A common saying around here is "Only a rich man can afford to buy cheap tools." And the folks over at The Simple Dollar seem to have embraced this idea with their endorsement of buying quality garbage bags over cheaper generics. The article runs through the economics of the situation accounting for bag breakage and time lost cleaning up the mess. It makes sense to us. What do you think?
Cutting costs does not necessarily mean letting your garden go to seed. The Mercury News has a list of money-saving tips to keep your garden beautiful and affordable. Among the suggestions:
Plant perennials instead of annuals.
Don't bag lawn clippings, just leave them in your yard.
It all started with an idea Peter Cook had in 1987, "I wonder if I can grow a chair." But it wasn't until 1996 that he mastered the technique and his trees, known as "Pooktre", were born. It's a slow process but it's produced some amazing results. The chair on left was planted in 1998 and the photo was taken in 2008, clearly a labor of love. You can see photos of his work, including tables, chairs, mirror stands, and other designs, on the Pooktre website.
With their enormous size and various luxuries, Hollywood homes may not be the world's most eco-friendly designs. But Treehugger has found seven celebrity homes that buck the trend and go green. The list includes Johnny Depp, Daryl Hannah, Julia Roberts and, of course, Ed Begley. Various green technologies are noted in the article, including a retractable roof in Julia Louis-Dreyfus's home. Also noted is the off-grid home being built by Tricia Helfer. You can follow its construction on her website.
Bob took a recent diversion from building houses to building relations between the U.S. and Cuba with this op-ed piece he co-authored in the Boston Globe. The article is written on behalf of The Finca Vigia Foundation, a group he co-chairs in the Boston area that works "with the Cuban government to preserve Ernest Hemingway's literary legacy in that island nation." Through the foundation's work, over 3,000 documents have been archived and American technical teams have assisted in the complete restoration of Hemingway's Cuban home, Finca Vigia. It's an issue with particular reasonance for Bob, the son of Cuban parents. You can read more about The Finca Vigia Foundation at its website.
Want to make your home more eco-friendly but don't know where to begin? Some homeowners are turning to environmental consultants for guidance on the issue, according to this article in the New York Times. For a fee, the consultants look over the person's home and lifestyle and offer a list of recommendations from installing low-flow shower heads to paying extra for wind power from the local utility to composting food scraps. Some liked the experience. "This is specific to us," said homeowner George Bryson. "It's a great check-up, and it gives you a baseline for improving things going forward." There are no industry standards for most eco-consultants so homeowners are advised to exercise caution and do research before hiring.
The new $8,000 federal tax credit is spurring some people on to take the plunge and become first time home buyers. From the Wall Street Journal comes some sound advice on making your property more attractive to these newbie purchasers. The article points out one thing working in home sellers' favor is that their home with its lived-in feel, if freshened up and properly staged, has more appeal than a hollowed-out foreclosure property. Other suggestions include offering to help with closing costs or providing a home warranty to cover major systems. If you are selling your home in this difficult market, you'll want read the complete list of tips.
