Home

Your home is considered your sanctuary, but have you ever thought about how your house impacts the environment? Many environment-conscious individuals are taking steps to reduce emissions, such as walking more and driving less. However, certain items in the home can actually impact the environment just as much as driving a car, if not more. Any home remodels should take the environment into mind, and here are five main ways you can accomplish this task.

Switch Your Appliances

If you are tired of your old dishwasher or washing machine, consider how getting a new one would also be a green move. Modern appliances use less energy and water, which saves on valuable resources. When it comes to refrigerators and ovens, newer versions don’t need the same amount of electricity to run as their older counterparts. This saves money on your electric bill, and it also reduces your family’s carbon footprints.... read more

Today we have a quick guest blog post from Viridian Reclaimed Wood about using recycled wood for home renovation products.  

--

Every year, Americans dump millions of metric tons of wood into landfills, even though the U.S. Forest Service estimates that nearly half of it is perfectly good wood with plenty of life left. In fact, much of it is better than good – many deconstructed old buildings were built with old-growth wood, which is far stronger than what’s being newly harvested. And overseas shipping crates are often made from gorgeous tropical hardwoods that would fetch a premium price as flooring or decking.... read more

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (in which case you are to be congratulated for your minimal carbon footprint), you’ll be aware of the concept of environmental sustainability. Perhaps the most important thing we as individuals can do to promote a healthy environment and contribute to the wellbeing of our planet is to build or modify our homes so that they run in a sustainable manner. The benefits are far reaching. Not only can you be confident you’re doing the right thing by the environment, it’s likely also that you’ll be saving packets of money.

One of the simplest measures you can undertake to create an environmentally sustainable home  is reducing your energy consumption. Switching off lights when you leave the room, installing energy efficient globes, and properly insulating your home can have surprisingly dramatic effects. In the summer months, blocking out sunlight with UV blocking sheeting on windows, and drawing the blinds before the morning sun hits can help reduce the need for air conditioning- notorious for consuming vast amounts of energy. In winter, energy consumption can be greatly reduced by ensuring your windows are properly sealed. The average home loses more than 25% of it’s heat through windows. ... read more

For the average consumer, when we think about "going green", we think about recycling, wasting less, and using green products. These are all helpful steps towards living a more sustainable and environmentally friendly life. Of course, as we all know that truly going green entails many more steps than recycling your milk jugs and egg cartons. Researching energy efficient appliances, buying locally grown and organically processed food, wasting less water—all of these things are wonderful steps towards becoming a better citizen of the planet. That being said, there are many areas of going green that eco-conscious individuals often overlook. 

While cutting waste and recycling items that can be recycled is a wonderful start, we should carefully consider the way in which we dispose of other products as well. Things like cleaners, medications, and other substances with potentially dangerous chemicals must be disposed of or recycled in careful ways. These things, when improperly removed from a home, can pose a serious threat to the water supply and, therefore, all living organisms in an area. ... read more

It won't be too long before the cold blast of winter starts hitting the side of the house. The frosty months are that time of the year when home energy bills can start climbing and cause a strain on family budgets. This is the time to start looking seriously at ways to curb cost of energy. The green movement is a great place to investigate. In efforts to become more ecologically friendly, there is a movement towards what can actually cut some of the energy costs, while saving the environment at the same time. Solar paneling on the roof is no doubt one of the centerpieces of green homes. It permits the rays of the sun to warm up the house and drive heating bills down to the ground. This type of home improvement, however, may be a little bit too radical or too drastic for some homeowners. Not to worry, there are other possibilities.

nstallation serves to keep outside temperatures in the great outdoors. It permits a house to be warm in the winter and cool in the summer, without heavy energy use. If the house is in need of paint job, simply painting the roof white will prevent outdoor heat from being absorbed. Windows can be energy efficient and owners of older homes have noticed a drop in utility bills when modern, more environmentally conscious, windows have been installed. Appliances such as refrigerators that are more than twenty years old have a reputation for draining household energy. Replacing them with models that are designed to conserve electricity really saves the dollars. Energy Star is a joint program of the US Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency. Appliances with an Energy Star approval are designed specifically to conserve energy.... read more