Eco Friendly House And Garden

These days, can you just pick a chair you like the look of?

Of course you can, but do you want to? I mean, what is the history of that chair? Is buying it going against some of your principles? Have you been paying to NOT buy that chair – and then buying it anyway?

I mean where your chair comes from, what it is made of, who made it and how it was made are all important ethical and environmental issues – as well as how that chair got to your store, how it is held together, and what will happen when you don’t want it anymore.

And is it even safe to use?

If you donate to or fundraise for wildlife, humanitarian or environmental charities you should consider these questions in detail – otherwise you could be causing the very problems your charities are trying to prevent.

By not thinking about the direct and knock-on effects of what you choose to buy – and therefore endorse – you are not only wasting your time and money – you are helping to destroy the very things you believe in.

Does that chair look better in your home that that tiger did in a jungle?

If you could actually see that painted chair off-gassing volitile chemicals in your nursery – would you still want it in your home?

The above examples just tell you what actually does happen in all these cases – but just because you can’t see it at the time – it doesn’t mean you can ignore it.

Study The Facts:
It is very easy for all of us to just carry on as ‘normal’ and buy whatever we want when we want to – and that may still be true for food and medicines – as these are human essentials and people aren’t willing to change that much.

But buying non-essentials like chairs and other furniture and nik naks should really be considered in a lot more detail as you have a clear choice about what you do and don’t buy. And when you buy anything – you are saying to the manufacturers that you agree with, or at least are not bothered by, what they are doing.

If you buy non-FSC wooden furniture you are saying that you don’t mind if rainforests are destroyed along with the animals and plants living in them. You are paying them to destroy an ecosystem.

If you buy non-organic or high VOC paints and adhesives in your chairs you are saying that you don’t mind if animals as well as our own air and waterways are slightly polluted with potentially dangerous or toxic chemicals. You are paying to risk the lives of both people and animals – and ultimately our food crops and drinking water.

photo credit: PINTOY®

The Grey Areas:
Of course, there are always a whole range of factors that go into making a chair, and what you feel strongly about – but say the perfect eco and human friendly chair = 10 points.

Even if everyone only settled on a midway chair or 5 points that is still going to make a huge difference to our planet as well as the lives of individuals. Ironically it is probably schools, nurseries and offices which buy all the worst furniture as the wholesale companies they use for practicality don’t often have such green credentials.

So the very place where young people play and eat, and the very places where adults spend most of the days are causing a huge dent in this 5 point average life.

I know price and ease of purchase are huge factors working against you buying the best eco products – but it isn’t just your choice of chair you are making – you are helping to choose the future, your family’s future.

So next time you really need a new chair – think about what else what you could be losing in exchange.

Eco thinking isn’t just about turning lights off and shopping locally.

Sometimes it’s the thoughts and actions of the ordinary person that can change things down the line – creating a better result for many people.

For example, there is a new project underway in the US with carpenter Carter Oosterhouse from HGTV, who is working alongside several organisations looking to create ‘healthier’ homes for allergy sufferers; called the Build Smart – Breathe Easier project.

We aren’t just talking about avoiding air fresheners and not keeping shedding pets here – they are designing the whole home and all its materials to reduce the chances of triggering reactions in asthma sufferers.

Why Now?

Well, asthma is a very serious disease - with over 24 million Americans currently suffering.

Statistics show that 11 people a DAY die from asthma and around a quarter of all emergency room admissions a year are from asthma-related incidents.

So why wouldn’t you want to reduce your chances of suffering from an attack?

And with technology, materials and medicine all advancing at a rapid pace – it seems about right to start considering our health when we create new homes – rather than just the environment or our bank balance!

Ultimately though - the 3 are closely linked.

The Larger Picture:

As with all things eco, it isn’t just 1 thing that can make a difference – it leads to a change in a lot of things, and that can only be good.

For example, by keeping yourself healthy at home, you are reducing the medical resources need to keep you healthy; less medication, less days off work or school, less days at the doctors, less time in ER and more time with your family!

So by thinking a bit harder about the requirements of a low allergy home – even if there are costs involved – could actually save an awful lot of othr people resources, other peoples and your own time as well as the drain on the planet with medications, equipment and resulting waste.

To find out more - why not click on their video below……

There are no excuses at all for not creating a haven for wildlife where you live – even if you are high rise!

Every spare flower can help species to feed and survive – as you are helping to create ‘wildlife corridors’ between parks and gardens along the way. Helping our wildlife to get around and multiply!

And by creating this safe haven – you could actually get a certificate to prove you are playing your part in helping garden wildlife.

How To Get Involved:
Ideally you will find a way to feed, water and protect any birds, reptiles or mammals that you can as well as offering then a place to raise their young – depending on your circumstances.

Not everyone needs to find a home for brown bears or wetland birds – even a tiny home for a sparrow or overwintering butterflies can be a perfect wildlife ‘garden’.

Obviously – the more land you have – the more you can offer to help; but every live creature needs a home – and you can offer that wherever you live.

I have feeders hanging outside my apartment window where I regularly see blue tits, great tits, sparrows and squirrels, as well as collared doves and wood pidgeons on the ground eating the fallen crumbs – I’ve even had sparrowhawks here because of this – but they weren’t here for the peanuts!

Visit Garden for Wildlife with Scotts to get some great information to help you get started – as well as information on native plants that will encourage and benefit local species to your garden, yard or window box!

Get Certified!
Scotts are hoping to get 150,000 wildlife habitats created in a massive drive to improve the choices that animals have to move around our urban areas and open spaces.

There are so many roads and buildings in some places that wildlife just can’t get established, Also migrating animals find it hard to pass through some areas due to the lack of essential foods or safe places to rest or sleep.

So why not find out how you could create a feeding station for migrating insects and birds; or how you could create a breeding pond for amphibians; a winter sleepover for cold mammals; or a one night stop-over spot for a wandering anything!

Even if you can only offer 1 of the required actions – you can still apply and recieve great tips about progressing on to full certification – as well as a free magazine subscription!

Or – why not work with a friend who has more space to get certified together – maybe even your whole class – or school!

The more people and places that get involved – the better the results will be in your town and in your state – as well as the whole country.

Animals don’t always just live in one place the whole year – they travel. So if people in the place where these animals live in the summer, people in the places they pass through and people in the place where they spend winter all put in a little effort – we can start to make a real difference.

Join In:

Hello, and welcome to my short post about what we think about the 'eco perfect house'.

The personal limitations that we think about when we think of the perfect eco friendly house don't seem so difficult to achieve – like less meat, less energy, more local products and make do and mend.  It all makes perfect sense in a non-selfish energy-efficient sustainable way – but does it all add up to anything worth achieving?

Of course, we know that the world is fast running out of certain community 'ingredients' like oil, land, food etc – but are individuals willing to make that trade-off?

My Home:

Let's start with a few things about myself and my eco friendly home.  Firstly – let's get the big things out the way; I live in a one bedroom flat as there is only the one of me, and I don't have a car as I can walk, cycle or use public transport to get where I need to be for work and family.

I eat very little meat, prepare many meals in a batch as well as only shopping locally and growing a small amount of my own food on my allotment.

I don't buy any unnecessary electrical goods, clothes, consumer goods or furniture, and I only have a shower.  I don't have central heating or air conditioning as my flat is south-facing so I can regulate it's temperature as necessary.

All sounds good so far – doesn't it.  However, all is not as it seems……

My Life:

I forgot to mention that I only moved into the flat because I couldn't afford anything else – and it is right by a noisy train station in the middle of town where I hear sirens and alarms every day. 

photo credit: anemoneprojectors

It is the same reason why I don't have a car, don't eat meat and why I grow my own vegetables, create meals in batches, don't buy anything I don't need and why I don't have central  heating or air conditioning.

And for the sake of more money – I would change it all.

I know that we are all too demanding these days, and that we need to stop consuming on such a large scale.  I know that we should all live in a property that is perfectly suited to our needs without extra rooms or swimming pools – but if we had the money – I bet we all would!

I know that I would definately move into a home with a garden – as my allotment is miles away from my home as there are so few spaces anywhere else.  I would also start eating more meat and replace all my worn out, home-repaired clothes that I have hung on to for so long.

I would fit central heating into that property if it didn't already have it, and would enjoy more hot and deep baths!

Your Life:

Now to you.  Did you like my eco lifestyle before you thought about what it actually means to live that way?  Would you trade down to what should be your perfect eco home?  Or if you had more money – would you trade up to all the mod cons that we come to expect these days?

Obviously I wouldn't go leaving everything on full power all the time, heating empty rooms, waste food or clothes and wash one item of clothing on it's own - but the very act of living in a larger home would create more demand on the world.

I bet if you could – you would go one more: why not buy a huge home with walk-in wardrobes, sunken baths, indoor heated pools, and a cinema room and a tennis court – and why not a few horses, a yacht and a few trendy cars.

I bet if you won the lottery – most of you would upgrade a few things, even though you know the eco consequences. 

All these things aren't eco friendly – but it is what we expect these days.

Surely if you were rich, you wouldn't choose to live in a tiny flat and give up your car? 

photo credit: Udo Schröter

Shouldn't being eco friendly be easier than not being green?

Why do so many eco friendly alternatives mean 'putting yourself out' or taking longer to get things done?  When you are a busy mum or are running a tight business – green alternatives should be making your life easier – not slowing you down!

So, I have found a few great eco inventions that could make being eco aware that much easier – and hopefully save you time and money along the way…..

Whole House Switch Off:
Why waste time checking all your plugs and appliances are switched off before leaving the house – because if you are in a hurry – you might not be so thorough!

By wiring up your whole home – or just parts of it – to 1 single 'OFF' switch your life couldn't be easier!  Obviously it won't be linked up to your fridge and freezer, or anything else you need to leave on – but all the lights, TV's and other appliances will switch off until you return home!  Easy.

Power Aware Cord:
If you don't fancy a giant one off switch, then maybe glowing power cables can make it easier to see if things are switched off before you go to bed rather than climbing behind units and cabinets to check the wall switch.

Strida 3 Folding Bike:
Rather than having to carry around your bike seat, take spare clothes to work or wipe oil off your trouser leg – you could ride a tiny folding bike instead!  Gone are the days when a bike was in 1 piece and you needed to worry about leaving it outside.  No more riding in the rain or catching your shin on the pedals when pushing your bike into the garage! 

This neat little bike folds up so easily and is so portable that you have nothing preventing you cycling to work or town knowing that you can still pop inot the shops – or catch a bus if it starts raining!  And they are thinking of making an even smaller, lighter version too….

Eco Friendly Room Dividers:
There are several different eco friendly room dividers on the market that can change the appearance and layout of a room without resorting to stud walls, re-decorating or demolition. 

Either made or felt, wood, eco-friendly plastics or strengthened cardboard and designed in a modular fashion – these 'walls' could be made, shaped or moved to suit your needs – without great cost.  And coming in a variety of colours – they could act as temporary 'wall paper' as well then changed with the seasons being used again and again over time.

Just keep them coming…. We need more like these……

Using aprons and covers for furniture isn't just something nans and great aunties do – it's eco thinking!

We all know that the key to eco friendly living is making good things last longer – rather than throwing away cheap items and buying new ones instead.

And what better way to protect something valuable or just something that you don't want to have to replace that often, than using a protective cover when necessary.

I don't mean covering your carpet in plastic sheeting all year and not letting anyone sit on your furniture – I am just thinking of the simple ways to make your household items last that little bit longer - by reducing waste, and saving you some money in the long run too.

Protect Your Belongings.

Needless to say that when you go out in the mud and rain – you don't put on your Sunday best!  When painting your home I'm sure there won't be a silk blouse or sparkly evening dress anywhere in sight.

It's because you don't want to ruin something unnecessarily when you could have worn something less valuable – or something already dirty instead.  

So why, when you cook your favourite Mexican or Italian dish, don't you protect your everyday clothes?  No doubt you are entertaining friends or have just got in from work – so why aren't your 'nice' clothes worth protecting to?

photo credit: Leszek.Leszczynski

A simple apron – whether practical or indeed comical – could stop fat, dressings and sauces splashing onto your everyday clothes.  You might even make it into 'your thing' – like 'Sarah always has some comedy apron on' – no doubt leading up to whole host of crazy birthday presents from your friends and guests! 

You might be thinking – "but I can just wash the food off" and you are completely right – but at what cost?

Wash, Scrub & Tumble:

Most outer clothes can be washed less frequently than other garments – for example how many times do your socks get washed in relation to your overcoat?

But washing comes at an environmental cost, as do the washing chemicals for heavy staining, the hot water and the subsequent spinning and drying.  So why would you want to create more work for your household appliances and add to your growing budget?

An apron can be used day after day without excessive washing – basically you expect to have a dirty apron – that's what they are for!

And you clothes stay cleaner for longer, can be worn more than just the once in most instances and you will use less energy and resources per cooking experience.

And it's not just aprons that protect your clothes of course; so raincoats, Wellington boots, coveralls, and well worn clothing that you kept hold of over the years can all be used when things are going to get dirty fast!

Protect Your Home:

And it's not just your clothes that need protecting – your furniture and fittings could do with a little help too.

Rather than replace the whole entrance carpet due to the patch of muddy wetness near the door – why not buy a nice rug that covers that area and create a shoe storage area that will keep the mess contained.  That way you only need clean, wash or replace that rug instead of the whole downstairs!

Similarly, make a cover for the footstool that can be cleaned seperately, use a table cloth, tea and plate coasters as well as investing in a pair of slippers or house shoes for everyone to keep the whole place in perfect condition.

Other kitchen tips might include things to reduce the amount of cleaning you need to do and so reduce the chemicals needed.  For example invest in proper microwave containers to prevent explosive splashes up the interior and buy smaller oven trays as and when so that you don't have to clean a whole tray to cook 3 sausages or a few leeks!

And when you choose replacement fittings, appliances and paints, etc – look for the one you like that might last a bit longer depending on your families needs.  For example, darker wall colors in homes where hallways are narrow, so that things that bang against the walls don't leave obvious marks, and coarser darker carpets and rugs in home with back gardens that lead straight indoors – especially where dogs and cats are involved, as I know they don't wipe their feet!

Even internal doorways can become worn down through repeated use, so maybe consider rugs there too, and moving the furniture around always keeps the carpets fresh in a room where a 'pathway' seems to form – like around your bed or along the hallway between dining room and kitchen or wherever.

By protecting the small part of the whole item that will bear the brunt of your actions – you can make the whole item last longer, and you will soon see the eco (and financial) gains from your actions.

A Real Guide To Sustainable Living – they say, and they mean business. 

This isn’t a book that you can take lightly – it is full of maths and equations to justify their suggestions; and some things really need explaining as they turn common eco conceptions on their head!

Basically this book explains how we should be approaching our lives if we truly want to live an eco friendly lifestyle – or to live ecologically within our ‘allotted’ means.  By ‘allotted’ they mean if we are only to use our fair share of worldly resources rather than just putting a green angle onto everything we do.

And to prove it, they open up with a look at the widely held beliefs of the world without even considering the eco consequences to see what we are expecting the Earth to do for us as we are today.  From there, they try to whittle us down to what the Earth can actually do for us.

The Book Itself:
The book is something you need to read with a notepad and calculator on one side and some strong coffee on the other!

I have a basic grasp of ‘footprints’, ‘embodied energy’ and the worlds finite resources – but the maths part was a bit too much to keep on top of piled thick, as it was, in the body of the text.

They did have a huge number of very easy to understand charts and tables of everything they were talking about (which helped make up for skipping all the equations) and I didn’t loose the thread of their arguments by not reading all the numbers and MJ’s etc.

The Authors help to explain why some of the things that we assume would be eco friendly turn out not to be based on a bigger picture – for example walking isn’t that ecologically sensible if you are getting all your energy (ie eating) processed cheeseburgers from a store.  Basically, the energy chain of land use, transport, chemicals, packaging, heating, storing and selling the burgers in the first place is so huge that the ‘eco’ effort of walking fuelled by burgers wasn’t really ‘saving the planet’.

photo credit: Bob B. Brown

Similarly a 20 minute shower in an eco friendly low-water shower still uses nearly twice the amount of water than a 5 minute shower in an old-style water-intensive shower.  Further more, sharing a bath between 2 people uses around the same water per person as that same eco-friendly – but long – shower.

They use compelling reasoning to hold this all together as well as extensive research data from around the globe.  And even though a lot of their arguments offer very simple solutions to the World’s ecological problems – much is still recommending a somewhat ‘alternative’ lifestyle, where you use hemp for clothes, buy less things, stay ‘behind the times’, somewhat, live in smaller houses with the lights off and share things with other people rather than buying your own.

Now I know that this will all reduce our eco footprints and keep our emissions down and the world turning – but these aren’t the eco friendly living tips that people want to hear.  The people that do want to hear this are probably already aware of most of their discussions already.

I totally agree that our actions are sometimes more important that the eco technology that is on offer (like flushing the toilet less times will save more water than flushing more times with a low-flush mechanism, and choosing a small basic home will be better in terms of resources than living in an enormous eco friendly house) but I think that it is preaching to the converted.

Result: 3/5:
Even if my not-so-eco-friendly friends could have forced themselves to have read this entire book in the first place, I don’t think they would be heeding much of it’s advice.

I think it is a great text-book style book and can really help to compare ecological differences between common activities and products, but I don’t think it will change peoples attitudes in the style in which it is written. 

Although I really enjoyed several section of this book, I noticed a flaw.  They spend so long working out the embodied energy (EE) of a product (or the products and activities that went into making the parts for that oringinal product) that they sometimes considered slightly different things as important in each case.

For example, in the only section of the book that I had a really good knowledge of (pets) they managed to completely write off the transport angle for the tinned food in their comparison of dog and cat food (even though they went into shoe leather replacement in the walking vrs driving section).  They say that the eco effect of tinned packaging was negligible because we are encourage to recycle tins!  Well, how on earth do they intend to get these tins to those 76.5 million hungry cats worldwide without making an ecological impact?

And secondly their argument included showing that a cat food with less meat content made less of an impact (obvious when you consider the land used for beef and the land used to grow the winter food for beef as well) – however, cats that are fed on low amounts of meat will be more likely to become ill, get dry skin, loose hair, get gum disease etc (as not enough meat or too much vegetable matter isn’t good for a cat).  As a result – you will be using your vet more often or maybe adding shampoos and supplements to your cat to ‘cover up’ all these new problems.

Now I’m sure that these cosmetics and medicines (and trips to the vets) have just as much of an impact as adding the few extra percents of meat in their food in the first place.  High quality dried pet food are fed in smaller quantities as other foods, and are known to reduce these health (and aesthetic) problems – as well as coming in bulk paper packaging instead of heavy, bulky tins filled with 80% water!

They also said that a well handled hamster will be happy to live on it’s own – where infact the most common type of hamster (the Syrian hamster) will ONLY ever live on it’s own.  If you put 2 in the same cage, they will no doubt fight to the death within just a few days!

So now, can I really believe all the other comparisons they made in areas that I know little about?

ISBN: 978-0-500-28790-3

Take inspiration from the tricks of historical homes – and reduce your impact!

If you have ever visited a historic house that retains a certain amount of it's true furnishing – then you could be inspired to try the same.

Now obviously, many historic houses have things that any modern eco friendly home should avoid – like extensive glazing on northern facing walls, trophy animal heads from overseas and dinner parties with 11 courses – but they also have some great ideas that you might need to investigate a little further to see the eco benefits to.

One recent idea that took my fancy was a room decorated with curtains instead of wall paper.  Now at first glance it seemed totally overwhelming and somewhat odd – but on speaking to the room steward it all made sense.

Eco Friendly Furnishings:
It turns out that this 'curtain' room was infact a money saving (and personal preservation) idea that incorporated great eco design – stolen from Norman castles and Tudor mansions!

Now, stone walls were no fun – and were very cold infact – so people from history used to create great tapestries that they would hang on the walls of their castles to keep the heat in!  Yes, these tapestries were beautiful in their own right and may well have portrayed a great battle or a great hunt – but they were really for stopping the cold.

If you have ever watched period dramas, they were also used to hide 'secret' doors and to create an image of wealth and prosperity!

And – the eco friendly part – could be changed to suit the mood without being destroyed.

Variety Is The Spice Of Life:
Say you wanted to change your bedroom design.  You would no doubt have to change the wallpaper, paint over existing walls and even the curtains or blinds would have to go.

Now, say you were able to 'peel off' the inside of your bedroom and keep it somewhere safe until you wanted it again – wouldn't that be a great idea?

Well, that is exactly what these wall 'curtains' allowed the home owner to do.  They wanted lighter, brighter and fun designs for the room in the summer; and maybe heavier, cosy and darker colours in the winter to help keep the place warm through the colder months.

So rather than having to destroy one interior to replace with another – and spend money and resources in the doing – they just got the winter curtains out of the loft and changed them over instead!

An instant change of room could be achieved without wasting any more money or materials.  Great for important meals, important visitors or for added wear and tear if it was a kids room!

photo credit: SimonCMason

Modern Twist:
I know you might look a bit odd in your city apartment if you started hanging curtains in every room, but you could use modern tapestries or other materials to cover large sections of wall and still look 'normal'.

Kids could have their rooms painted in a neutral colour and then have removeable embellishments to suit their fancy – like giant curtains on the window wall that don't just stop at the window's edge but continue to the floor and walls – or curtains they can draw on with washable inks.

Maybe they could have great big removable stickers that they could move around the room as and when they fancied a new scene – or even use wipe-clean pens to draw their own wall designs.

You shouldn't need to destroy a whole interior to change your rooms – and obviously any materials hung over doors and windows (and external walls) can help to reduce heat loss at the same time.

We all like change – just do it responsibly!

Rather than settling for what you have – why not think about getting a new qualification!

Many people have a passion.  A passion that means that they are willing to spend endless hours learning about it regardless of the money or time it takes up of their lives.

Whether it’s a passion that means that they walk miles through the countryside watching out for wildlife, trek to the highest mountains, junp off the highest mountains or swim under the ocean.

We don’t get paid for these passions – we just do them.  But what if there was a way to make that passion pay the bills?

What Is Your Passion?
Regardless of what makes you tick – you can make a career of it.  I mean we all have skills and qualifications from a work perspective to make sure the bills are paid.  And if you work in a shoe shop, you will soon know everything there is to know about feet and insoles – whether you want to or not!

But, have you spent the time to take a course or get qualified in your passion? 

Like watching wildlife? Then think safari tour guide. Like diving?  Then think PADI instructor.  Like children?  Think skills mentor.

photo credit: ReneMT

But you can’t put ’20 years walking in a local woods’ down on your CV for that perfect job.  And ‘always loved kids’ or ‘been abroad before’ don’t count for much either.

So what are you going to do about it?

Think Of A Course!
There are endless amounts of courses out there to harness your passion and turn it into a selling point.  Whether you look online or at a local college, you can find a different course for everything these days.

Whether it is a simple certificate to prove what you already know, a vocational diploma to improve your existing skills or a degree level course to learn something new – it’s out there.

And, this way you will be helping not only yourself and your job prospects – but all the people who will benefit from your new skill.

An added bonus of the online courses is that you can do them whilst abroad.  That way, your days spent volunteering will be further enhanced by your studies at night, making your support twice as effective! 

All this could lead you in whole new direction – hopefully to follow your dreams!

There is a way to save electricity that doesn’t involve any nagging!

Instead of always ‘reminding’ the kids to turn off that light and to not leave the TV on standby; and your partner to stop using the washing machine half empty and to only boil as much water as they need – nip it in the bud!

There is now an easy way to stop extra electricity being used in your home that could reduce your usage by around 10% without anyone even knowing.

They would be helping to save energy and lower your energy costs whether they left the lights on or not!

photo credit: CresySusy<

How’s That?
The standard voltage in the UK is variable – meaning that you regularly get more into your home than you actually need.

The appliances in your home work on a wide range of voltages – and they all have a minimum amount to get them started.  However, they will all keep working as normal with extra voltage – and you won’t even know they are using more electricity than they need!  

So, if they work at a basic minimum – why let them run on more? More electricity costs more money and releases more carbon……

And it would seem that too much electricity running through appliances all the time can actually shorten their ‘lifespan’ to a certain degree – so you will need to replace them more often – which is especially true for lightbulbs.

So, What Can You Do?
Well, why not limit the voltage entering your home to a standard level?

What if you could fit a special meter onto your power supply to make sure that you never got more energy than you actually needed: I mean; would you pay for 30 litres of fuel for your car everyday if you only needed 25? I didn’t think so…..

Therefore, by restricting the voltage that reaches your appliances and lights to around 240v means that they will all still work perfectly – and you won’t be wasting any energy.

And the beautiful thing is that you don’t have to worry about switches, buttons or stand-by – it basically works behind the scenes.  Once fitted it requires no maintenance, upgrades or alterations.  It just keeps saving you energy!

That way – if you do actually manage to convince your kids to switch off their Playstation – you will be saving even more!