With world population growth (2.5 billion people in 1950, 6.5 billion in 2005 and more than 9 billion in 2050), we need to take action now to conserve the earth’s resources. Today many people realize energy is a critical resource and pretty soon we’ll start to learn that fresh water is limited too. Learn small steps you can take today, to protect the future for this little guy!

What Going Green Means?

Green can feel overwhelming so it’s best to start with small steps. According to Marla Esser, founder of HomeNav.com, “Homeowners can start by taking small steps to green their homes. You don’t need to do anything special — it’s really something you integrate into your normal housekeeping and home maintenance activities. Green is a way of thinking, buying smarter, more resource and energy efficient products, and using them correctly.Like reading food labels, you want to study the labels on cleaning and other household products. When you buy a rug or sofa, you want to make sure they don’t contain chemicals that are harmful to your family.”

Marla is a green advocate in the National Association of Home Builders. She created HomeNav, an electronic home owner manual that helps homeowners integrate all their home maintenance information in one place.

Reduce Your Home’s Energy Consumption

• Install programmable thermostat(s) to save on heating and cooling costs. You can set the thermostat to automatically lower (winter) or raise (summer) the temperature when you’re not home or asleep.
• Stop energy leaks by stopping the flow of conditioned (warmed or cooled) air. Attics are a top priority for added insulation. Gaps should be closed around exterior doors and windows, interior doors to unconditioned spaces (attics and basements), ductwork, electrical switches/outlets on exterior walls, etc.
• Switch to CFL bulbs which use 75% less energy and last about 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs. You’ll need to recycle CFLs due to mercury content (Home Depot has a CFL recycling program).
• Use solar landscape lighting and motion detectors for overhead lights, i.e. on your garage.

Using Less Water at Home

• Replace shower heads with low flow heads to reduce your water consumption by 20,000 gallons or more. There are aerators you can install in most faucets to save water too. Remember you don’t need to run the water while brushing your teeth or rinsing the dishes.
• Install low or dual flush toilets that can save more than 3 gallons per flush. Unlike the original dual flush toilets, the ones available today look the same and sound the same, so think green when replacing your toilets.
• Only run the dishwasher and washing machine when full. Consider drying your dishes on a dish rack and hanging wet clothes on an old fashion clothes line – they’ll smell good too!
• Fix those plumbing leaks quickly as a dripping faucet can waste more than 200 gallons a month and a running toilet even more. Better still, you’ll avoid expensive repairs due to mold and wood rot which happens when the moisture content of wood (your sub-floor) approaches 20%.

Keeping Your Indoor Air Healthier

• Avoid products that give off Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). There are many low and no VOC paints available and you’ll like that they don’t smell. Check other products like flooring, wall treatments and furnishings that give off VOCs.
• Use green plants to filter out common VOCs. 5 common plants were compiled during NASA testing in the late 1980s so you won’t mind watering a ficus or spider plant. Get the full list of plants at LivingGreen.com.
• Clean air ducts and change filters frequently (1 to 3 months) so theses systems perform optimally to keep your family healthy. There are  many choices in air filters and you can learn more from Gina Chapman, owner of Mr Handyman in Richmond VA.

Buy Less and Recycle More

We’re consumers so we buy lots of stuff. We can become smarter consumers by rethinking what we need, buying smarter products and when we’re done, recycling to reduce what we add to today’s landfills. When buying appliances, look for the Energy Star label. When buying paper goods, consider at least 2 alternatives to accomplish the same goal.

What green home tips can you share with us?

Then there’s green paint, but we’re not talking about paint the color of green peas. We’re talking about green paint that doesn’t give off fumes that smell funny and could make you sick depending on how many other unhealthy chemicals there are in your home.

Healthy Choices for Home Products

You may not realize there are also healthy choices for many of the home products you buy. The EPA considers indoor air quality one of the top health risks in the US. That’s right, the air in your house isn’t healthy because of the products in the house … products used to build your home and products you bring into your home like furniture.

The primary cause of indoor air pollution in our homes are paints, varnishes, cleaning, disinfecting, cosmetic, degreasing, and hobby products that contain Volatile Organic Compounds or VOCs. Exposure to VOCs can cause eye irritation, respiratory problems, nausea and dizziness while long term exposure has been linked to more serious diseases to the liver, kidney, and central nervous system (EPA Introduction to Indoor Air Quality).

Much of the focus on VOCs relates to paint. VOCs were a key component of oil based paint which drove the industry to move to latex based paints, although they too contact lower levels of VOC. Now the green (remember peas) revolution is bringing more focus to healthy paints and home products.

Here is a short list to show you the range of products available with a focus on healthy homes. A great resource for more research is GreenSeal, providing a third party review of company claims to put your mind at ease.

• Healthy paints – you now have several choices including low odor/VOC paints, zero VOC paint and newer, non-toxic or natural paints.
• Building products – are coming on the market rapidly, focusing on energy efficiency and sustainability to lessen the impact on the environment … or consider a log cabin, solar and rain barrels that are more natural.
• Cleaning products – require checking labels but don’t rely on the name or unsupported claims. Consider natural air fresheners, lots of green plants and avoid aerosol products.
• Beauty and health products - mean buying natural soaps, cosmetics, etc for their impact on air quality and don’t forget that what you put on your skin, get’s absorbed into your system.
• Consider organic bedding and other textiles that are natural and contain little or no chemicals.
• Buy sustainable furniture and avoid furniture manufactured with particle board and pressed wood, which contain lots of VOCs.
• Focus on products like flooring where quantity/size is significant. Bamboo flooring is sustainable and other flooring products like vinyl, use recycled content and are VOC free.

Remember when you buy paints and other home products, research your options and find healthy “green” products. Pick any color and enjoy your healthy home!