Celebrate Green Blog

by Corey

As you may know, my husband and I recently fell in love with a breezeway house.

The house is three decades old, and needs a little TLC, but it’s got great bones. And a breezeway. What else matters?

Ok, you are right. There’s more to a great house than a breezeway. And that’s exactly why we’re embarking on this call-us-crazy little journey to fix up our farm-style abode.

Our vision? Style, quality & function.

Our requirements: Every element has the health of our family and planet in mind.

Oh, and all of our updates have to have our wallets in mind, too; an important point that my husband wants me to repeat, like a mantra, throughout the day.

Lucky for hubby, my other mantra is “Reduce, reuse, recycle.”

And naturally, I intend to apply this mantra to our home plans.

So we won’t buy a new vanity if we can find one used. We will reuse the pocket door and relocate it from the kitchen to the downstairs bathroom. We’ll give the carpet away on Freecycle instead of taking it to the dump.

Some of our updates will be DIY (although these will be “easy” projects as my husband and I are — um-is not the “handy” type), and for some we’ll bring in the pros. Every member of our “team” will be in board with our mantra. Even our plumber. (I look forward to seeing how he applies the 3 R’s to his craft.)

For those materials, supplies and fixtures that we do buy, we’ll look for the following:

• Is the item reclaimed or sustainably sourced?
• Where is the item made?
• Is the item made from natural materials?
• Is the material safe? Non-toxic? Or as low-toxic as possible?
• What is the item’s expected lifespan? Is it durable?
• What happens after the item has reached the end of its lifespan? Can it be recycled?
• Does the item save energy?

I honestly don’t know if we’ll be able to go green with every element. But we’re sure going to try. I know some choices will be no-brainers (i.e. no-VOC paint) and others won’t be so cut and dry (tankless water heater? hybrid water heater? Energy Star gas water heater?). I know concessions will need to be made and that we’ll need to get creative. We may even have to play Rock-Paper-Scissors once or twice.

And you can play too.

Because I invite you to join us on this journey.

I will even be asking for your opinions and help!

What color should we paint our house? What do you think of Marmoleum? What do you do when hundreds of dead bees fall out of the wall when you remove the molding?

See? I can’t do this without you.

And I’m thinking that this process will be a whole-lot more fun with you sharing it.

So stay tuned and wish us luck and please, send me your ideas on the bees. We’re stumped.

XO, Corey

Follow Corey’s journey to updating her home with the health of the planet, her family and wallet in mind. Stay tuned for part #3 of Corey’s Green Home Project – The Demolition. (Missed Part #1? Click here.)

Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, and founders of Green Halloween®.