Inside A Green Home and Up your green in 10 steps

The majority of green conversations are about global warming and energy. Although of significant importance, dense energy numbers and global facts can be hard to relate to in the home. Here are 10 steps we can take right now to up our green score.

1. Smart Technolgy

Controls that monitor lights, heating/cooling, and even landscape irrigation can save many dollars. For adding comfort, consider automated window shades and music options. Automation can be as simple or complicated as you want.

2. Lighting

Lighting choices used to be a decision of 60-watt or 40-watt light bulbs. Today with concerns for health, ergonomics, and energy, there are a lot more options on the market shelves

.Above all, change out to LED. They are safer, more energy-efficient, and last longer.

3. Low VOC

When choosing to upgrade or replace, consider carpets, furniture and paints seek out ones that are labeled low VOC or Zero VOC. (The difference is like food quality classified as "natural " or "organic"). That fresh paint smell is the off-gassing of compounds that may not be toxic immediately but compounded over time can lead to short or long-term health effects. Yet, a zero VOC rating is not free of all toxins. See this quote by Wisegeek.com.

"In the United States, a paint product can be referred to as Zero VOC if it has amounts of volatile organic compounds at or below 5 grams per liter of paint. Adding color pigment to Zero VOC paint can increase volatile organic compounds by as much as 10 grams per liter. Zero VOC paint can also contain other potentially harmful compounds; however, even at levels of 10 grams per liter, it is considered a far safer alternative to non-Zero VOC paints."

4. Appliances

Replace or buy with Energy Star ratings.Think about your kitchen habits, and maybe the dishwasher cycle could be setting be on the air dry. How many small countertop appliances stay plugged in?

5. Organize

The joke is on us; if we keep thinking more organizational products and plastic storage boxes will be a solution. Do a weekend hoe out of drawers and cabinets, donate, or sell at a consignment shop. By thinning down, you will know what you have and not waste time searching through the clutter. When or if a moving day comes, you will be thanking your green stars.

6. Quit transaction gratification

Stop buying stuff just because you have space to put it. Recreational consumerism is building huge waste streams of detritus. When shopping, buy what you need. Support companies that sell their products in an eco-conscious package. It is a consumer-driven problem that can be brought to its knees with better decisions before the cash register.

7. Repurpose and Recycle

Our landfills are bloated, and the costs to ship elsewhere will hit close to home soon enough. Before you buy, ask yourself where this package is going to end up. USA Today provided a write-up on the inside story of recycling myths.

8. Biophilia.

Here is a term that is sure to be a household word soon. The word refers to the human need to seek a connection with nature. It is the relaxation felt when walking in a forest or beach. We have come a long way in interior plant scaping, so fear not. Bring a plant home or, even better, get familiar with how to have a living wall.

9. Insulate

Upgrade attic insulation, schedule a blower door test, and check what windows and doors are not sealing correctly.

10. Ventilate

It is essential to exchange inside air with the outside at a reasonable rate. Do you have a venting system that requires cleaning or is leaking at connections? Is the filtration method used the best quality? An improperly ventilated building is a haven for mold to establish its home with you.

The high-level conversations about carbon, energy, and global warming are undeniably meaningful.  Yet there are many small steps we can do to be more eco-minded.

The new luxury is living in a healthy, nature-friendly space. Please Subscribe to our monthly newsletter about Real Estate market changes concerning sustainability. 

With In Green Living, Joni Keefe shares nature-based design choices for urban greenspaces and Interior Design. Her interests follow sustainable agriculture, eco-friendly building products, and the latest trends in green design. She is a published writer with horticultural design work featured in national publications, this is her newsletter.