Archive for the ‘Green Homes’ category

Hobby Farm For Sale in Virginia Mountains

May 3rd, 2011

Our friends are selling their hobby farm in the mountains of southwest Virginia and have asked us to help spread the word. It is a gorgeous piece of property (15.3 acres) with a cute little farm house (1,612 Sq. Ft.) that sits near a quiet, sate-maintained road in the Blue Ridge mountains of SWVA. Below are a few pictures, but you can find more information and photos on their website.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="This is the front of the house. The property goes back across a pasture up into the woods."]Front of House for Sale in SWVA[/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="This is the back of the house with a year-round creek and the new back addition sun-room."]Read the rest...

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Recouping Your Photovoltaic Investment

April 12th, 2011
Before you decide to opt for a photovoltaic electrical system, you have to make some decisions. You will need a good plan and you will have to arrange for financing. Luckily, most commercial solar companies have done all this work for you and will give you free consultations before you spend a dime. There are plenty of tax credits, rebates and incentive programs to get you into photovoltaic power systems.

As of 2011, Photovoltaic systems are used mostly in rural environments where power is expensive, transmission lines require long stretches and people want to live “off the grid” a term meaning that they either have no commercial hookup or sell electricity back to the power company at a rate which gives them a check each month instead of a bill. [1] In urban areas, things are a little trickier because of vegetation, buildings casting shadows, home orientation and general power consumption habits. I Read the rest...

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Five Healthier, Greener Alternatives for Cleaning a Bathroom

January 14th, 2011

Cleaning a Bathroom ImageCleaning the bathroom really isn’t up there on my list of top fun things to do. Let’s face it, it’s a necessity; if a bit of a chore at the best of times. Putting aside that bathroom cleaning isn’t the most fun of activities, many domestic cleaning products, in particular bleach and disinfectants can over time, start to corrode your beautiful bathroom surfaces. In addition strong detergents and disinfectants can be harmful to the environment, not to mention creating noxious smells and fumes in your home.

It needn’t be this way mind you, as it is actually surprisingly easy to get your bathroom just as clean and sparkly, using a variety of organic substances that are easily found in the kitchen.

Here’s my top five clean Read the rest...

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Posted in Green Homes

Green Building Myths

December 7th, 2010

green-building-mythsAs the trend toward green building strengthens, there are more and more ways to find yourself turning toward eco-friendly products, building materials, and construction methods when it comes to renovations, projects or repairs. You may have heard many things about building green and various green construction methods. Some of them may have been true, some of them not, and at times it can be difficult to sort the facts from fiction. Here are a few myths that might sound familiar, but why much of what you may have heard about them might not necessarily be correct.

Myth #1 – Building Green is Complicated
Sure, just about any type of construction or building process can become complicated given certain parameters, but this doesn’t mean that green building has to be any more complicated than typical construction projects. And really, ho Read the rest...

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Clean Green: Hazardous Household Chemicals (And What to Use Instead!)

November 23rd, 2010

Jillian Gile is a guest blogger for An Apple a Day and a writer on the subject of medical transcription training for the Guide to Health Education.

DIY Green CleanersThere a certain “clean” ideal that has been perpetrated through the years by advertising agencies and chemical companies.  Notice that in every advertisement for a household cleaner, everything sparkles, families are happy, and all is right with the world?  Unfortunately, the reality of household cleaners doesn’t always mirror the perfect homes you see in those commercials.  Many household cleaners contain chemicals that are extremely harmful to breathe or ingest.

The number one home-health culprit – Read the rest...

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How Much Would I Save With Solar Panels?

December 4th, 2008

Save money on your electric bill with solar panels“How much would I save on my electric bill if I installed solar panels?” That’s the question I asked myself the day I called Real Goods Solar to install my photovoltaic system here in Denver, Colorado. The answer? Good news and bad news.

I still have an electric bill. I don’t get a check from Excel Energy each month. And we’re still careful (more than ever actually) about turning off lights when we leave the room. But what HAS changed is that my electric bill is a quarter of the price, I’m more conscious of the energy I use and even though my solar panels won’t pay for themselves for another five years if I keep living in this house, thanks to Colorado and Federal rebates they’ve already increased the value of my home by more than the amount that I paid for them. So, in a sense, I got them for free.

One thing I didn’t calculate that day thoug Read the rest...

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Green Up Your Home Office

December 3rd, 2008

green-ebookAbout My Planet has teamed up with several big eco-brands to launch two ebooks designed to help people green up their lives a little easier. We wanted to point out the “Go Green Revolution: My Office Handbook” which includes tips on having a more eco-conscious office environment and also helps offices save money on their electric bill.

You get both books for $20 and they come with several incentives from green brand sponsors.

Here is what you get:

  • “Go Green Revolution: My Life“ – The main ebook that will talk about the different aspects of your life and how to go green and save energy in each of those areas.
  • “Go Green Revolution: My Office Handbook“ – Our favorite and reason for writing this post, this is a shorter book that will talk about the diff Read the rest...

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Posted in General Green Living, Green Homes

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