Archive for 'Home Improvement'

In these trying economic times, many of us are making-over our homes and offices as cost effectively as possible, and oftentimes this means doing it ourselves.  A great green resource for eco friendly building and home improvement supplies is Green Depot.

On the Web for the past four years, and with a new location in Manhattan, [...]

I happened to declutter 3 closets yesterday (jealous, I know), and was enjoying the mental high…when I ran across Cindy Adams’ column today in that pinnacle of style and culture, the NY Post.

She captured my struggle with pithy wit and humor.
“…Redoing my closet is like draining the Panama Canal with an eyedropper….The big decision is [...]

Water, precious water…don’t waste that H2O surging off your roof and through the gutters of your home.  A roof area of only 1,000 square feet can provide approximately 600 gallons of water during a one inch rainfall.  You can capture that run-off with a rainwater harvesting system like this handsome one from Fiskars.  The unit’s [...]

Klip Biotechnologies’ founder, Joel Klippert, designs and creates these EcoTop countertops from a 50/50 blend of FSC-certified, post consumer recycled paper and renewable bamboo fiber, then binds them with a new 100% water-based system. The result is an innovative, new surface product that promotes sustainability without compromising quality or style.

Klippert, who is the original creator of [...]

Marcal Paper Products is not really a newcomer to the eco movement; as the company states, they’ve been “saving trees since 1950.”

Last month they began to roll-out Small Steps, a new eco friendly line of bath tissue, paper towels, napkins and facial tissue; and they asked us if we’d like to check it out. We [...]

The MetroCabin is designed for people looking for an easy-to-erect, prefabricated small space.

Measuring 16 feet deep by 20 feet wide it’s an ideal size for an artist’s studio, pool house, extra room or a place to store your visiting relatives.

Insulated and constructed with FSC certified wood and toxic-free glues, the cabin has a roomy nine [...]

No word on if this inflatable Chimney Pillow will be covered in the about-to-be-signed economic stimulus package which contains roughly $5 billion in home weatherization assistance. When inflated this funky little heat saving device will reduce the amount of heat lost up a dormant chimney.  If your Uncle Earl forgets the Pillow is installed and [...]

Winter in Wyoming can be a cold, windy season of drifting snow and slippery roads; hence the erection of snow fences to stop drifting snow from piling up on the state’s windswept highways.

Wyoming-based, Centennial Woods harvests Wyoming’s snow fence before it needs to be burned or thrown in a landfill and replaced.  Beginning in 1999 [...]

An emerging player in the booming prefab and green building movement is EcoSteel Building Systems, a residential and commercial builder with a “hybrid approach” to prefab.

EcoSteel, which is headquartered in Park City, Utah, is currently completing five modern prefab steel homes in South Carolina, New Mexico, Utah, Maryland and Massachusetts, while three other projects are [...]

A British study has found that many micro, or home wind turbines, don’t deliver the energy wallop that their manufacturers’ claim.

Home turbines included in this particular study produced less than 5% of a home’s daily energy consumption, versus the 30% that many turbine manufacturers claim is possible. This study was funded by the British Wind [...]

Leading power tool maker, Black and Decker, has seen the light and it’s ‘green.’  B&D has created its Energy Saver Series of energy monitoring tools to help you stop wasting energy and cash.

The Power Monitor (at left above) was the first energy saving gadget released in the Energy Saver product line.  An easy to install [...]

A greener approach to moving has been formed upon a recent relocation of where I hang my heart. The strategy eliminates the heavy dose of boxes, plastic wraps, packaging foam, tissue paper, and tape that more traditional approaches administer to the Earth.

Below are some simple ways to help make your next move, a more eco-friendly [...]

Bask in the intrinsic character and beauty of reclaimed wood flooring while doing your part to conserve our trees and forests.  Deforestation and logging of old growth forests are a threat to ecosystems worldwide, why not do your bit for the planet while imbuing your home or office with the natural richness and warmth reclaimed [...]

If you’ve ever read the label on the back of conventional paint cans, you’ll find a list of ingredients hazardous to your health.  In fact, a Johns Hopkins University study (scroll to Paint via the link) reported that 300 toxic chemicals and 150 carcinogens may be found in oil-based paint.  When paint dries, the liquid [...]

If you want to put a big dent in your bottled water use install a water filtration system on your kitchen tap. This relatively inexpensive, under-counter model from Kenmore is highly rated by Consumer Reports.
Comes without a filter cartridge, ($16.99).
$54.99 @ sears.com