Easy Being Green?
Hey folks. How are you doing? I know things have been a bit quiet on the blog front as we ramp up for Green Home ’09. But don’t you worry: The online team will soon head to Port St. Lucie for a week of photo taking and copywriting, and the April online tour will launch sooner than you know.
This seems like the perfect time to introduce myself (hi, I’m Mary, the new HGTV Dream Home and Green Home editor) and strike up some conversations about all things eco-friendly. I actually picked up a book a few weeks back that I’ve been dying to dive into: Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution — and How It Can Renew America by Thomas L. Friedman. What prompted me to buy the book? I was actually reading through a Sky magazine on the flight out to the HGTV Dream Home in Sonoma, and came across an interview with Friedman. He spoke of Earth Technology as American’s next booming industry (if we play our cards right). I was intrigued, but haven’t had a free moment since I bought the book to sit down and dedicate some serious time to it (shhhh, don’t tell anyone). So what do you think? Could green be our saving grace?
Enough about me already. What about you? What books and magazines are you reading? What earth-friendly practices have you incorporated into your everyday life? Got a good green-living tip that’s also cheap and easy? (I just love those.) I would love to hear from you.
Hello Mary! Nice to meet you. My eco-friendly practices are simple…we do not use our heater, even in the winter, as we live in a condo situation on the Oregon coast. It never gets that cold, and if it does, we just add a sweater! We’ve gotten use to leaving the heater off! We also collect every clear plastic item & redeem them locally (we do not have a pick up for recycle)! It’s a bit of a chore collecting & distribuing, but we feel we are doing our part! All our lights in the condo have been replaced with energy saving ones! We try very hard to only buy organic, all-natural, or eco-friendly products! We have also replaced our washing machine with a front loader that only requires one tablespoon detergent, and only uses 14-minute wash cycle!
We have a website that we refer to for an easy to use and comprehensive guide with everything you need to help make your home an ecological and environmental footprint smaller.
What could be better than all this…well, winning the HGTV Greenhouse would be fantastic!! We could continue our practices in a home suitable for green!! Thank you HGTV for this chance!! Marie Miller
Hello again Mary: I forgot to give you my good green-living tip that’s also cheap and easy: Old pantyhose!!
Pantyhose make excellent polishing cloths and are great for shining shoes!
Store onions or flower bulbs in a stocking leg!
Put a bar of soap (or small pieces) into a pantyhose leg and hang on your outside taps..a convenient soap holder!
Given their ability to stretch and strenght, pantyhose and stocking can be used for various tie down applications; e.g the trunk lid of your car.
Use old nylon stockings for cleaning sinks, baths and benchtops without scratching them.
Store rolls of gift wrap, wallpaper, posters in a stocking leg to help protect them from damage.
Store jewelry in a pantyhose leg, tying off between each item to help protect and prevent the pieces from rubbing against each other.
The good news is that with recent changes in womens’ fashion trends, stocking/hosiery consumption is declining, but you can always find old ones at any thrift store!! In fact, thrift stores are great place to find reusuable items to recycle…even clothing!!!
Marie Miller
I like this website and all these shows!
Here’s a tiny tip we use to conserve water: while our shower heats up to a reasonable temperature, we use a pitcher to collect the water that would normally just go down the drain. We then use that water when brushing our teeth, to water indoor plants, etc..
I try to get every single smidgen of use out of something before I toss it. Way too much perfectly useful stuff is buried in landfills. My car is ugly but with good maintenance, gets decent mileage and pollutes little. I shop in thrift stores and also replaced all lightbulbs but don’t have curbside recycling so don’t do much. As part of our post-hurricane-Ike reno, we’re putting in energy saving windows.
Actually I think we should design this like DIY did on Blog Cabin! Do it on the Forun=m area. We started a thread there already.
This is the best green home yet,My husband of 49 year and I dare to dream of retireing in such a lovely home this is a dream come ture for some lucky person, Will keep our fingers crossed Thanks for building such a lovely green home………Doris
i hope my husband & i win we are retired & would love to live in Fl,news beautiful GREEN DREAM-HOME.thank Pat & Gary McSwain
I am hoping to repair & update my 1875 built home out in the country. I used to get the Mother Earth magazine but can’t find it anymore. Is it out of print? Also, how can I best repair my ceinings and walls that are the old plaster with horse hair? I am living on a limited income so cost is a major factor in repairs.
I am hoping to repair & update my 1875 built home out in the country. I used to get the Mother Earth magazine but can’t find it anymore. Is it out of print? Also, how can I best repair my ceilings and walls that are the old plaster with horse hair? I am living on a limited income so cost is a major factor in repairs.
My husband and I would like to thank HGTV for building an enco freindly home for some one to win. I hope it will be my husband and me.
i want this house ok make me win ok i never won anything ok bye and thank you
The suggestions for using old stockings from Marie Miller were great–thank you! Also, this is a wonderful book and I challenge everyone who wants to do what they can to ensure a healthy environment to read this book and pass it on to friends and family. HGTV should be commended for their shows and efforts in this area! Who would not want to win a green home–can’t imagine. All your viewers and bloggers look forward to inspiration and a chance to win.
I’m renting in Tradition and travel almost 2hrs to work back and forth but we love Tradition and dont want to move my husband and two son’s one 15 and a 6yr old we just enjoy the location its worth the sacrifice. We love the area it reminds me when I grew up in my old town upstate and just wish we could afford to have our own home, so my children could enjoy having their own home without having to move so much. So I cant wait for this PSL Green Home to go on Sweepstake I sure will try to Win it. That would be a great blessed 2009 for us!!!!!!
Hi, all, we are installing crystal heat panels and mirrors (for heat) in our home using technology derived from Einstein’s principles and developed in Europe. They’re healthful, use about 50-60% less energy and eliminate mold among other advantages too plentiful to mention. See http://www.futureenergyproducts.com (USA company) or http://www.energyproducts.nl (inventor) for info. Great ideas in the blog, thanks.
Hello Everyone,
It’s time for us all to take a look at how we live and be environmentally responsible. If not for the planet for your own health. Thanks to HGTV many of us are finding our way. I am greatful for all the knowledge and product information that they share. Most of us are retro fitting our existing homes, wouldn’t it be a blessing to win this one.
Happy recycling.
wow, its look ,s great so far ,a new home in fl we live in brooksville fl .cant wait to see them build it .that;s one of the fun parts .we all need to live green , this is a great way to show the world how it done great job H.G,TV
Who wouldn’t want to win this eco-friendly home…My sister has a lot of major health problems and does not own a home so personally I am praying that she wins this home so that she will not only have a home of her own but also one that is great for the environement.
My current green step is to reuse plastic produce bags at the grocery store.
I have 4 reusable shopping bags- all stuffed together, stowed in the hall closet.
When I buy produce, I empty the food in the fridge and put the plastic bags back into my reusable shopping bags.
Next time I am in the store, I pull out my salvaged plastic bags instead of using new ones. Face it – they never really get dirty…
I have 4 reusable bags as well and try to keep them in the car. I reuse my plastic bottles for filtered water. I try not to buy a thing except fresh foods. All that packaging makes me raise an eyebrow. Looking forward to seeing more of this green dream of a home. How happy both my son and I would be!!!!
Our son has “built” our kitchen and many areas of our old home with reclaimed lumber and materials that he tore out of an old building that was being demolished. It was a lot of work, but he has a love of wood and all things natural. It has helped my husband and I to look at things in an entirely different light. There are so many vacant, old buildings or homes that just either decay away or are torn down without reclaiming any of the old materials. Old growth trees are diminishing by the day and the woods that are scrapped in old sites can not be replaced in our lifetime. Time to reconsider either reconstruction and renovation, or saving these old materials from the dump sites. Get to work!
HI MARY’ NICE TO MEET YOU. I HAVE TO BE REAL HONEST WITH YOU IT WASNT INTILL NOW WHEN I REALISE HOW INPORTANT THIS ALL IS, READING ABOUT WHAT YOU SAID AND EVERY ONE ELSE SAID I DO DO SOMETHINGS LIKE I SAVE CLEAR PLASTIC COINTAINERS AND USE THEM FOR THINGS I MAKE SURE THE LIGHTS ARE OUT WHEN IM NOT IN A ROOM . BUT I SEE AFTER READing ALL ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE DO. I SEE I CAN DO ALOT MORE. AND IM GOING TO SEE TO IT THAt my kid and my grand kids do more all so. thanks for makeing me realize all of this.heres hoping for a better life for my grand kids still dreaming about winning the home.
There is so much we can all learn about being green. I used to save everything with the intention of reusing it for something. I ended up with a lot of clutter! When I look at the photos of so many of these beautiful homes, it is clear to me that I no longer find clutter calming. I found a way to let go and that is to donate anything I am not using now to the thrift stores. I also shop there and find great things I can use today! It’s also a fun way to meet nice people – many of whom share the desire to be as green as we can.
Hi Mary, being green is great but how much of what we clean our homes is really a green product and helps our environment. I have seen and used some new cleaners that are 100% enzyme based and effective, and are priced competively with all cleaners on the market. These products are safe for our children and pets and have a positive impact on our environment. I hope you will check out my website and use these cleaners in your next green project. Preserving the world for our children is our responsibility.