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, everything from eco-minded flooring, paint, tiles, countertops to cleaning supplies and home decor are all (more…)

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 the “in case” clothes…in case I lose five pounds, in case I lose eight pounds, in case I lose 10 … in case this comes back in style, in case this qualifies as vintage and I can sell it, in case I grow taller… in case I break the zipper on a certain other one which is basically the same look but which I like better, in case I’m up for the role of a misfit in a play and must supply my own wardrobe for the audition…

…One of those declutter experts came to my apartment.  They’re all blondes.  If they could pass the test, they’d be real-estate brokers or interior decorators.  And they all sound nasal.  As if they stuffed an angora sweater up a nostril…”

After passing along 5 industrial strength sized bags of stuff to friends and family yesterday, I’ve decided that’s really the best way to free cycle pre-loved goods.  And I vow always to be able to see floor, wall and shelf space in my closets. case closed

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 flat back minimizes “dead space” between the barrel and your home’s exterior.  The kit includes a 58 gallon barrel made of UV treated impact resistant Polyethylene with built-in base, cover, worry-free downspout connector kit and threaded spigot for garden hose attachment.  Easy to install.

$189 @ rain-barrel.com

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 Paperstone recycled paper countertops, markets EcoTop as the most durable, user-friendly green surface material available. (more…)

UDATE: July 28, 2009 - Here’s a Marcal small steps store locator (original post, follows…)

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 said, sure. (more…)

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 foot-nine inches of ceiling height in the front, Andersen doors and windows, and doesn’t require a foundation.  Comes without electric or plumbing, which, along with the front deck, can be added as options.  Two people can assemble the cabin in as little as two or three days.  Base price: $32,500.

more details @ metroshed.com

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 tries to light a fire, the Pillow does shrivel when heated.
in the U.S. @ chimneyballon.us and sold in the U.K. @ nigel’s eco store via: envirogadet

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 Centennial Woods has repurposed more than 5 million feet of beautifully weathered snow fence, saving the state $9 million and preventing 9,000 pounds of CO2 emissions.  The reclaimed fencing is made of sustainably harvested, fast-growing Ponderosa Pine and Lodge Pole Pine from the Rocky Mountains.  Unlike most barn wood or salvaged building boards — it has never been treated, may remain totally natural when reused and emits no harmful off-gasses when it make its way into, or onto, your home.

Centennial’s one hundred percent recycled wood products and vintage hardware have been used in the building of Mountain Living’s Natural Dream Home in Colorado, Southern Living’s Idea House in North Carolina, and is a central design element in Whole Foods Markets and Bass Pro Shops across North America.

contact info:  centennialwoods.com

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 starting — two in California and one in Georgia.  (more…)