Not sure what to do with old paint cans cluttering up your basement or garage? Follow this action plan to either condense or dispose of your surplus—and win back some valuable floor and shelf space in the bargain.
Leftover house paint is not the easiest stuff to get rid of. You can't simply throw it out without risking pollution and fines.
2020 Alton inspires major drive-by gawking. Photo: John Patron
The luxurious super-green house underway at 2020 Alton Road in Miami Beach is moving right along on its way toward LEED Platinum certification. Outfitted with top-of-the-line, energy-efficient products and systems, this project—from the Florida Green Home Design Group—strives for superlative indoor air quality and net-zero energy use.
The current asking price for the two-story five-bedroom, solar- and wind-fueled, rainwater-harvesting, totally iPad-automated house is $2.2 million. Even now, before the decorative details and finishing touches have been completed, it’s easy to appreciate 2020 Alton Road, on track to become the smartest, safest, and most energy-efficient residence in town.
The way to a young person’s conservation-conscious heart is through active learning and maybe some candy.
A view of the Monarch Hill landfill.
Kids love to say, “I hate school.” As a parent and substitute teacher, I believe they say this because they often confuse the stress of school with the wonder of learning, and that they are actually quite thrilled with knowledge—especially if it is not force fed.
A couple weeks ago I stumbled on the sale of a lifetime: 6′-7′ maple trees for under $20 at my local Tractor Store. Of course, getting the tree into the back of my Subaru Outback was a challenge, but the tree is a beauty and one that I can’t wait to plant this weekend. And, since today is National Arbor Day, the planting will seem that much more meaningful.
For those who might not be familiar, the Arbor Day Foundation was founded in 1972 in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the first Arbor Day. It’s mission is twofold: to inspire people to plant, celebrate and nurture trees, and to make certain that our national and state forests are here for future generations to enjoy.
Flickr
Each year on Earth Day we pause to acknowledge and appreciate the majesty of nature and the gravity of the problems threatening it. As individuals, we ask ourselves if we’re doing all that we can to mitigate the global environmental crisis.
In that same spirit of inquiry, we at BobVila.com look back on the very best blog posts, features, slideshows, and videos from the last year about all subjects green—energy conservation, recycling and reuse, and sustainable architecture.
Whether you’re lucky enough to have once-weekly curbside service, or you have to transport your paper, glass, metal and plastic to a local drop-off center, there’s that necessary first step: storing and organizing your recyclables.
No problem if you have extra space in the garage or on the patio for recycling containers, but for those of us with kitchens barely large enough to hold appliances, the challenge is to be creative. Here are seven small-space recycling solutions you can easily create at home.
Popular Mechanics
Thanks to a new crop of thoughtfully designed Rubbermaid recycling products, corralling kitchen recyclables has never been easier.
Fact: According to the EPA, Americans are recycling more than ever. In 2010 alone, homeowners helped keep 85.1 million tons of glass, plastic, paper, and yard waste out of the country’s bulging landfills.
Confession: I’d like to say that I get great joy from recycling, but the reality is I hate all the clutter. Don’t get me wrong: I’m happy to do my small part. It’s just that I’ve never had a very good system for keeping everything organized. In my hometown of New York City, recycling has been mandatory since 1989. Like my neighbors, I dutifully stockpile soup cans, aluminum foil, wire hangers, soda pop bottles, and towering stacks of newspapers and catalogs, then haul everything to my building’s basement recycling bins every day or so.
Today is my third and last day at the Builder’s Show in Orlando, and while I have a bit of “building product” overload, I still managed to find some new products that proved unexpected, smart and “green.”
Jeld Wen, manufacturers of quality wood doors and windows, stopped me in my tracks with this copper-clad double hung window. Part of the company’s custom program, the window can be made in a variety of interior woods—pine, knotty alder, douglas fir, mahogany, oak, walnut and cherry—or any one of 41 clad exterior colors. My vote is for the copper!
Jeld Wen Copper Clad Wood WIndow
As part of a major fundraising effort for the Make It Right organization, 30 minutes of home fix-it advice from Bob Vila is up for auction on eBay (until February 15 at noon PST).
Actor Brad Pitt founded Make It Right in 2007, two years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. Discouraged by the lack of progress in the wake of the disaster, Pitt pledged to rebuild 150 affordable, green, and storm-resistant LEED-certified houses for working families who had resided in the neighborhood when Katrina hit.
Owens-Corning Panther
Day two at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando turned up some more great introductions. I started the day tailing the Owens Corning Panther (no kidding!) before ending up with the team from HGTVremodels at the Cool Energy House in Windemere, FL—a deep-energy retrofit demonstration house that will save more than an estimated 50% in total energy costs. Here are some of the discoveries sandwiched in between.
Trex showcased a variety of new offerings, from stair and railing lighting to outdoor furniture collections (all flat-shipped for RTA). Another new introduction: a new steel deck framing system called Elevations.
