Home & Garden Blog » Green Living

Funny story, ready? Well not so much funny “haha” but funny “sad slash ghetto”. My brother has a house in San Fernando Valley and he recently purchased those solar lights that line your lawn and some garden thief promptly stole them!

Well okay I know that not everyone may see the humor in that situation but if you knew my brother you would. This is the same fellow who had his car stolen twice (recovered and stripped in Riverside) and who has an uncanny ability to get into hi jinx wherever he goes. So really the event didn’t surprise anyone, just brought additional chuckles.

The whole event made me wonder if there were other solar outdoor lighting options available that could not be so easily swiped.

Voila! I introduce you to the Driveway Solar Lights from Frontgate.com!

Place along the driveway or along the steps of your porch or front walkway and let the solar lights be a beacon for your way home. The lights will guide you on your path safely as you bring in your groceries at night, sleepily pull out your trash early in the morning, or slowly guiding your car threw rainfall or drizzle.

Powered by solar memory circuitry for 18 hours of run-time on a full charge (even when the skies are overcast), they provide reliable outdoor lighting all night long. Housed in rust free aluminum, 6 super strong LEDs provide bright and brilliant light, completely cordless so no wiring required to install. Also mounts vertically so you can add the Solar Lights wherever some luminance is required. 

Price - $59.50 (for a set of 2)

To shop for the Driveway Solar Lights from Frontgate, click here.

To browse a wide selection of Discount Outdoor Lighting Options, click here.

Happy Earth Day! Since Earth Day is supposed to be about finding a global perspective on the state of our environment, I decided to dedicate this post to interesting advancements in “green living” on a global front.

In Milan…

Droog Design displays a “Touch of Green” to their design work. I don’t know if this is sellable or is just proving a point, Above is “One day paper waste,” a table that shows one days’ paper waste in a more static form. They note, “Does it help the environment to recycle a one day gathering of paper waste from the office into a resin treated piece of furniture? Maybe not literally, but the intention to limit waste is at least one step in the right direction.”

Regardless the message to me is loud and clear, amazing what can be created by just one day of waste! We should definitely start supporting architects and designers who choose to utilize this by product into sustainable furnishings.

(Source: Treehugger.com)

In Australia …

Big things are happening in Sydney. First Earth Hour, which began in Sydney, went global last month. Then, the city unveiled its brand new 2030 vision, which outlines the steps that the city will take to reduce its emissions by 60%. And now, a new project planned for the outskirts of the city will become the most sustainable development in Australia.

Finish reading at Inhabitat, Australia’s Greenest Development.

In Scotland …

Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond is offering $20-million for any individual or company that can harness the power of the ocean to create renewable energy in an environmentally friendly fashion. This is the largest dollar amount offered by any nation to spur advances in energy technology and is hopefully a sign of things to come.

(Source: science.propeller.com)

We are making awesome progress folks, it warms my heart to read about all the global attempts to tap into new sources of energy, creative uses of by products, and innovative architectural designs that will literally re-shape the way we see the world.

It’s sad that we must get this bad before everyone starts caring and making bold strides to change, but hey I guess it’s better late than never, right?

Happy Earth Day Everyone! 

So as I stood in the aftermath of my families Thanksgiving dinner, huge black trash bag in hand, making my rounds threw the kitchen and living room, and pool room, picking up discarded bowls, dishes, cups, spoons, forks..napkins, I thought to myself; “Wow, this is a whole lot of trash!” And that was just one Thanksgiving dinner, imagine the accumulated trash across the country!

Which is why I made a mental note to search for biodegradable plates, cups and utensils as soon as I got back to blogging. The set featured above is from Branchhome.com and is made of plates, cups and bowls that are 100% biodegradable, compostable sugar cane fiber (bagasse) that is a byproduct of the sugar refining process. (Supplies of this material are virtually unlimited worldwide. The use of bagasse products eliminates the dependence of traditional wood fiber-based materials in disposable tableware. Since bagasse is traditionally burned for disposal, the diversion of the fiber into the making of tableware prevents harmful air pollution.) Source

The potato-starch cutlery is sturdy, attractive, reusable, and suitable for hot foods up to 220° F. It will biodegrade within 180 days in a commercial composting facility. Cutlery is sold in sets of 50. (Each set includes 50 forks, 50 knives and 50 spoons.)

On top of the benefits to the earth and atmosphere, these utensils are friendly to your wallet as well! They are very reasonable. Check out the prices and quantities offered below:

16 oz. Bowl (pack of 50): $8.50
12 oz. Cup (pack of 50): $9.00
7″ Plate (pack of 50): $6.50
9″ Plate (pack of 50): $9.00
9″ Compartmentalized Plate (pack of 50): $9.00
12″ Oval Platter (pack of 10): $5.50
Fork, Knife, Spoon (50 of each): $14.00
price:
Starting at: $5.50

Anyhow I ordered 1 set of 50 of each for Christmas and New Year’s, just thought it would be a good idea to spread the word.

To purchase or learn more about featured item, click here.

To shop for more Biodegradable Plates, Cups and Utensils, click here.

Honestly this is one of the coolest and most inventive stories I have read in a mighty long time, please read about eco-architect Mitchell Joachim’s visionary ideas about how to grow living treehouses from ficus molded around frame structures. Displayed below is a video from Mitchell Joachim explaining the details of how they work. Joachim does better justice to his imaginative ecological designs than I am able to do in a mere post, so if you have any interest in living tree houses (and you should), check out the video below.

YouTube - Watch VIDEO: Grow a Treehouse with TerreForm

To read more about “Living Treehouses”, click here.

Well in support of our country’s effort to go GREEN, I would like to dedicate this post to the wonders of “Indoor Artificial Christmas Trees” !!! (cue uproarious applause)

I have chosen to highlight Frontgate.com because they offer a wide-selection of different “breeds” that are designer quality! They are the most lifelike, full artificial Christmas trees in the business. The trees are pre-lit, so you don’t need to fuss anymore with running around and around your Christmas tree with the lights. Well unless you enjoy that sort of thing, then by all means have at it! Ha!

In my house, I enjoy full, plush trees that are robust at the bottom and allow for alot of ornamentation. I usually purchase Noble Firs or Canaan Firs. The image listed above is of the Pre-lit Noble Fir Christmas Tree, which I believe is the top seller. The level of luxury and quality in these trees really amaze me! Plus they don’t shed or leave water stains all over your carpet, which is a mighty big perk!

Also they have this really cool feature, an interactive Gallery of Indoor Christmas Trees tool that allows you to hover over different styles, learn more about that particular artificial tree, and view a comparison chart. You gotta check it out, its awesome!

Honestly folks, save a tree near you today and go ARTIFICIAL!

To view and shop a wide selection of artificial Christmas trees, click here!

To help you decide check out Frontgate’s interactive tool, the Gallery of Indoor Christmas Trees.

Easy Energy Saving Tip: Wash your clothes in cold water

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 90% of the energy used for washing clothes is spent on heating the water. You’re paying for that energy, and it adds up over time. Also, clothes loose their luster at a slower pace when you launder them in cold water–warmer temperatures can fade color and weaken fibers.

I recently started washing most of my clothes in the cold cycle, and I haven’t seen any difference in how clean they get. The only exception I make is for whites since hot temps do seem to make a difference in removing stains.

I also hang dry about half my clothes now–in the summer sun, it’s a quick process, and come winter, I’ll hang them overnight on door frames and shower rods. If put it on hangers, it’s a cinch to put dry garments away.

Here are some more laundry-related, energy-saving tips:

• Always wash and dry full loads of laundry
• Change your water setting, if you must wash an incomplete load
• Don’t over dry your clothes–check the load at the 3/4 mark–they’re probably dry
• Use an energy star washer and dryer, like the Whirpool ENERGY STAR Duet Sport Front Loading Washer ($739) above. You’ll save 20-25 gallons of water per load. That’s a lot of water
• Clean out the lint filter after every load for maximum heat
• Check your dryer vent and make sure it’s not blocked
• Make sure your next dryer has a moisture sensor, which will turn it off once clothes are dry

Source.

Monday night I was getting my guilty pleasure viewing fix with a little Wife Swap (if you’ve never seen it, it’s a reality show where they take two completely opposite moms and send them to run the homes and families each other).  On this episode, one mom was a dog-obsessed waster of natural resources and the other was a yoga-loving environmentalist.  Of course, wince-worthy fun ensued.

One topic of major disgust for the dog-loving mom was that the yoga-doing mother kept a compost pile, and while I wasn’t too into some of the other green-living practices they followed (I’m sorry, but I can’t do the bidet), I am intrigued by the idea of composting. 

In the simplest terms, a backyard compost pile is a collection of yard and kitchen scraps to speed up the decomposition process. Many landfills in this country are reaching their limits, and about 1/3 of that rubbish is organic waste. Composting is a great way to help lessen the burden–it’s a natural recycling process–and get rich, free, weed-resistant soil for your garden in the process.

From what I hear, it’s easy and cheap to do a basic compost pile.  All you need to get started is a level area that’s neither too hot or too cold, a composting structure of some sort (you can buy one or build one), some yard clippings and an open mind.
Learn more here, here, and here. 

Featured on top: Green Machine Compost Bin, $188.50

Skateboarding is not a crime, and I’m not sure it should influence furniture design either. Well, not for adults anyway. But, alas, I don’t make such decisions. To the right is the Skateboard Table/Seat ($208.99) by Ski Chair. The good thing is that the top is made with recycled skateboards, and the bottom is made from recycled plastic. I can certainly get behind that, especially in a kid’s room, which is where something like this belongs anyway.

These are also made by Ski Chair, if you’re so inclined:

Red Splash Water Ski Chair and Ottoman, $499.95

”Totally New York” Baseball Bat Wooden Adirondack Chair

Chapel Hill, North Carolina is about to get green thanks to William McDonough + Partners. The sustainable multi-housing project, dubbed the Greenbridge Development, is the first of it’s kind and will offer 2 floors of retail and offices along with 9 floors of residences. This full-service development includes such perks as a concierge, fitness center, spa, clothing stores and restaurants, 10-foot ceilings, floor to ceiling windows, and a multimedia center. Pretty nice, huh?

The best part about this project, though–at least in my opinion–is that all this luxury comes along with green technologies, including:

• solar panels
• rainwater collections
• green roofs
• indoor air exchange
• energy star appliances

In addition to these progressive technologies, the building process, itself, will include the use of renewable building materials and forward-thinking construction methods.

Even Greenbridge’s location is part of the environmentally-savvy plan. Since it’s located in the center of everything in Chapel Hill, residence are encouraged to make used of their legs rather than their cars to get around town. And if residence do choose to drive, they’ll have the option of hopping in one of the Zip Cars on hand at Greenbridge.

The 1,000 to 2,500 sq. foot units will run from the low $300,000 to over $1 million and will be available Summer 2009.

Let’s hope this starts a trend.

Source.