FSBO Jane

This quick tip of mine is not my way of saying get rid of your air-conditioning unit altogether, turn on your fans, open your windows, strip down to your underwear, sweat to stay cool and live with it! Oh, and eat popsicles. No, we live in a society where using a/c is totally acceptable, probable and expected. Even the greenest, energy-saving leaders use air conditioning in their homes.

So when I say turn off the a/c, I mean turn it off while you’re not home. That’s a good place to start. When no one is home in your house (this only works for people without pets), set your programmable thermostat (a smart purchase) to turn off once you leave the house and to turn back on before you get home. If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, write yourself a reminder to turn it off manually before you leave. It won’t take long for your house to cool off once you return home and turn the a/c back on.

To take it one step further, this article from The Daily Green suggests you turn your thermostat off 10 minutes before you leave the house or five minutes before you get out of your car. This allows you to still enjoy a cool atmosphere that will not heat up while you remain indoors, and it’ll save more than 24 hours of a/c usage per year! Just a few minutes without a/c usage really add up to energy savings.

If you live in the Chicagoland area, this post is especially for you. Even if you don’t, the beauty of the Internet is that you can globally witness an area attraction without traveling. This post is about my recent experience at the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago.

Recently, on a long, adventurous walk to find the Space Center, halfway down the long corridor that displayed all of the planets in our solar system, I found myself staring out a window at a house. Literally, this house was just resting right on the museum’s grounds and looked as if someone lived there. Patio furniture was set up on a patio and deck, trees surrounded the house and even a garage was open and displayed a canoe hanging on the wall and a bike. I was intrigued.

As it turns out, this house is actually an exhibit called Smart Home: Green & Wired. It is a fully-functioning, eco-friendly home, winning the title as Chicago’s greenest home. Midwest Living created the home to show people how they can live luxuriously and beautifully while using the least amount of energy and minimizing maintenance. What kind of rooms are in the house? A master suite that looks more like a vacationing retreat, a home office, a nursery, a kitchen, a family room with a fireplace, a rooftop garden and more are all included! Everything is made out of sustainable materials and smart technology, and the house itself is modular home construction, which the tours talks about in detail. For $10, you can tour the home and find out all kinds of useful tips on how you can green up your home! Even my niece and nephew enjoyed touring what they referred to as the “pretty and really clean” house.

I don’t talk about green living as much as I should, since its popularity seems to be soaring. And rightly so! Instead of preaching anymore, I’ll turn you to the Buy Owner Blog’s Green Living articles. They’ve been writing these for years and can help you out with any green living question you have! This is where I go for all my green living tips and ideas, which are sure to increase after viewing this incredible exhibit at MSI.

You should know by now that I like to share links with you of homes that I find unique, inspirational, horrific, interesting or just anything out of the norm.

Today, I am sharing this article from TheDailyGreen.com that provides images and descriptions of six awe-inspiring green homes. Not only are these homes as eco-friendly as they come, using materials like discarded airplane parts, but they are sleek and stylish! I wouldn’t mind owning one myself.

The images range from one house that is designed to follow the curves of the slope it resides on in California, made with locally sourced pine, to a two-story square glass house in Ecuador. All of the houses are built to allow natural sunlight and breezes to fill the interior, making them seem like one with nature. It helps that each of these uniquely designed homes is surrounded with phenomenal scenery. One home even incorporates a rooftop garden, which I would do in a flash if I had a flat roof.

To read the whole article and view pictures of this inspiring architectural collection, click here.

Does the rainy season get you down? This spring, allow the rain to work to your advantage! Not only can rain renew you green grass and blooming flowers now, but it can also be stored and used later in the summer when drought season arrives! Rather than waste money and natural resources on a sprinkling system, why not use extra rain water that would otherwise go to waste?

That is the though process behind UseTheRain.com, a small company that provides rainwater harvesting systems to homes and businesses. By using their products, people can keep gardens thriving for as long as possible, recycle water and live more eco-friendly, and save money by reducing water usage!

Check them out here. If nothing else, it’s an interesting idea to read about.

Though real estate can be a frustrating topic, especially during a difficult economic time, sometimes we just need to clear our heads and remind ourselves what is so valuable about having your own place to live in.

Real estate isn’t just buying, selling, investing and making money. It’s choosing a place to call home; it’s modeling a room made of four walls into a personal retreat; it’s standing out from all the other homes around you.

To remind you how inspiring a home can be, check out this home in Portugal. It features a home built in 1974, constructed between four massive boulders. Now, it’s considered one of the top “green” homes, made solely of natural products (stone) and is considered a tourist hotspot. I find this inspiring!

Are there homes that you’ve seen or heard about that you find inspiring? Share them!

This Saint Patrick’s Day, I’m talking about a different kind of green. Here’s how to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day in a more eco-friendly way!

Party Supplies

Here is a great tip from TheGreenParent.com! When it comes to providing your guests with beverages, make sure they are “served in a reusable glass.” Apply the same thinking to plates and utensils. Sure, it might be easier to buy plastic forks and paper plates/cups, but being environmentally friendly is all about reusing and recycling. Opt for your own glassware (or plastic if you’re worried about breakage). If you insist on using throw-away items for easier cleanup, make sure to recycle. Put out separate bins and label them clearly so your guests know where to dispose of perishables, plastic and glass.

Decorations

One of the authors over at OrganicMania.com tells you to JUST SAY NO to cheap plastic decorations on Saint Patrick’s Day. Based on the low quality of these decorations, chances are you won’t reuse them next year. Don’t throw your money in the trash, and (more importantly) don’t create more waste than you need to. Be kind to the planet. Avoid those plastic leprechauns and shamrocks at the dollar store, no matter how appealing they may look!

Food

On Saint Patrick’s Day, it’s customary to serve corned-beef, ham, cabbage and potatoes. The folks over at AssociatedContent.com suggest you do not throw away any bones if you cook meat. They can be reused “to make soup or beans the next day.” Make sure you get the most out of your meal before disposing of anything. How about a tip for those potatoes? However you want them (mashed, boiled, steamed, etc.) leave the skin on! Again, the key to an eco-friendly Saint Patrick’s Day is to use and reuse. Don’t create any unnecessary waste.

With the hype on green, energy-efficient living only increasing, you should know by now that the government offers a tax credit for homeowners who add green improvements to their houses to cut energy usage and carbon emissions. However, you probably don’t know that there is a company out there willing to pay you via Pay Pal for making green changes to your home. Simple as that.

Does this sound too good to be true? Those were my thoughts, too. The Mother Nature Network posted this article explaining how it works. The organization is called My Emissions Exchange (or MyEex) and all you do is sign up on their website and find out your carbon footprint by entering your electric and heat usage for the last year. Then, MyEex will provide you with tips on how you can reduce this usage, and you can begin reducing your carbon emissions by making changes to your house. Each month, you enter your utility usage, and MyEex tells you exactly how much energy and carbon emissions you are saving. As you save, you earn credits, and MyEex awards these credits with earnings that they pay you through Pay Pal.

How much you earn fluctuates, just like the stock exchange. MyEex.com says that you can expect to earn between $10 and $25 per ton. Since I am still rusty on understanding exactly how it works myself, you can read a lot more information on the website.

The article from the Mother Nature Network that discusses this organization discusses how at first, since you type in your own information, you could make up all the information and earn money for pretending to lower your bills. Now, however, MyEex can easily collect data on a particular home once net metering is installed on the home. The article feels positive that this type of promised earnings will cause more people to get involved in making green improvements to their home.

What are your thoughts?

Don’t waste energy by lighting up your bathroom or a small bedroom with a nightlight. The light remains on all night, wasting energy while you sleep. Even if it’s a motion-activated nightlight, energy is still used through the plug. Instead, try to make one of these eco-friendly, energy-efficient “sun jar” nightlights. It’s basically a mason jar with a solar garden light, a rechargeable battery and an energy-efficient LED lamp. By placing the jar in sun during the day, these materials work together to collect sunlight that will keep the jar glowing throughout the night. It makes a perfect nightlight without having to be plugged in and without using energy!

To read more about the perks of these jars, visit green living ideas.

To read the components and the easy-to-follow directions to make your own sun jar, visit Instructables.

Looking to move to a city that is known for its farmers markets, its clean air supply or its biking paths? The green, eco-friendly way of living is skyrocketing in popularity. According to this article from kiwimagonline.com, the Natural Defense Resources Council began a “Smarter Cities” project that highlights the greenest cities going into 2010! If you are on the verge of moving, and green living is an important aspect to where you live, check out these cities:

• Seattle, for its energy-efficient kits that are distributed to residents and local businesses, in order to lower their emissions.

• San Francisco, for its citywide organic gardens, and its recycling and composting programs.

• Portland, for its green building construction and its effective space plans.

• Oakland, for its green training programs available for residents and businesses, and for its abundance of farmers markets and locally grown food.

• San Jose, for its doubling of green jobs that are available, and for its plans for businesses run on solar power.

• Austin, for its plans to build homes in energy-efficient ways.

• Sacramento, for its widespread use of the best public transportation in the country.

• Boston, for its plans to use alternative fuel resources, and for its popular transportation system.

• Denver, for its successfully implemented water conservation and waste reduction plans.

• Chicago, for its green architecture, its first green skyscraper and its LEED projects that outnumber any other city.

Decide what is most important to you in the green movement and head to that city of choice! Or take these ideas and use them to implement a green living movement in your town or city.

For more information no these cities and their green endeavors, click here.

Earlier this year, I briefly mentioned eco-friendly living and all the handy articles you could find over at the Buy Owner Blog. Well, the folks at Buy Owner have inspired me to do a little green research of my own. The result? Eco-friendly wallpaper!

I’m usually a painter, but if the right kind of wallpaper strikes my fancy, I wouldn’t mind slapping it on the wall and calling it a day. However, I didn’t realize that some wallpaper isn’t actually made from paper at all. A lot of it is made from vinyl, which doesn’t decompose very well. So, if any of you are thinking of wallpapering, I say go for actual paper. Not only is it healthier for the environment, but it is healthier for you, as well. Paper “breathes” more than vinyl, which means it won’t trap as much dust and moisture behind the wall, which in turn creates less mold and allergens.

Because the “green” trend is growing, it is a lot easier to find eco-friendly wallpaper these days. What was once non-existent in stores just a few years ago now has its own section in some places! However, I think the best place to find quality, green wallpaper is online or in a specialty store.

Check out this Web site for some really good buys. On the Product Information page, you’ll see an “eco-friendly wallpaper information” blurb that reassures you that the entire manufacturing process of this wallpaper is environmentally safe. You can view the products online, then visit a showroom (they have so many)! However, you are not located near a showroom, just give them a call. It wouldn’t hurt to ask if the company can accommodate you.

Another great place is Shop4Wallpaper.com, which offers a very green, non-vinyl Solara wallpaper.

You may still have to do a little work to find the right kind of wallpaper for your green abode, but with the trend continuously growing, it won’t be long before your favorite home improvement stores are stocked full of eco-friendly materials.