Archive for April, 2008
A Good, Green, Clean
April 28th, 2008 categories: The Greener Side
Better living through chemistry, right? Maybe not. Some folks are taking a “Back to Basics” approach to things because so many of our modern conveniences are choking us to death. It seems to be the right time to re-evaluate our habits and our actions and measure their effectiveness considering their long-term consequences. That’s where the Green Movement is coming from and many recognize it’s time to bring it home.
Which is the topic of our discussion today. Green cleaning products.
In an effort to create a clean and comfortable environment, we have often polluted the very space that we call home. Yes, this is true of our planet but I mean our actual homes. Pesticides cover our fruits and vegetables and harmful chemicals reside in our cleaning products. Not only is this not a healthy choice for the planet, our families could be better cared for as well. Today there are a plethora of Green cleaning products on the market and we will list some websites that offer Green cleaning alternatives. But, here are few ideas that may surprise you in their simplicity and affordability.
The Kitchen
Countertops and sinks- Good old baking soda and water will help keep counters clean. Sprinkle baking soda on the counter then scrub with a damp cloth or sponge. If you have stains, knead the baking soda and water into a paste and let set for a while before you remove. The method also works well for stainless steel sinks, cutting boards, refrigerators, stove tops and more.
If you need a tougher abrasive, Kosher salt and water work well on cast iron pans. Be careful using this on stainless steel as it can scratch.
For a natural disinfectant, mix 2 cups of water, 3 tablespoons of liquid soap and 20 to 30 drops of tea tree oil. Spray or rub on countertops and other kitchen surfaces.
For Ovens, coat the inside of your dirty appliance with a paste made from water and baking soda. Let stand overnight. Then, wearing gloves, scour off that grime! Make spotless with a moist cloth.
To rid your fruits and vegetables of pesticide residue and germs, sprinkle a little baking soda on wet produce then gently scrub and rinse. Read the rest of this entry »
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Stand Out In The Crowd… By Adding Green
April 18th, 2008 categories: Our Market, The Greener Side
We all know there’s a lot of competition out there. So, what can you do to differentiate your home? How about adding a little Green? Certainly, you can spend a lot of Green going Green but you don’t have to. The little things all add up and that can add up to value when home shoppers consider your home over the competition.
According to broker Laura Zambratto with Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty on Long Island, “Home buyers are looking for added value in every purchase they are making. They either want an awesome price or extras - such as those extras found in a more energy-efficient house.”
Here are some ways to make your home stand out by going Green:
- Energy prices have gone through the roof all over the country and San Diego County is no exception. Lower utility bills can help off-set the monthly mortgage payment if you are being Energy Smart. Start by changing out your incandescent light bulbs and replacing them with CFLs (Compact Flourescents). CFLs use one quarter of the electricity of regular light bulbs and account for twenty percent of a homes energy use.
- You might consider updating your inefficient or questionable appliances and replacing with new Energy Star certified models. The EPAs blue and white label indicates models must be 10% to 50% more energy efficient than standard offerings. It’s also a good idea to install a programmable thermostat if your home doesn’t have one.
- Insulation is key to saving energy. This is a simple process of checking for tight seals around doors and windows and making sure cracks are caulked. This can save hundreds of dollars in utility costs per year just by itself. If your home is older, perhaps it makes sense to ‘beef up’ your behind the walls insulation a bit.
- Health sells. People care very much about the environment that they live and raise their families in. You can make a huge difference in the indoor air quality of your home with a little touch up paint. Choose paints with low or no VOC’s or Volatile Organic Compounds and not only spruce up the appearance of your home but cut down on toxins that can seep into the breathable air in your home. These paints and other wall coatings are widely available. Check out the Green Building Pages for products, manufacturers and retailers of all sorts of Green Products.
- That beautiful new carpet you installed ten years ago has definitely seen it’s better days. Not only can a fresh step of flooring improve the look of your home, choosing the right carpet or hard surface flooring can add healthy points too! There are terrific eco-friendly carpets available today that include recycled content and don’t have toxins such as formaldehyde hidden inside.
- Any opportunity to remove polyvinyl chloride or PVC will also improve indoor air quality. This may be found in some flooring, shower curtains, plastic board material and more.
The best way to prepare to sell green is by contacting an expert in the green field. The first place they will probably start is an energy audit. They can help you find healthy products to use in your Greening Up and contractors who specialize in Green Building Technology.
Remember, going Green may help you qualify for state or local tax credits too.
Consider these steps if you are thinking of selling your home. They just might get you the Green you’re looking for.
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Real Estate Is Sexy!
April 17th, 2008 categories: Our Market
Who knew that Real Estate would commandeer so much air time, even when the market is less than perfect. Know why? ‘Cause Real Estate is Sexy! It has spawned an entire network of new television shows! TLC/Discovery network is a wonderful example of the next generation of HGTV inspired viewing with an awesome array of choices such as Trading Spaces, Property Ladder, Real Estate Pros, Flip That House and my very favorite, Date My House. How I wish I had come up with that one!
Imagine, offering your home for sale and giving prospective buyers an opportunity to get intimate with your home; a “Life Test Drive” if you will. What better way to ‘get a commitment’ out of home shoppers than to let them create a wonderful memory and positive association with your home. Let’s take a look at how it’s done on the TLC network…
How cool is that?!? So, where to start. You have an interested party looking at your home. You invite them to “experience” it as their own. Here’s a list of things to do (not much different than if you were preparing for an important date).
- Have the house cleaned. (You would want to look your best for a hot date).
- De-personalize the space so they can see themselves living there (take your jewelry out while you’re at it)
- How about some romantic music and flowers???
- Ask your Realtor to spring for dinner delivered:)
- Leave a note pad for “Important Notes and Questions” that come up over the evening.
- Have a fun/romantic DVD for your ‘guests’ viewing (and instructions for your home theater system)
- Change the sheets (yikes)
- Establish a “check out” time in the morning
Once the overnight date has run it’s course, your Realtor should be there for the check out. They will survey the premises to see that everything is in order and be there to answer those important questions from the “Important Note Pad” notes. Hopefully the happy couple will be ready to make an offer you can’t refuse!
This all sounds like great fun but indeed, there are some legal liability issues that would need to be dealt with. I would definitely talk to my insurance agent before “trying this at home”. And run a credit report and perhaps a credit card voucher as well~ Whether or not this is a realistic way to market your home, the idea paves the way for creative marketing ideas and sets the stage for a new era in Real Estate sales.
I can’t think of another market that creates so much of a stir than Real Estate. And the best part is, any homeowner can participate.
Stay tuned for upcoming articles on how to make your home a haven of Green and home decor ideas that will help make your home your favorite vacation destination!
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Finally, Some Good News!
April 15th, 2008 categories: Our Market
Are you sometimes afraid to even turn on the TV because you know you are going to be bombarded with more bad news? I know that I will sometimes opt for music while I’m cooking dinner in order to keep the mood lighter. I know for a fact that negative news has a dramatic effect on consumer confidence and that sometimes, in an effort to sell news, the media can cause significant deterioration in market performance.
Real Estate is no exception and is a perfect example of the media leading the market further down the path of destruction. If you recall several years ago when the housing sector first showed signs or mortality, every other article was about the Housing Bubble. In fact, prices were increasing at an unsustainable rate and lenders were making unsound decisions in lending to individuals who could not really afford the loan payments. And yes, the Bubble did certainly Burst. Foreclosures are commonplace in our neighborhoods and we probably all know at least one person who has fallen prey to a bad investment in the last couple of years.
Which brings us to where we are today. The bad news is still coming but sprinkled in are stories that bring a little sunshine into the arena. I found this news story as I was perusing YouTube looking for Real Estate related articles. It originally aired a couple of months ago and momentum in our local market has been increasing recently. Not that we can credit this broadcast with turning the market but it doesn’t hurt…
I think it’s obvious to most that our market still has some price instability but I think for the first time in five years, the rewards of buying Real Estate may out-weigh the risks. It’s important to buy within your means and use a lender that you trust. Base your home buying and loan selecting decisions on your longer term plans and goals. Real Estate was never really intended as a short-term investment. There certainly have been those times where it made many considerably richer in the short term but if you buy with long term in mind, your risk factor falls to almost zero.
And remember, always use a Realtor…
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Green Homes 101 (From the USGBC Green Home Guide)
April 15th, 2008 categories: Our Market, The Greener Side
Making your home a greener place is a commitment – to yourself, your family, your community and the world. But more than that, it is a learning process. As exciting new technologies, products and scientific breakthroughs constantly emerge, staying educated on the hows – as well as the whys – of maintaining a green home is the best way to ensure your efforts are as effective and beneficial as possible.
Green Home Defined
A green home uses less energy, water and natural resources, creates less waste and is healthier for the people living inside compared to a standard home. It’s as simple as that!
A home can be built green, or you can make it green later. A green makeover can happen all at once, or it can be a gradual process. But what it all comes down to is a new way of thinking – and a new way of living. From a more energy-efficient kitchen to a tree-filled backyard paradise, your home can be green top to bottom, front to back, inside and out. And it doesn’t matter whether you rent or own, live in an apartment or single-family home, or live in the city, the suburbs or the country.
The Benefits of a Green Home
There are many very real benefits to living in a green home, and every day, more and more Americans are discovering those benefits. Green homes are healthier, more durable and more cost-effective.
That’s why green homes are expected to make up 10% of new home construction by 2010, up from 2% in 2005, according to the 2006 McGraw-Hill Construction Residential Green Building SmartMarket Report. Owning or renting a green home is good for your health, your wallet and our environment.
Incentives
Beyond the health and environmental benefits of living in a green home, many local and state governments, utility companies and other entities across the country offer rebates, tax breaks and other incentives for adding eco-friendly elements to your life.
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The Right Time To Buy?
April 11th, 2008 categories: Our Market
It’s the question on everyone’s mind… Is now the right time to buy? That really depends on your situation. Are you a first time home buyer, a savvy investor or somewhere in between?
Let’s start with the professionals; Real Estate Investors and developers. For these buyers, the market doesn’t seem to be quite ready. There’s a strong possibility that prices will continue to decline over the remainder of 2008 in our region of Southern California. If the investor intends to sell the property within the next two years, the risk probably out-weighs the rewards.
So what about the average Joe/Jo looking to buy a home for his/her family? Timing again is key. If there’s a possibility that a move requiring a sale may be necessary within the next two years, we might suggest a comfy rental. But, if this purchase is more likely a longer term investment, now may be the perfect time to buy. Let’s discuss why…
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Green Paint…
April 11th, 2008 categories: Home Decor, The Greener Side
Whether you are about to undertake a complete remodel or just sprucing up your digs, you can make a huge impact without spending a fortune. Color! Wall coatings add so much to your decor and the colors you choose can have a dramatic effect on your emotional state. Cool colors relax and subdue the anxious mind while warm colors give you energy and can bring sunshine into your home even on the darkest day. But, colors are not the only choices you have to make. There are many different brands of paint offering endless shades but some also offer VOC’s or Volatile Organic Compounds harmful chemicals that contribute to poor air quality and can cause respitory irritations or worse if one is particularly sensitive. The solvents in paints can include benzene, formaldehyde, toluene and xylene, which are known carcinogens or neurotoxins. Oil-based paints rely on VOC-emitting solvents such as mineral spirits to control their drying time, but conventional water-based latex paints aren’t necessarily milder: They can contain such VOCs as formaldehyde and the suspected carcinogen acrylonitrile, as well as ethylene glycol ethers associated with lowering sperm count, and fungicides and preservatives to combat mold and mildew.
Here’s some examples of paint alternatives from The Green Guide;
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Have You Had Your Glimpse Today?
April 11th, 2008 categories: Glimpse of the Day
We live in a hectic world at a troubled time. Sometimes it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with situations that seem beyond our control. Often times all we need is a little perspective to regain our equilibrium and I know of a special resource that gives me a glimpse of that much needed perspective on a daily basis.
I have studied Tibetan Buddhism for almost twelve years and one of things I love most about it is the pure logic that the teachings employ. It is a practice that is experiencial rather than to be taken on faith. Whether one is Buddhist or Christian or Muslim or Jewish or any other religion, logic is a common thread that runs through all human beings. Our similarities will always outnumber our differences. Truly, we are all basically the same; we all want to be happy and we all want to avoid suffering. That being the case, the next time you look at someone and recognize how they are different from you, look deeper at how they are the same as you; in fact, look at them as if they were just another ‘you’. Imagine how your empathy for others will grow if you see them as another ‘you’ or even a part of you.
Each day, I get an email with my “Glimpse of the Day” which are daily excerpts from the book entitled “Glimpse After Glimpse; Daily Reflections on Living and Dying” written by Sogyal Rinpoche. Soygal Rinpoche was born in Tibet and educated by some of the greatest Buddhist masters of this century. He travels the world giving a broad range of teachings based on his book “The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying”, a book that has influenced my life greatly. Even though I own the book “Glimpse After Glimpse”, I find getting my email reminder so much easier to follow on a daily basis. I suppose my habit of turning to the computer first thing daily is stronger than my habit of reflecting on the nature of my mind. I’ll bet I’m not alone.
Below is a short teaching by Sogyal Rinpoche entitled
The Essence of Buddhism: The entire teaching of the Buddha can be summed up in just three lines.
If you would like to receive your “Glimpse of the Day”, email Glimpse of the Day at glimpse@rigpaus.org and for more information on Sogyal Rinpoche and Tibetan Buddhism, please visit Rigpa.org.
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What Does It Mean To Be Green?
April 11th, 2008 categories: The Greener Side
You see it everywhere- magazines, newspapers, television. It seems to be a ‘Good Thing’ and “Everyone’s” doing it but what exactly does it Mean to Be Green?
In fact, there are many ’shades’ of green. One term you may hear (which is meant to be derogatory) is “Green Washed”. Yes, it’s rather like white-washed but in terms of environmental sensitivity. An example of “Green Washing” might be replacing the plastic packaging for an incandescent light bulb with recycled cardboard. Even though it’s packaged ‘green’, it still doesn’t live up to ‘green standards’. So then, what does it mean to be Green?
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