Make Your Home a Green House by Barbara Neal Varma

Make Your Home a Green House

by Barbara Neal Varma

What does it really mean to "go green?" Sure, you've heard about the efforts to save the planet, and hey, you recycle, right? Bought the bins and everything, thank you, Container Store - but timed showers? Hmmm…

Low-flow toilets? Well… And only one tissue square per use? Great Scott!

Suddenly, you're not so sure it's good to be green. After all, keeping a home and family running requires an endless supply of plastics and pure energy. Right?

Wrong. Today's eco-friendly homes are both easy to manage and big on style. As more and more manufactures realize the profit and worldly good of making environmentally sound home products (furniture, flooring, appliances, wall and window-wear), an increasing number of eco-chic options have become available for today's homeowners.

Paul Polizzotto, noted environmentalist and founder of TV's "The EcoZone Project," a green home makeover show says, "You don't have to compromise anymore to bring green products and great design into your home. There are things available now that weren't available even a year ago."

Things like designer appliances that add sleek lines and added sparkle to your kitchen yet don't waste water or siphon phosphates to drains, streams and beaches. Things like fine furniture made from richly-texture recycled wood and fabrics, and double-thick windows with lovely latticed panes that give your home instant charm and insulation, keeping you warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Clearly, having a green home today does not mean you have to give up convenience or style. Follow these five easy steps to turn your home into a beautiful showcase space, both pleasing to the eye and the Earth.

Photo by Michael Kochmanski

Step One: Save Energy

Switch to compact fluorescent bulbs to illuminate your home. They cost a few dollars more but save up to $200 dollars a year on your electric bill. "CFL's use about 75 percent less energy and last much longer than regular bulbs, meaning homeowners get their investment back in just six months or so," said Polizzotto. "If every home in America changed just one or two light bulbs to fluorescents, it would be like taking a million or more cars off the road."

   Let the sun shine in with well-insulated, double-paned windows that reduce the load on both cooling and heating units in your home. Extra benefit: they reduce the outside noise, too, allowing you to hear yourself think about what great green idea you'd like to try next.

And for those whose homes are being built, there are plenty of energy conservation tricks of the trade including electricity generation systems such as solar energy panels, sky lights, and double-wall insulation - even the orientation of your new home can have an energizing effect, Polizzotto says. "how it sits on the lot; how it takes in light, and what can be done with landscaping to increase shading, or bring in light where needed."

Once construction is complete, look for Energy Star-rated appliances and other products that use less energy to complete your new home.

Step Two: Save Water

Even Divine Design-er Candice Olson of the Home & Garden Television has a timely tip on water conservation: "We have a very sleek, very modern-looking commode with a duel-flush system. Simply press this button for low-flow water pressure, and this button for when you need a bit more water for the job."

Duel-flush toilets are one of many new techno-chic home appliances that are built to work more efficiently and conserve water. Bosch appliances, for example, manufactures a dishwasher with top-rack-only capabilities during the wash cycle to save on water and electricity, and a front-loading washing machine they state uses 60 percent less water than conventional top-loading machines.

Back in the master bath, feel the gentle spray of a low-pressure "rain shower" showerhead in your recycled-tile shower; afterwards, dry off with extra fluffy organic cotton towels that come in every color of the rainbow.

But perhaps the easiest way to save water is to simply not overuse it. "Whenever possible, use a broom instead of a hose," Polizzotto advises. "Sweep it up, don't wash it down. In Southern California, tens of millions of gallons of urban runoff flows into the Santa Monica Bay."

Step Three: Create a Safe, Healthy Interior Design

A fringe benefit of going green in your home is increased safety and health for you and your family. Color your walls with paints that have zero VOCs: volatile organic compounds that vaporize at room temperature. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, this effect, called "off-gassing," has potentially harmful effects including eye, nose, and throat irritations, headaches, and even memory impairment.

For flooring, select formaldehyde-free carpets and when it's time for carpet cleaning, choose a chem-dry product or company that doesn't use a water-based solution. Damp carpets are vulnerable to mold and mildew and the runoff from the used water solution isn't good for sea life, including swimmers.

Look for formaldehyde-free wood cabinets in the kitchen. Formaldehyde can case watery eyes, burning sensations in the eyes and throat, nausea and difficulty breathing.

Help your home help you by installing devices that warn the family of health hazards such as smoke/carbon monoxide detectors and humidity sensors. Bring in effective ventilation equipment, and air and water filters to block the spread of indoor pollutants.

Photo by Michael Kochmanski

Research companies to see if their home products are eco-friendly. One way to tell: they advertise it front and center. Odds are if a company doesn't boost their eco-benefits on their label, they're probably not green on the inside.

Step Four: Protect Natural Resources

For homes being built, look for products such as FSC-certified (Forest Stewardship Council) wood products that come from forests where environmental, social and economic interests and benefits are safeguarded. Opt for "sustainable forest products" i.e., those produced from eco-friendly resources such as wood harvested from responsibly managed forests, or lumber that contains a high percentage of recycled materials.

Recycle, recycle, recycle your cans, plastics and papers. Incorporate reusable products as part of your everyday routine and design scheme. Install gleaming wood floors made from salvaged wood or wood replacements made from polystyrene. Or, for that exotic look, try floor coverings derived from bamboo, a rapidly renewable material. Give your windows the luxury treatment of coverings made from silk or linen; two self-sustaining textiles that the Earth is happy to supply.

And ladies, next time you go to the MAC cosmetics counter, ask about their 'Back to MAC' recycle program. For every six empty MAC containers turned in, you get one free lipstick and they get the material they need to recycle and reuse for further packaging.

MAC is not the only line of cosmetics to go environmental. Both Kiehl and Ecco Bella exchange their customers' empties for a new product, and in many cosmetic brands, the products themselves are made with organic, natural ingredients. Further proof that shopping can be both good for you and good for the environment.

Step Five: Reduce Building's Impact on the Community

"There is an awareness now, an urgency," Polizzotto stresses. "The jury is no longer out on climate change."

Simple changes in your home can have far-reaching effect on your community. Landscape your property and driveways with products that reduce the effects of storm water runoff, such as permeable pavers. Make sure those alternate modes of transportation are easily accessible: bikes hanging handy in the garage, walking shoes ready to grab for that stroll down to the neighborhood store. Is that a new fuel-efficient hybrid parked in your garage?

In your yard, use products that do not require chemical pesticides or treatments such as plastic lumber and non-toxic insect repellants. In the garden, cultivate native, drought resistant plants and vegetation. Use natural, biodegradable remedies for what ails your garden and to enrich what blooms in the spring.

Use what is good and clean and best for the environment and, behold, your home is a natural beauty. Your neighbors will "go green," too -- with envy.