Achieve Greener Living for Eco Friendly Houses with 5 Green Remodeling Ideas

If you’re like a lot of people, you’re either thinking about or have decided to do some home remodeling. A home remodeling project is the perfect solution when the housing market is down. It will not only improve your quality of life, but it will increase your house’s value.

Want some ways to make your house even more desirable to buyers? Do some green remodeling projects. Creating eco friendly houses is just what many will be looking for when the market recovers.

Here are 5 projects to make an Eco Friendly House

1. Reclaimed Wood Flooring — Thinking about tearing up your carpets and going with an exposed wood floor? Wood is great for eco friendly houses, but consider reclaimed wood flooring. That is, flooring that comes from other buildings and houses. There are several companies that specialize in connecting homeowners to reclaimed wood flooring.

2. EnergyStar appliances and electronics — When you’re looking at appliances like new dishwashers and refrigerators and fixtures such as shower heads and faucets look for the EnergyStar certification. Energy efficient appliances can save water and money, along with energy. Perfect for all eco friendly houses.

3. Local Flora — Want some plants but don’t have a green thumb? Try supplementing your house with local flora. Local plants will require less care and are more likely to flourish. And they’ll save on water since they are used to your area’s climate.

4. Non-toxic paint finishes — When painting walls or wood, ensure that the paint won’t poison you or the environment. Some paints and finishes can still emit what are known as volatile organic compounds (VOC) even years after they’re applied. For eco friendly houses, find one of the several paints now sold as low-VOC

5. Buy Local — Buying local isn’t just for food. Think about finding local stone, local wood and other materials for your green remodeling project. Since they won’t be transported over long distances, they’ll leave a smaller carbon footprint. You’ll also be investing in your local economy, along with creating eco friendly houses.

7 Ways to Turn Your Electronics into More Eco-Friendly Products

Getting a new gadget to use and play with can make most of us adults feel like kids on Christmas morning. Things like new cell phones, PDAs, laptops and music players can be fun, helpful and, with a little effort and research, great eco-friendly products. Here are seven easy ways you can make sure your electronics are also eco-friendly products.

1. Research Before you Buy
It’s easy to find Energy Star ratings and EPEAT ratings for many eco-friendly products. Those two ratings will let you know how energy efficient a product is and how much of a carbon footprint product’s lifecycle leaves. Consumer Reports has also begun evaluating the environmental impact of electronic products as well, and remains a great resource for evaluating eco-friendly products.

2. Buy Recycled and Recyclable Gadgets

More and more electronics are hitting the market as eco-friendly products, offering recycled materials and materials that were sustainably acquired. But these kinds of gadgets are still hard to find.

3. Recharge Electronics with Renewable Energy
Since most personal electronic equipment like cell phones and notebook computers are eco-friendly products that don’t require much energy to get up and running, they’re perfect candidates for those new small, personal charging devices. You can charge your cell phone with a Hymini mini wind turbine that can latch onto your bike or hang out of your car window. There are also a range of solar powered chargers that will charge cell phones and music players in no time.

4. Avoid Vampire Power
“Vampire power” is the energy that devices use (or waste) when they’re plugged in but not turned on or in use. You can either unplug devices when they’re not in use or buy eco-friendly products like a power strip that can efficiently manage electricity and cut the supply to gadgets that don’t need them.

5. Make Use of all the Gadget’s Features

Have a cell phone that plays music? Great. Then you don’t need to lug around an MP3 player. And if you have eco-friendly products like a cell phone that has an alarm clock and a calculator, then you can get rid of those extra time and space-consuming gadgets, too. Fewer gadgets mean less clutter and less energy used in recharging them.

6. Make Money from Old Gadgets
Check out buy­_­­back programs for electronic equipment. These are recycling programs for electronic equipment that may offer you some cash or credit towards the purchase of a new gadget. The old, electronic eco-friendly products are sent back to be reused in new equipment. And you get compensated. Not a bad deal.

7. Use Gadgets for as Long as You Can
As great way to save money, why not hang on to your electronics for as long as possible? Sure, it’s tempting to take advantage of a great deal on the latest cell phone when your contract is up, ask yourself if you really need the latest thing or if your current eco-friendly products are operating just fine, like your cell phone, PDA or music player, hang onto them and help the earth out by reducing you’re carbon footprint.

Consumers Seek Eco Friendly Products and Services and Strive to Save the Environment

Consumers are increasingly seeking out green companies that offer eco-friendly products and services. Although many companies have been urging government officials to invest in sustainable products for more than 30 years, it has taken just as long for other companies to change their production and suppliers to help the environment as well as their customers.

In a recent survey conducted by Landor Associates, consumers’ interest in eco-friendly brands and sustainable products has reached a new level of awareness. Consumers will now pay more money and go out of their way to support green eco friendly products and services.

Retail stores who support green living and provide eco-friendly products.

• Whole Foods Market sells natural and organic foods.
• Home Depot sells Energy Star appliances, CFL lightbulbs and much more.
• Trader Joe’s sells natural, organic and fair trade food products.

Manufacturers who have changed their production lines and also how they distribute their products include Clorox, Interface Inc., an Atlanta-based carpet-tile manufacturing company, and many others who have either been pressured through government regulations or genuinely want to help the environment.

Not only are manufacturers and retailers changing to become more eco-friendly, but also home-based businesses have found by installing energy-saving lights, air-conditioning, and appliances they are saving on their utility bills. Such businesses can save as much as 30 percent says Energy Star, a government program that helps companies and people save energy.

While you may not think that one energy-efficient CFL lightbulb makes that much difference, over time it can. Think of it in this manner: if you buy a set of 4 incandescent light bulbs every 4 months for about 4 bucks, you are spending twelve dollars a year; however, if you buy 2 CFL bulbs for four dollars and they last you two years (backed with a guarantee), you just saved six dollars. In additon to the cost of the bulbs, you are also saving on the energy used to power those bulbs because they take less watts to produce the same amount of light. If every business owner saved six dollars a year on bulbs and saved on their energy costs, maybe electric suppliers wouldn’t charge so much, and we would find less dependence on them.

Your business can plan for the future by making small changes over time. Furthermore, if you start now you can further promote yourself by advertising your green profile, which will attract more customers to your place of business and ask for your green eco-friendly services before your competitors do.

4 Ways to reduce your carbon footprint whether you work from home or from an office:

• Reduce excessive printed memos, invoices, newsletters and contracts by switching to electronic communications. Use such applications as Google Documents, Microsoft Outlook or Adobe PDF to send to your clients and employees. If you need to send out a monthly newsletter consider an eMail marketing service such as Constant Contact, which is still colorful and can be designed with your company’s logo.Use paper only when clients request it. 
• Opt out of paper bank statements and opt in for online banking, bill payment, and statements. You can print only what you need and many banks keep statements online for six months or more.
• Program your themostat to lower the temperature during times when no one occupies your home or office. You’ll not only save on your utility bill, but also decrease overall need for coal or gas.
• Put timers on lights and any other electric equipment that is not used frequently to cut electricity costs.  

And finally to promote your eco friendly products and services, list your green business on Fair Green Trade. Options are availabe to suit your budget. Fair Green Trade, an eco friendly green directory has a reputation for promoting green businesses and their services with much success.