specific way you place food in your refrigerator or do you just put food wherever you can find an empty spot? If you use the latter method, you probably see more food spoilage. In fact, you may have to occasionally go hunting through the fridge to find that rotten smell we have all been familiar with.

Decluttering your refrigerator is probably one of the easiest ways to prevent food from spoiling quickly. It’s an easy process once you develop a system for it. The main goal is to keep your food easily accessible and highlight the foods that need to be eaten as soon as possible (like strawberries).

The best way to start this process is to clear out all of the expired food in your refrigerator. This includes bags of leftovers you promised yourself you were going to eat and it also includes all of those jars you’ve had on the side of your door for the past few years.

Once you have only edible food left in your refrigerator, think about how you want to use it:

Dedicate space for frequent meal preparation. If you have a certain breakfast, lunch or dinner meal prep routine, dedicate a shelf or two for just those ingredients so you can easily grab them first thing.

Showcase the foods that will spoil soon. Have foods that are likely going to expire sooner than the rest displayed front and center. This will encourage you to use them in meal preparation. Clear containers also make it easy to see what’s inside.

Control the environment. Check the temperature to make sure foods are properly stored. Putting liners in the bins also helps absorb any moisture that could make your fruits or vegetables too cold.

Develop a rotation system. When you buy new food, make sure you put it behind your older food.  This keeps your food waste low and your budget on track.

Don’t forget the freezer. If it is older than 6 months, it is probably freezer burned by now and can be tossed.  Store your foods in airtight containers or bags and label them (include the date).  No more “mystery meat” for dinner, and no more wasted food.

The freezer is often underutilized. Bread, scrambled egg mix, leftover coffee, tea, and broths can all be frozen for later use. Your homemade soup, cooked rice and other dinner entrees can also be frozen if you don’t have a chance to eat the leftovers in time.

Try using an ice cube try to store single serving pieces of purees, sauces and beverages. Freeze leftover coffee for an iced coffee drink, or a cube of frozen veggie broth to whip up some gravy later in the week. Make smoothies down the road by freezing mashed or chopped fruit. Almost anything can be frozen except for canned foods in the can (although they can usually be removed and frozen) and eggs in the shell.

To keep your refrigerator decluttered, go through it once a week to identify foods that need to be eaten soon and toss what is no longer edible. Once your refrigerator is decluttered, you’ll save money by having less food spoilage and eat better because all of your food is easy to find.

Keep Your Refrigerator Running at its Best Quality

Making sure your refrigerator is well maintained can also prolong the life of the food inside. If your refrigerator isn’t working correctly, food is more likely to spoil. Consider these tips for proper maintenance of your refrigerator:

Alexai Erchak, while a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is credited with developing the first prototype high efficient LED in 2001.  These LEDs use specialized mirrors and tiny photonic crystals to generate more usable light from the semiconductor materials.  Erchak observed that the Swallowtail butterfly highlights their fluorescent blue and green colors with a natural illumination much like that of his specialized prototype, and he was astounded at the similarity between the natural brightening structures in the butterfly’s wings and his own LEDs.

So much we learn from nature! The appeal of new designer outdoor lighting captures the essence of natural beauty and wonders of the world.  Make way for the butterflies and new designer outdoor lighting.

The “butterfly effect” is a phenomenon or belief that the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in one sector of the universe may be related to a tornado occurring in another part of the world. Could it be possible that the gentle vibrations in the wings of a butterfly could be the pivotal mechanism that leads to the ultimate surge of a storm cloud?  Is it science fiction or is there some truth to it?

Either way, there is no denying that the effect of designer outdoor lighting significantly increases the beauty and property value of our home.  And, the latest designs are eco-friendly, sustainable and made to last.

Bask in the splendor of summer style with these super natural compositions.

Novel summer finishes include this Raw Copper with iridescent glass from Arroyo Crafsman.  Arroyo Craftsman designs and manufactures fine outdoor lighting that honors the traditions of elegant simplicity combined with a quality craftsmanship established by the founders of the American Arts and Crafts movement. Arroyo’s designer outdoor lights are inspired by famed styles such as the California Mission, Swiss Chalet and English Tudor. Each piece from Arroyo Craftsman is meticulously hand crafted in the United States and available with several hand applied finish and glass options.

Glowing Butterflies Shine With Natural LEDs

Picking the right light bulbs for your home doesn't need to be a challenge. While there are many different styles, brightness options and colors in your local hardware store, identifying the best bulb for a given lighting scenario is relatively straightforward.

One measurement you should pay attention to on the packaging for light bulbs is color temperature, usually represented by a four digit number next to a K (which stands for Kelvin, the unit for measuring absolute temperature). Color temperature determines the softness, or warmness, of the light that is emitted by the bulb. A light with a lower Kelvin number will typically have a yellowish tint, while higher numbers indicate a cooler, or bluish, shade of light.

Here is a basic breakdown of how these temperatures affect the mood and feel of the room they're in: