Navigation

Archive | HOME AND GARDEN

3 Eco-Friendly Ways to Renovate Your Home

August 4, 2020 0

After spending so much time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, you may be among the large portion of homeowners who are itching to renovate their space. However, the construction and remodeling industry can be a wasteful one. Many of the traditional materials or techniques you would use when renovating your home can be harmful to the environment.

Luckily, there are plenty of ways to make your home renovation environmentally-friendly as well as aesthetically-pleasing. Let’s take a look at the eco-friendly ways in which you can renovate your home this year.

Choose Bamboo For Flooring

If you’re taking on a big project like remodeling a room in your home or finishing your basement, which can cost 80% less than buying a bigger home, consider what type of wood you’re choosing for your flooring. Due to rampant industrialization, deforestation is a serious problem around the world and any project that involves using wood can further exacerbate the issue.

Bamboo, however, is durable, moisture-resistant, and grows back faster than wood. There is an abundance of bamboo in the world that you can harvest without destroying its roots. Not only does this make it an environmentally-friendly option, but growing bamboo also requires fewer pesticides. By choosing bamboo, you’ll get chic flooring that is better for your health as well as the health of forests around the world.

Use Low-VOC or VOC-Free Paint

An easy way to be eco-friendly while doing home renovations is to use low-VOC or VOC-free paint for any painting projects you’re doing. Short for volatile organic compounds, VOCs produce molecules that are harmful to the environment as well as to your health. When VOCs are in the interior paint you use, you’ll be negatively affecting your indoor air quality and potentially causing irritation to your eyes and respiratory tract. As acute upper respiratory infections are already among the top five medical diagnoses seen in urgent care centers, you certainly don’t need to impact that bodily system any further.

Other products, like varnishes and disinfectants, also tend to contain VOCs. By being conscious about whether the products and paints you use contain VOCs, you can improve the air quality in your home.

Choose Recycled Metal For Roofing

Replacing your roof is an important home project that will have a lasting effect on your home. You should replace your roof every 30 to 40 years, so the material you choose now will impact your home for decades to come. The material you choose for your roof can also have a long-lasting impact on the environment. One of the most eco-friendly choices for roofing is recycled metal.

By using recycled metal, you can help reduce waste and the need for producing new materials for your roof. Metal roofs have a long life expectancy, meaning that you won’t have to use resources to replace it or repair it frequently. This type of roof can also help keep your home cool because it has reflective properties that bounce the sun’s rays away from the home. This feature is also eco-friendly, as it can help lower your energy usage.

On top of these strategies, there are many other ways you can renovate your home while helping the environment. Whether it’s using recycled materials for your various projects or buying energy-efficient appliances after remodeling your kitchen, there are options for practically every room in the house. All you need to do is put a little forethought into the project and find the right resources to allow your eco-warrior side to shine.

Green Wash: 6 Simple Ways To Make Your Laundry Eco-Friendly

August 3, 2020 2

Most American families use the bulk of their energy consumption doing laundry. This is not a major problem at our home, since there are only three of us. We typically do two loads of laundry a week, but for those of you out there with larger families, there are things you can do to lessen the “load” of your laundry. Read on for my favorite ways to green your laundry.

1. Be Selective
Wash only full loads of laundry and try to wear items like your jeans and jackets more than once. If it isn’t dirty, don’t just toss it in the wash.

2. Wash in Cold
Since cold water generally comes out of the tap at 80°, you can almost always wash items in cold, this will save 75% more energy than hot water.

3. Hang to Dry
I save energy by partially drying our clothing and then hanging them to completely dry. This also prevents me from having to iron, since the clothes almost always dry perfectly wrinkle-free. This is a good thing too since I can not stand to iron. If it is a sunny, warm day take advantage of the sun and wind to dry your clothes.

4. Clean the Lint
Removing the lint from your dryer makes the machine run more efficiently and also prevents it from becoming a fire hazard – clean the lint drawer before every single load.

5. Think Energy Star
When it is time to purchase a new washer or dryer, consider an Energy Star front loader. You can save over $100 a year in energy costs and ours holds much more per cycle and spins faster than a conventional model all while using 1/2 as much water.

6. Get Unplugged
Since washers and dryers are major energy vampires if possible pull the plug when not in use.

How do you green your laundry?

HOW TO: Natural, Organic Control For The Top 4 Pests

July 31, 2020 5

Each year Americans spend over $1 billion on synthetic pesticides and use over 70 million pounds of it. Synthetic pesticides are chemicals used to prevent, destroy, or reduce the severity of pests. Most synthetic pesticides have harmful risks to humans (especially children), animals, beneficial bugs (honeybees, ladybugs, and wasps), and the environment. Synthetic pesticides can vary in their toxicity, with effects such as cancer, respiratory illnesses, headaches, and dizziness. They also disrupt the balance of our environment and leach into our soil and water supply. So what can you do?

Either attract natural predators such as birds, bats, and beneficial bugs to live in your yard or choose a natural pest control remedy. (Remember beneficial bugs eat pest bugs, so you don’t want to kill the beneficial bugs.)

You can attract birds, bats, and beneficial bugs to your yard by providing them with the things that they love. Put out bird feeders, birdbaths, bird and bat houses, and leave parts of your garden untrimmed in the winter for beneficial bugs to live. Plant dill, cosmos, marigolds, coriander, and spearmint to attract beneficial bugs.

If you are looking for natural pest control remedies, try these recipes:

1. Natural Ant Pest Control Recipe
Locate the anthill and sprinkle it with salt. Dust trouble areas with baking soda. 

2. Natural Mosquito Pest Control Recipe
Carry a fabric dryer sheet in your pocket.

3. Natural Ladybug Control Recipe
If you have an infestation in your home, seal the windows and doors completely. Each Ladybug consumes over 100 aphids a day so they are very beneficial.

4. Natural Overall Pest Control Recipe
Mix 1 Tbsp. earth-friendly dishwashing liquid with 1 Tbsp. cooking oil and 1 quart of water in a spray bottle. Spray the trouble areas weekly or as necessary.

How do you naturally control unwanted pests?

4 Low Effort Ways to be More Eco-Friendly

July 30, 2020 0

NOTE FROM SWEET GREENS: This article wasn’t written by me. Thank you for supporting the companies that keep Sweet Greens in business.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

We all want to reduce our carbon footprint on the environment. We need to be resourceful in order to carefully steward this planet we call our home as science continually shows us that much of what we do on a daily basis has a direct and negative impact on the world.

Thankfully, we can all do seemingly small things consistently over time that will add up to do the most good. In this article, we will discuss four ways that you can easily be more eco-friendly:

Eat Meat Less Often
One does not need to become a vegan or live a stringently vegetarian lifestyle to make a difference, but making the choice to eat meat less often can have a significant global impact. It has been calculated that it takes more water to produce a pound of meat than it does to produce an equivalent amount of vegetables or grains. For example, producing a pound of Tofu requires 832 liters of water, while it takes between 6,800 and 9,400 liters to produce the same amount of meat. It also takes about 15 times the amount of fossil fuel to produce meat as it does vegetables or other foods.

All of this additional energy usage contributes to greenhouses gases that cause global warming and other deleterious effects on the planet. If everyone simply cut back on their meat consumption a little, it would have a tremendous impact overall.

Being Responsible with Your Waste
It’s understandably difficult for people to make the time to recycle the things that they no longer want or need. It takes a great deal of time and effort to collect and sort your items, as well as hauling them all the way to the recycling facility. It can be equally time consuming to load these items into your car for disposal in a landfill dumping area, not to mention the negative impact dumps can have on environment.

If you don’t have the time, do some research into alternative waste removal solutions. There are many companies out there who would be happy to pick up your recyclable waste, such as this London based rubbish removal company. They may cost a little more, but it would have a very positive impact on the environment.

Plant Some Trees
If you want to do something that will last for future generations, the best way is to plant a tree. Not only are they beautiful, but they provide our planet with necessary oxygen and are a habitat for the many creatures that depend on them for food and shelter.

In addition, you can save on your cooling bills by strategically planting trees to block against the wind while also using them to provide shade for your house. By doing so, you will require less planetary resources and fossil fuels to cool your home, making your carbon footprint that much smaller.

Change the Way You Travel
Changing your mode of transportation is one of those ways you can make a huge difference, as it is something that you do every day. The effects will be cumulative and will, hopefully, over time, become a habit.

If you drive a car, you can take the bus or subway if there is one in your area. If you do need to drive your car, try to figure out the most direct route you can take. Riding a bicycle is great for your health and for the planet, and when and if you are able, you can try walking to work!

If you want to reduce your impact on the environment, try implementing some of these methods and habits. We all have to do our part, and together, we can help preserve this planet and save our environment for all of our children.

3 Ways To Green Your Personal Care Items

July 30, 2020 2
Earlier in the week, I shared with you, ingredients to avoid when purchasing personal care products. There are also many things you can do to green your personal care regimen. Green Chic touches on many areas, I want to share my favorites with you. I thought these were the simpler things that you can do and the reasons why you should.

1.  Green your Toothbrush + Floss 

50 million pounds of toothbrushes are thrown away annually. Minimize your impact by using a toothbrush that’s not made from virgin plastic. Choose either a toothbrush that is made from 100% recycled #5 plastic-like Recycline’s Preserve Toothbrush or throw less away by using a toothbrush that has a permanent handle and replaceable head, like Eco-Dent. Also, try to choose floss that comes in a recyclable package or compostable flossers. (Which are my son’s favorite, fun to use, and even more fun to put in our composter.)

2. Green your Razor

2 billion, yes that’s billion, disposable razors are thrown away annually. Choose a razor with a reusable handle and changeable heads and if possible choose one with a recyclable handle like Preserve’s Triple Razor. It’s package doubles as a reusable travel case and can be returned for recycling using their postage-paid label.
 
3. Green your Tampons

Typical tampons are made from non-organic cotton and rayon, which is derived from wood pulp in an energy-intensive process that wastes about 2/3 of the wood’s material. The tampons are then bleached with chlorine that releases dioxins. (This is not healthy for us or the environment.) Not to mention many have plastic applicators that are not recyclable. There are companies making organic cotton tampons with recyclable applicators like Natracare or an applicator free product like Seventh Generation. If you are adventurous, you can try reusable products or a Diva Cup.
 
What other ways do you green your personal care products?
 
Older posts Newer posts