Improve Your Home and Garden
From the category archives:
Finding a sustainable builder can be a challenge. It’s even tougher to find a builder who’s eager to consider the “human element” of building or renovating your home.
If you’ve ever attempted a “green” remodel, you probably resigned yourself to choosing your battles with your builder. You made concessions because your contractor maybe wasn’t knowledgeable or [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
If you think the top indicator of a clean house is it must smell like a pine tree–or worse–Greg Nicklas of Maid Brigade of Portland would like to clean yours.
Maid Brigade, a national cleaning franchise that’s been in the Portland, OR, area for over 16 years, decided to “go green” in April 2007. “It was [...]
{ 1 comment }
It may happen just before the first frost.
Sitting on your couch in the evening, watching TV, you will suddenly feel the air wash over your toes. That’s no tropical breeze, either. The cold draft causes you to reach for your slippers, turn up the heat, and call a contractor. It’s time for an energy audit.
If [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
While it may not be landscaping season where you live, it is definitely home and garden show season. These mega shows offer consumers a one-stop shopping experience where you can shop and compare without driving all over town, and in some cases all over the state.
Most of the time these homeshows feature show gardens in [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Timber frame homes are grand mansions for movie stars and cowboy millionaires. They require a Montana-sized backyard and a NASA–sized budget, right?
If you really believe that, you should meet Rick Stockmann of Specialty Built Construction, Salem, OR. He doesn’t live in Montana, or work for NASA, and he isn’t interested in building castles only for [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Of all the baby steps you can take toward a greener lifestyle, this is one of my favorites: Never, ever use Styrofoam.
Much like plastic, Styrofoam never biodegrades or breaks down. But unlike most plastics, Styrofoam is rarely ever recycled. It can be done, but it’s difficult and I’ve yet to come across a facility that [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Looking at the images of Haiti’s earthquake and the devastation that followed was a wake up call for me. It’s hard to stay worried about the surcharges on your cell phone bill while you watch a terrified but unwavering husband wait outside the rubble of his home for days to see if his wife will [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Ever stop to think about what it means to throw something away?
Where is “away”?
Just because you throw it away from where you are, does that mean it’s gone?
What if there were no weekly garbage pick up? If we were responsible for our own waste disposal, would the average American family still throw out more than [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
LED lighting is the latest bright idea in your local home improvement store. LED light manufacturers tout advantages like energy efficiency and environmentally responsible engineering. A few even insist that their product will last a lifetime.
If you’re thinking, “So what’s the catch?” then good for you. As with most new technologies, LED fixtures have some [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Millions of people are on the path to a greener lifestyle. It doesn’t matter where you are along your journey; the important thing is to keep taking steps forward… even baby steps count!
What’s a green baby step? Changing out your light bulbs for CFLs, planting a tree, grabbing a sweatshirt instead of cranking up the [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Green Building is growing in popularity, but the industry still faces plenty of challenges… mainly finding cost-effective solutions to energy efficiency and our dwindling natural resources. But new innovations in technology are creating options, and here’s one to watch: structural insulated panels.
Hailed as one of the leading 21st century green building materials, SIPs conserve more [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Imagine not having to turn on lights during the daytime and moonlit evenings.
When you think about improving your home’s energy efficiency or picking a home improvement project to get you through the winter doldrums, your initial thought may be to choose a big project, such as installing new windows and doors, replacing all the old [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
“Love the home you’re in,” is the latest “homeowner trend.”
Slow real estate sales of existing homes and frozen new home construction influence many families to upgrade or add on rather than buy new. Now that we’ve likely seen the worst of the downturn, homeowners may see what a smart choice their remodel was – [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
I never realized how passionate I am about funky socks until they inadvertently became a popular subject in a photographic experiment of mine. The object was to take a self-portrait every day for one year. Several times I heard friends describe it as a self-centered venture, but for me it was a project of self-discovery. [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
By now, most of us are aware that chemical lawn treatments are bad for our health and for the environment. But the importance of sustainable landscaping goes deeper than what we apply to our shrubs, gardens, and lawn. What you see when you look out your windows is as much a part of your home [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
As the East Coast digs out from under The Great 2009 Blizzard; it’s a great wake-up call for the rest of us to plan for weather extremes. Improving the energy efficiency of our homes saves money on heating bills and keeps us warmer and more comfortable indoors. During the winter months, it’s easy to see [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Looking for a way to make the upcoming holiday festivities more sustainable? Whether it’s a quiet family Christmas dinner at home or a big New Year’s Eve party, a new crop of organic wines will give you more reasons to celebrate.
When you look at the health benefits of a glass of wine, it’s easy [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
In a $2 million beachfront home on Oahu, a meticulously redesigned, nautical-themed home remodel was underway. Huge wooden beams were brought in from the mainland to complete the fresh, open-air appeal of this luxurious island getaway. The homeowner was thrilled to see his vision become a reality.
When the remodel was finished, he moved [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Heat, light, food, and good health-amenities that none of us can do without. Unfortunately, the meteoric rise in cost for all four over the last 10 years shows no sign of slowing anytime soon. But you can fight back. As a homeowner, you can reduce your expenditures on all four by retrofitting your home with [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
