Tag: green remodeling

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Eco-friendly decorating tips

Putting your home together in an eco-friendly way is not that hard if you know what type of products and aesthetic you’re looking for. When decorating, think about how you want to minimize your footprint and create a space that is environmentally-conscious. Integrating recycled materials and other items can make a tremendous difference in your décor. If you’re really creative, you can have a charming and classy space without spending a lot of money. Here are a few tips:

  • Make it You

Take the time to think about what brings you joy. Do you love greenery? Do your spaces all simulate an outdoor environment? You can achieve this by having a variety of plants and eco-friendly furnishings throughout your home. You can find eco-friendly sheets and bedding in organic fibers, or use them for your curtains or furniture covers. There are a lot of green furniture products on the market that serve many purposes. From your chairs and sofas, to your table and bathroom fixtures, there are products that will accommodate your needs in all natural woods and other materials.

  • Paint Makes a Difference

Everyone knows that changing the paint color in a room works wonders. To stay eco-friendly, use paints that are low VOC or zero VOC. You can also find these in beautiful finishes to upgrade your furniture for an entirely different look.

  • Recycle Your Glass

One of the quickest ways to spruce up your décor and stay eco-friendly is by repurposing your glass jars or vases. If you’re into pretty colored glass, this is a beautiful way to add a creative display. If you’re really into decorating, use some of that low VOC paint to paint some of your jars or glass containers for a beautiful finish.

  • Bring the Outside In

Incorporate elements of nature into your décor by using seashells, pine cones that you can paint, pieces of wood or other natural materials arranged in collections or large pieces that serve as focal points. Take a minute to survey your current décor and decide how you want to change or enhance your space and take it from there.

If you decide to get rid of some of your existing pieces, donate them to charity or an organization that can use the pieces. This makes a conscious efforts to beautifying someone else’s home and makes a positive contribution to preserving the environment.

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Articles Eco Tips Recycling

A Re-Purposeful Life

New isn’t necessarily better. In fact, repurposing items can create a unique environment filled with pieces that can’t be found in chain stores and can keep articles out of landfills. You can take this a step further when you reclaim materials from a deconstruction site. If you’re building or deconstructing a home or business, consider buying or selling materials to use again.

PlanetReuse connects buyers and sellers to materials for repurposing from deconstruction projects. You can build a home or business with reprocessed items from top to bottom. The PlanetReuse Marketplace features links to roofing materials, ceiling fans, wooden beams, lighting, molding, siding, windows, carpet tiles, and pine flooring. There are kitchen cabinets, bathroom sinks and various types of tables waiting to be recycled. For treasure hunters, stained glass windows, vintage clawfoot bathtubs, and antique sconces are yours for the salvaging. Moreover, if you’re interested in redoing your driveway or garden, you can use reclaimed landscaping rock, edging pavers, bricks, cobblestone or granite to create your own work of landscaping art. It’s all available at PlanetReuse, so check out its Marketplace section to see what’s available online.

Habitat for Humanity ReStores are nonprofit home improvement stores and donation centers throughout North America. Its website features a drop-down menu with filters by zip code and state to find Restores in the U.S. and offers an alternate filter for Canadian Provinces. Not only can you buy new and gently used furniture, appliances, home goods, and building materials, you can buy items far below retail prices. As an added attraction, proceeds go to build homes in communities in need of aid.

The Building Materials Reuse Association (BMRA) specializes in finding deconstruction or reuse businesses in your area with its business directory of listings and an interactive map. BMRA works to advance the recovery, reuse, and recycling of building materials by reducing resource consumption and landfill waste.

When it comes to interior decorating, you can adorn your home or business with vintage items from antique stores, yard sales or check out Freecycle.org; it’s an organization dedicated solely to recycling free items. Another option is to conduct online searches for reuse centers and resellers in your area. Lastly, if you see a deconstruction project in your area, contact a project representative or community liaison to see what may be available.

To reprocess an old saying, they don’t make things like they used to, so why not reclaim it? With recycling options at your fingertips, you can make your life a re-purposeful one.

~Maureen F. 

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Featured Green Building Home Improvement

Why You Should Consider Installing a Dual-Flush Toliet

American homes are notorious for wasting water. It seems not much thought is given to leaving the water running while brushing your teeth or taking an hour-long shower. Interest in low flow and dual flush toilets is on the rise in the United States, due in part to increased government regulation and the rising cost of water, and there are incentives for making changes in the way we use the toilet. One product set to combat this is the dual-flush toilet. These designs look and act like standard toilets but are able to reduce water consumption by providing the right amount of water for the specific task.

How they work

Standard toilets use siphoning action, a method that employs a siphoning tube, to evacuate waste. A high volume of water entering the toilet bowl when the toilet’s flushed fills the siphon tube and pulls the waste and water down the drain. When air enters the tube, the siphoning action stops. Dual flush toilets employ a larger trapway (the hole at the bottom of the bowl) and a wash-down flushing design that pushes waste down the drain. Because there’s no siphoning action involved, the system needs less water per flush, and the larger diameter trapway makes it easy for waste to exit the bowl. Combined with the savings from using only half-flushes for liquid waste, the dual flush toilet design can save up to 68 percent more water than a conventional low flow toilet [source: How Stuff Works].

Here are a few Pros and Cons for purchasing a duel-flush toilet for your home.

Pros

  • According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 4,000 gallons of water can be saved annually in a residential household that converts to these water-conserving fixtures.
  • Most types of dual flush toilet are designed to use gravity to remove waste through a large trapway, rather than old-fashioned pressure siphoning. The size of the trapway has a bonus effect: it reduces the incidence of clogs.
  • Dual flush toilets aren’t just clever and pretty; those that are high efficiency models are required to flush up to 350 grams of waste.

Cons

  • Some models of dual flush toilets may require professional installation or simply present a frustrating challenge for the DIY enthusiast
  • Many models may leave some residue in the bowl when using the low volume flush option. This means that dual flush toilets in general require more frequent cleaning
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Featured Furnishings Home Improvement

Ceiling Fans Can Help Reduce Your Energy Costs

Everyone who lives in a climate that gets over 80° is interested in reducing energy costs.  Installing a ceiling fan is one way that you can save some money and stay cool in the summer.

Why a ceiling fan

An important tidbit of information to remember is that ceiling fans don’t lower the temperature in the room, they just provide a breeze that can help make you feel up to 5° cooler. However the movement of the air inside the house in the summer may be enough to lower the thermostat a couple degrees, thus saving you a few dollars on your electric bills. Ceiling fans cool you off which will help reduce the temptation to keep lowering the thermostat. It is important to remember to make sure the blades are rotating counter-clockwise for a “cooling” effect.

Where to put a ceiling fan

If you are remodeling your home or having a new home built, don’t forget to order the wiring for a ceiling fan in every room (where you could possibly want one), even if they don’t get installed right away. It is much cheaper to have the rooms wired in the remodel/building stage than after the fact.  It’s a good idea to put a ceiling fan in every room where your family spends a lot of time (kitchen, family room, living room, the den, and of course the bedrooms).

What ceiling fans won’t do

Ceiling fans won’t keep your home cool if you leave them on when you aren’t home.  They don’t cool the air, they just provide you with a breeze that cools you off.  If you leave your fan on in the room when you aren’t there you aren’t saving energy – you’re wasting it!

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Articles Featured Furnishings

What You Should Know About Green Carpeting

At first glance, eco-friendly carpet may seem too good to be true, saving the Earth and having an eco-friendly home, but it isn’t! Eco-friendly carpeting is a great way to help green your home.

Firstly it is very important to understand the differences between green carpets that are currently on the market. Some carpets are made from post-consumer recycled materials, such as plastic water bottles and soda bottles. This is a good choice because it helps keep those materials out of landfills and it allows the carpeting to be recycled at a much later date. It uses less Volatile Organic Compounds or VOCs, leading to a healthier, happier home.

Another option is natural carpets that are made from natural materials. These materials range from wool, seagrass or bamboo. These materials come from resources around the world. On average they have less toxins, are durable, however their prices can be high.

The Pros of Green Carpeting

  • Recycled carpeting helps the environment by keeping waste out of landfills
  • Later on if you choose to replace your recycled carpeting, it can be further recycled unlike traditional carpeting
  • There are fewer VOCs with recycled carpeting, leading to improved air quality in your home and less risk for respiratory problems
  • Natural carpets have lowered in price and due to popularity there are more options to work with
  • Natural carpets are durable and highly stain resistant

The Cons of Green Carpeting

  • Not all recycled carpeting is made with 100% recyclable materials
  • Depending on your location it may be harder to find recyclable carpeting
  • On average natural and recycled carpeting costs more than traditional carpeting since natural carpeting is dependent on its sources and recycled carpeting is a little harder to produce

There are many pros and cons to choosing green carpeting, although most people agree that eco-friendly carpet for the home is the better choice. You will still have to consider your budget and personal preferences when deciding.

Sources: Greenfloors.com (http://www.greenfloors.com/), hgtvremodels.com, (http://www.hgtvremodels.com/interiors/the-benefits-of-recycled-carpet-tiles/index.html)