More from The Realist Idealist: Sustainable living and home improvement
Susan Carpenter on sustainable living and home improvement -- with a budget-minded bent.
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After experimenting with solar panels, gray-water systems and chickens for two years, a budget-minded consumer takes stock of what worked and what didn’t.
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We put them to the lab test to get the real dirt on dirt.
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Usage is affected by the thousands of gallons it takes to manufacture clothing and bring food to the table.
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Setting up a home rain-catching system is easier than you might think.
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Turning her front and backyards into farmland.
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Lugging gallon after gallon of the murky water to the garden was a feat until Enviro Water Boy stepped in.
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Rainwater is free. It’s just the catching that costs money.
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After grappling with the gross factor, the system itself turns out to be fairly unobtrusive. And with water rationing possibly ahead, now’s the time for a backup plan.
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Armed with four simple, environmentally friendly ingredients -- white distilled vinegar, baking soda, castile soap and water -- you can clean windows, bathrooms and floors.
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They’re found at shelters, pet shops and feed stores. You can create a home for them yourself or go online for a pricier shortcut.
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The move to a photovoltaic system is a smart strategy unless you’re already highly energy efficient. If so, it might not be worth the cost.
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With help from the Greywater Guerrillas, our new sustainable home improvement columnist sets out to recycle, recycle, recycle.
