Tag: eco friendly

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Trying to create an ecological bathroom is not as difficult as it may seem. There are a few things you need to do to save on things like water and other resources.

Many of us already do things around the house to be a little more aware of what we are doing on our planet by choosing environmentally friendly options. Having a completely green house takes a long time and is an expensive thing, but that shouldn’t stop you from aiming for it by making small changes at once. Your bathroom is a great place to start. Read on to see if you can implement some of the things mentioned in this article to make your bathroom more environmentally friendly.

Cleaning products can be one of the most toxic substances in your bathroom, try to choose items that are biodegradable. You can also look for those that work well with less water. With a little searching, you can find things that work great but have very little environmental impact.

Another thing that helps very well to save water is the slow flow shower head. This item alone is estimated to use less than half the water. This will allow you to take longer showers and still use less water than usual. Anyone who uses this element will not notice any water drop due to the way the shower head is constructed.

Another big water saver is a low-flow toilet. When you think about it, a normal toilet is a real pig for your 5 gallon water supply per flush. You don’t have to be close to get the job done. Upgrade your toilet to a water-saving model and you can easily reduce consumption by up to 3.5 gallons per flush.

Another thing many people never think about is the material used to make your cabinets. Some materials are not very environmentally friendly and should be avoided. Porcelain, ceramic or stone tile is great for flooring and lasts for a long time without looking worn out. Try to avoid things that need to be replaced frequently and you’ll soon have an environmentally friendly, easy-to-maintain bathroom.

You can even consider replacing your hot water tank with an on-demand system to save energy. Not only do they save money, you will also find that you never run out of hot water.

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Source by Jack G Jones

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It is rarely realized that the materials used for interior design may endanger the environment and even health. It’s always a good idea to look for an eco-friendly interior designer who can bring your ideas to life at an affordable price, while ensuring that the materials used do not endanger the environment or expose you to respiratory and other conditions.

Paint

There are many green solutions on the market if you are just looking for them. Ecological paint is one thing, conventional paints and finishes are quite dangerous, if you believe scientific reports and research of interior designers. They are said to release low-level toxic emissions long after they dry on the walls. The solution is paints with low volatile organic compounds (Low-VOC and No-VOC). You can feel the difference that they are odor-free thanks to the absence of harmful chemicals. Some of these eco-friendly paints, however, are expensive and can be excluded from your budget. However, keep in mind that creating a 100% non-toxic and non-allergenic paint is almost impossible, despite the manufacturers’ claims. What you can do is use paints that have a lower concentration of harmful elements, which is effectively what Low-VOC and No-VOC paints are.

Wallpaper

For those who would like to add a touch of energy to their walls, ecological wallpapers are available. The problem with regular wallpaper lies in the inks that are used during production. Eco-friendly wallpapers contain water-based inks; these inks are printed on chlorine-free paper obtained from forests specially managed for this purpose. Low-VOC glue can be used for light and medium weight paper-based wall decorations.

Carpets

Once you’re done with the walls, it’s time to turn your desires into an interior design for the floor. The risk of contamination with generally used carpets and floors is that their installation can fill the indoor air with large amounts of VOCs or VOCs. These VOCs include carcinogens such as formaldehyde and benzene. You certainly wouldn’t want you or your loved ones to inhale these toxic substances. You can’t get away from it as these compounds can dissipate for years, long after the floor work is finished. Moreover, the treatment used to protect the carpets from moths, dirt and moisture includes toxic chemicals. Rugs themselves can attract toxic substances and volatile organic compounds from outside your home. The good news is that eco-friendly interior designs can also be applied here. There is a wide range of eco-friendly flooring that includes bamboo, cork, recycled metal and glass tiles, linoleum, stones, and sustainable and reclaimed wood.

Carpet tiles

Check out the modular carpet tile squares that can be used in place of the traditional carpet, these tiles are attached to the ground with adhesive dots. They look like a conventional carpet when all the tiles are laid together, but are made of completely recycled materials and can be recycled again and again, square by square. If you dirty one square by mistake, you can recycle it and you will get a new tile!

Uses of bamboo

Bamboo is also a great option for eco-friendly floors. Interior designers can give you innovative ideas for using bamboo not only for flooring, but also for a range of interior items. Recycled metal tiles commercially available in aluminum and brass are great for bathroom, kitchen flooring and walls. They are often considered fashionable interior design declarations. Available in polished, matte or rough finishes, they can satisfy the decorative tastes of many people, especially by offering a contrast to wood used elsewhere in the room.

Sustainable and reclaimed wood

Sustainable and reclaimed wood are great interior design options and work well for both flooring and furniture. The rapidly disappearing forests have created a demand for sustainable wood products. These wood products are made of wood that is sourced from farmed forests. The difference between an ordinary forest and a managed forest is that the latter is never destroyed in one fell swoop (logging), as is the case with other forests. Only selected trees are removed, leaving behind many different tree species. Each area of ??the forest is then managed and replanted, resulting in a 30-year forest regeneration cycle to be completed before harvesting can begin again. This system does not exhaust the soil of its tree cover, and also ensures a constant supply of wood.

Here’s how interior designers can find out if the furniture or wooden accessories they buy are made of wood from sustainable and managed forests. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) seal is one of the most trusted seals, the other being the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood seal, and the SCS and Green Seal labels from Scientific Certification Systems. FSC works worldwide to ensure responsible use of the world’s forests. The FSC certificate is granted only to forest managers and producers who meet the highest environmental and social standards at all stages of the wood production cycle, from the forest to the market, to the factory. There is no better way to balance the interests of society, the environment and industry.

Beds, bed frames, chests of drawers, bedside tables and accessories are available in sustainable wood certified by FSC and other organizations, and reclaimed wood products are also available. Recycled wood products are made of wood that was previously used to build structures and floors. No fresh trees are felled to obtain a reclaimed wood product.

And finally…

If you make the decision to make the environment safer for everyone, there are plenty of options you can try. Starting with the floor, you can customize everything from furniture and accessories to floors and walls. There will also be newer ecological ideas on the market. Start an ecological revolution!

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Source by Innis Desborough

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People can choose a vegan lifestyle for a variety of reasons, such as health, the environment, and animal welfare. Vegans do not eat or buy any products that contain animal products. The vegan lifestyle is all about finding alternatives to many everyday items that many people take for granted, including clothes and shoes. Many shoes are made of leather that is unacceptable to vegans and they are also stuck together. The glue is made of animal bones.

In many ways, a vegan lifestyle is good for the environment and a sustainable way of life. Livestock farming has a carbon footprint that contributes to global warming, so not eating meat or using pieces of skin reduces the individuals’ carbon footprint. The leather used to make shoes is also usually tanned with very toxic chemicals that cause contamination and a health hazard to those working in tanneries. Then there is glue, which is used to make many shoes, again its production pollutes and harms human health. In some ways, vegan shoes are a sustainable and environmentally friendly option.

But as with most things, there is also a flip side to the story. While non-leather shoes can be better for the environment, synthetic alternatives can also be harmful. The process used to produce synthetic materials is usually energy intensive and uses non-renewable resources (oil). Synthetic shoes are also not biodegradable, so at the end of their useful life they are usually thrown away and contribute to the increasing landfill problem.

So what are the alternatives?

You can find vegan shoes that are eco-friendly, eco-friendly and meet vegan-free animal-based needs. Completely natural and sustainable materials are the best option as they are biodegradable and renewable. Recently, materials like coconut husk, natural latex, hemp and cork have been used to create shoes that look good, are strong, durable and allow your feet to breathe. These natural alternatives are not only better for the environment, they are also usually more comfortable and pleasant on the feet.

Hemp can be dyed in a variety of bright colors that looks stylish and trendy. Cork is a bark or tree native to Portugal and can be harvested without damaging the tree. This makes it great for quirky and natural looking shoes. The shoes can be sewn together instead of using glue, which not only looks great, but also makes them strong and durable. A pair of rugged shoes is also the best choice for the environment as it offers minimal impact and less waste.

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Source by Ceri Heathcote

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Nowadays, the “green” label is often tossed. The list of things advertised as less harmful to the environment than their traditional counterparts does not end there. Far from the trend, the housing industry has long been ahead of the curve. Housing continues to lead this commitment to green construction, with alternative insulation materials becoming commonplace, solar panels appearing on roofs across the country and water-saving technology becoming the norm. But while these additions and renovations can be great, many eco-home buyers do not realize how efficient and eco-friendly living in multi-family buildings can be. Luxurious apartments are naturally green!

Population Density Benefits

The more you can share a single structural, utility, or hardware item, the more efficient it is. In a luxury apartment, a shared wall does what two separate walls do. This translates to half as much building material for building a wall, whether it is wood, brick, concrete, etc. multiple units, which is much more efficient. energy consumption than heating many small water heaters. The same is true for air conditioning and heating, which benefit from the expansion and maintenance of multiple homes. By combining these functions that would have to be duplicated in each individual home, multi-family homes maximize the efficient use of building materials and electricity.

Breathing space

On the other side of the equation, minimizing bloat by sharing structures and equipment leaves more space on the property for external functions. Luxury condominiums take up much less floor space per unit than individual houses. This means the site can be larger and more luxurious, with water features and even small community gardens that would not be possible on many small plots of land.

Cutting edge

While luxury housing is inherently environmentally friendly, developers are increasingly using multi-family housing to push the boundaries of green living. This is due, at least in part, to the overwhelmingly green values ??and trends of young, fashionable townspeople. Young professionals showed a particularly high interest in LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for buildings. . LEED certification encourages developers to incorporate alternative energy sources such as solar panels into electricity or hot water generation. Another LEED innovation is the use of so-called gray water systems for sink recycling and drainage into the landscape. This water-saving technology is especially popular in the arid West, where droughts have forced cities in California and Arizona to mandate restrictions on access to public water.

Today, many home buyers are interested in spending on environmentally responsible housing choices. Whether it’s a first home or a retirement coaster, more and more buyers should see luxury condos as an environmentally friendly option.

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Source by Alfred Ardis

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Buying an environmentally friendly laptop to save the earth

Buying a laptop is a wise environmental decision compared to buying a desktop computer. The main reason is that a notebook is smaller than a desktop computer, so at the time of disposal it has a lower environmental impact. The slim size of the flat laptop means that smaller and less hazardous parts can be thrown away, such as hard drives, CD / DVD drives, flash card readers, USB ports, etc. The production of ever smaller laptops also indirectly as processing plants produce less harmful emissions to the environment. Another factor that makes laptops a better environmental decision is the fact that most laptops now comply with European lead-free processing regulations such as WEEE (Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment) and RoHS (Restrictions of Hazardous Substances). which are mandatory codes in Europe. Lead is mainly used to solder parts on a computer, but these regulations encourage companies to use other methods to build a computer.

An interesting player on the ecological laptop market is the project “one laptop per child”. Their mission is to produce an inexpensive laptop – the “XO Laptop” – with the aim of revolutionizing the way children are educated around the world. The aim of the project is to hand over laptops to people from third world countries who would not otherwise have access to this technology. But the project also proves that laptops can be produced very cheaply – laptops weighing less than a kilogram and requiring no electricity.

However, despite the advances in the world of green laptops, there are still many problems that need to be resolved to produce an even greener laptop. In 2009, worldwide laptop sales are expected to outperform desktops for the first time in history. The average person will only keep a laptop for three years before it is thrown in a closet or thrown in the trash, putting an emphasis on making a laptop even more recyclable. Some problems that still need to be solved and some possible solutions:

1. Problem: Plastic filled with petroleum. Solution: Make corn laptops using bioplastics-polymers. The main problem at this point is creating a heat-resistant polymer that can withstand the heat from a laptop.

2. Problem: Power. Solution: Use the power of the sun to charge your laptop. Work is underway on solar powered chargers.

3. Problem: Lead products in waste. Solution: As mentioned above, the European Union has introduced legal restrictions on lead. President Bush also followed suit in introducing standards for the use of lead in America.

4. Problem: Spinning hard drives. Solution: Future laptops can reduce energy consumption by up to 10 percent by replacing hard drives with flash memory that has no energy-consuming moving parts. Dell debuted this year with a laptop with a 32-gigabyte SSD drive.

Among the winners of recent eco-friendly laptop awards are: XO Laptop, Toshiba Portege R500, HP 2710p, Lenovo Thinkpad X300 and Dell D630.

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Source by Mike T Martin

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One of the major trends for 2013 is the inclusion of eco-friendly features in bathroom remodeling and new bathrooms. . However, many people are looking for ways to have a completely green bathroom, not just a few items here and there. Here are the best ways to build an environmentally friendly bathroom.

1. The first is, of course, to be aware of the flow of water. There are three water-consuming areas in the bathroom: toilet, shower and sink. Toilet water flow can be controlled with European low flush toilets. There are two water flow options, one for low flow and one for full flow. Most shower nozzles have a ring that restricts the flow of water. Another way to make your bathroom environmentally friendly is to drain the water from your shower into a reservoir that can be reused for watering lawns and flower beds. The same can be done with the kitchen sink water. If you decide to go this route, be sure to use biodegradable soaps and shampoos. When it comes to the sinks, low-flow water fixtures are also available.

2. Use low or VOC free paints. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. This is especially important if the bathrooms are used by children.

3. Incorporating natural elements not only makes the bathroom relaxing; some elements may also be environmentally friendly. The first is the use of natural solar energy. If you have a south-facing bathroom, larger windows will help warm up the room naturally, reducing your energy bills. Window treatments such as double-chamber blinds can trap warm air at night or block sunlight during the summer months, keeping the room cool. Plants are also a great addition to your bathroom, but make sure they are tropical plants that thrive when exposed to moisture. Plants help clean the air of pollutants and give us oxygen.

4. Use recycled wood or reclaimed barn wood for the cabinets. The wood holds well and can give your bathroom a wonderful rustic look.

5. Using converted tiles is a great way to create art in your bathroom. By searching for tiles that have been thrown away, a homeowner can create an incredibly unique atmosphere by mixing and matching colors and textures for a fraction of the cost of new tiles.

There are many ways to make a new bathroom environmentally friendly. Updating your bathroom can be done with a few tweaks here and there. Remember to reuse, reduce and recycle use for bathrooms as well as any other room in your home.

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Source by Dagny McKinley

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Many people today are increasingly interested in being ‘eco-friendly’ where possible. This willingness to be environmentally friendly is a driving factor for many people in their daily lives. Sometimes these are great things in life like electric cars; sometimes it’s little things like recycling that plastic bottle. The world we live in today is so different from yesterday, people care a lot about the environment and want to make changes.

There is a growing demand for things to be more environmentally friendly, and this is beginning to influence the choices people make on this special day, their wedding.

To help with this eco-friendly wood, rings are becoming more and more popular as wedding rings. The wood is naturally beautiful and properly made; provides a strand of unparalleled beauty and unmistakable quality.

Getting a pair of wood rings not only shows your commitment to each other, but also the environment. Let the wood complete your beauty during the day.

Choosing the right wood is crucial, the most popular being Walnut, Ash and Oak, good wood species with classic, timeless beauty. However, if you need a specific wood, this can usually be arranged with a custom ring set. It’s generally a good idea to stick to one of the hardwood species as they last much longer than softwoods. Each type of wood has its own characteristics, and the different rings and colors offer endless choices.

Once you’ve chosen the right wood, it’s important to speak to your dealer and inquire about the source of the wood. Where did it come from? Does it come from an ethically managed forest? Is it recycled or processed wood? It is important to understand where the materials are coming from to ensure that rings for your special day are what you crave as a sustainable wood ring. This is especially true if you are making custom wood rings as it is usually made of wood that needs to be purchased especially for you, so it’s important to ask yourself where it is coming from.

To add that extra bit of magic, they say that a ring made on the ancient hills of Celtic and Viking settlements adds that extra delight, so it’s important to understand where your ring is also made.

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Source by Rob F

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Keeping track of time has always been a human occupation. Sundials, hourglasses, clock towers, grandfather’s clocks, alarm clocks – all the tools in man’s eternal quest to control time. Since the invention of the wristwatch at the end of the 19th century, a large number of varieties have appeared: watches adapted to the military, to underwater activities, to the peculiarity of space, for the blind, etc. Of the most interesting, note the watch made of wood.

Inspired by earlier pocket models, this wooden watch serves people with sensitive skin because it is hypoallergenic. Of course, the expression “wooden watch” does not always refer to a watch made entirely of wood. There are those where even the back of the central stainless steel piece is covered with a wooden flap, but there are also some where only the strap is made of wood and some combine the wood with copper ornaments for a more “vintage” look.

From a fashion point of view, wooden watches are quite satisfying because they are handmade and the specificity of wood does not allow for linear production. Perhaps unexpectedly, quite a few colors are available, ranging from dark ebony to light maple. This way, each pattern is unique – what’s more, when someone starts wearing it, the leather’s natural oils gradually blend into the wood, making it a very personal item. Also, the texture and color of the wood changes over time, becoming enriched and attractive with age. .

The benefits of wearing a wooden watch on a daily basis are that it feels comfortable thanks to its considerable lightness. Moreover, since wood does not undergo thermal changes in the same way as metal, such a watch is quite durable. For those associated with nature, a wooden watch helps to maintain and strengthen this connection, giving a feeling of being closer to Mother Earth’s eternal power.

When it comes to the Ecological component, some producers really pay more attention to this aspect – the raw material comes from a sustainable forest, where another tree is planted for each used, the movement is automatic and does not require the use of batteries, and even shipping is by sea, and not by air – all of this leads to a significantly reduced carbon footprint.

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Source by Jack Wogan

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When it comes to cleaning the bathroom, there are two ways to do it: you have to do it often. As such, you can reconsider the chemical-based cleaners you use for the job. Not only are they unsafe to use, they are also unnecessary considering you can do most cleaning tasks with environmentally friendly materials.

In this guide, we’ll go over some working strategies that you can use. When it comes to products, you will need three basic ones:

• Lemons

• Distilled vinegar

• Baking powder

They are all less toxic than on the supermarket shelves. They are very easy to use and only require knowledge of how to get the most out of them. This is exactly what you’ll get from these hacks.

• Clean Bathroom Mirrors – If you want to clean your bathroom mirror and glass shower doors, you can use white vinegar. Spray the glass with a solution of one part vinegar to one part water and dry it with a microfiber cloth. If you want to avoid smudges, you can use the newspaper. The result will always be a shiny surface looking at you.

• Clean the toilet – a dirty toilet is not only unpleasant to the eye, but also unsanitary. Before using bleach, think about whether it is a natural solution. It releases toxic chemicals that can make you feel dizzy. Instead, you can use half a cup of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of baking soda. Pour the mixture into the toilet and let it sit for about 20 minutes. Baking soda is abrasive, so a little scrubbing will do wonders and the vinegar will clean the surface and remove any stains.

• Clean the wash basin and bath – You can use the same mixture of white vinegar and water to clean the bath and wash basin. Spray the surface, let it sit for about 20 minutes, then scrub it well. The vinegar will remove any hard water deposits and mold stains. You can also try lemons for this task. Cut one in half, sprinkle with salt and use as a scouring pad. Then wipe with water. As a bonus in the bathroom, in addition to clean surfaces, you get a pleasant lemon-fresh scent.

• Unblock the drain – if your drain is blocked, you don’t need to despair. But you can fix this situation with vinegar and baking soda. Pour some baking soda into the clogged drain and add half a cup of vinegar. The mixture will do some sparkling magic and end up with a clogged problem. Pour over some boiling water to remove it completely.

• Clean grout – The grout is porous and often contains black spots of mold. You can mix a paste of baking soda and water. Apply the solution with a toothbrush to the grout line and then rinse with water. The baking soda scrubbing effect will cope with any contamination on the joint.

• Clean taps – You can remove water marks from taps and taps in a number of different ways. You can rub it with a lemon slice which works very well. Stainless steel can be cleaned with a little olive oil. Or you can always use an eco-friendly cleaning master – vinegar. Enables quick elimination of watermarks and hard water deposits.

All these eco-friendly bathroom cleaning methods will do wonders. Try them and you will see how effective they are.

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Source by Antoaneta Tsocheva

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What’s the best way to build a cheap home that doesn’t harm the planet? Most of the materials, such as concrete and steel, are highly processed and transported over long distances, making them impossible to afford for the millions of people who need a home. These high-tech materials also cause a lot of environmental damage. The answer is to use locally available natural building materials with a low impact, such as earth, stone, straw and small diameter wood. This article explores several ways to use land and sustainably sourced timber to bring housing costs down to the lowest prices. And because the techniques are user-friendly, they are perfect for DIY enthusiasts.

Building Earth Bags: Like other methods of building soil, building earth bags is easy to learn and extremely cheap. It evolved from the military’s use of heavy-duty, blast-resistant, bullet-proof sandbag structures for 100 years. Modern builders use the same basic bag filling and stacking process to build beautiful homes, offices, shops, schools, and orphanages. Earthbag buildings are resistant to mold, fire, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, insects and rodents.

Since the main building material is land, which is often free or very cheap if provided, structures can literally be built cheaply. No expensive equipment is needed. Most people already have the basic tools at home – shovels, buckets, a garden hose, and a ladder. The construction process is so simple that unskilled workers can learn each construction step just by watching for a minute. The Earthbag building is extremely flexible and can be used to build almost any shape imaginable, including domes, vaults, round houses, or more typical square or rectangular designs.

Small Diameter Wood: US forests are currently overcrowded and prone to fires. Millions of acres are destroyed each year by fires and disease. The sustainable collection of small trees from the forest actually improves forest health and reduces forest fires. With an inexpensive firewood permit (around $ 20), anyone can get firewood to build a house. Most of this wood usually ends up in the chimney to warm homes, but is much more valuable when transformed into useful long-life products. All wood for your home can be obtained this way at a much lower cost than buying dimensional wood from a construction procurement center.

One option is to detach the bark and use it in a round for columnar frames. Round timber is much stronger than sawn timber and requires less processing. With a portable cutter or chainsaw attachment, DIY enthusiasts can also mill their own wood into beams, joists, dowels, trusses, purlins, window and door frames, finishes, cabinets and furniture. Where I live, builders cut down standing dead trees (healthy wood) from the forest to avoid the time and effort of seasoning the wood. In addition, the use of sustainably sourced timber as described here is more aesthetically pleasing than traditional drywall cladding. The beauty of the wood remains exposed, honoring the tree it comes from.

Compacted Ground Flooring: Traditional poured ground flooring can last for many centuries, thus saving a small fortune in framing wood floors and replacing carpeting and linoleum every 15 years. When finished, Earth floors look like leather and are extremely beautiful. (They are used in trendy custom homes.) However, poured earthen floors take a long time to dry, making them impractical in all but hot, dry climates.

Compact earth floors use less water and dry much faster. These floors can usually be walked on one or two days after installation. The construction process involves screening the roadbed or other suitable soil through a 3/8 “mesh. This mix is ??spread in 2” layers and tamped down horizontally. The process repeats until the desired height is reached. The topsheet material is re-sieved through a 1/8 inch screen. The top coat mixture is hand rubbed and polished using only enough water to bind well. After the floor has dried thoroughly, seal with several layers of linseed oil diluted with turpentine.

Earthen plaster: The most beautiful wall finish I have ever seen is earthen plaster. If you’ve never seen earth plaster before, you can think of the gloomy brown walls. Do a search on the Internet for “clay plaster” and you will see amazing results. As there are many types of clay, there are no restrictions on colors, textures, and special effects. One popular method uses mica in plaster to create shiny, glossy walls.

Clay plaster is probably the most user-friendly wall finish. In many cultures, women, children and the elderly have been making plaster work for centuries using only their hands and basic tools. The key to durable clay plaster is the wide roof overhangs that are approximately 36 inches long. Protect your walls from rain and snow and it will last a long time with only minor touch-ups.

These are just a few ideas to help you start thinking about using natural building materials. Thanks to the Internet, it is now very easy to learn about these and other low-cost building methods. Additional articles on the above topics are available free of charge on the author’s website.

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Source by Owen Geiger