Deb's Home Recycling (aka Residential Resale)

Green Dreams

2008-06-11T20:33:45Z

I have been dealing with sleep issues lately so I have been particularly interested in 'greening" the bedroom. As one of the many people who suffer from sleep apnea in this country, I am always interested in making the most out of the sleep I do get. Thankfully, I will have new equipment in the next week or so and my husband will be quite gateful that he can sleep undisturbed again!

The bedrooms are always of concern to buyers, especially the master bedroom or, any mor, the master suite. They seem to be getting larger and more complex as we sleep both less hours and less soundly.

As any of you know who may have had sleep issues,one of the recommendations is that you do nothing in bed or the bedroom other than sleep...no television, no reading, no paperwork--I've even gotten email from people who were in bed with their trusty laptop....Our bedrooms house entertainment centers, exercise equipment and the library of reading we meant to catch up on. All of these things simply add more activity rather than restfulness and they are dust catchers that help pollute the bedroom air. I even saw a recent study that said we should not sleep in the same rom with our cell phones because we don't sleep as well when they are in the same room. Put the charger in the office or on the kitchen counter next to the coffee pot but get it off the nightstand!

Natural organic cotton and bamboo sheets and pillow cases are now widely available. Natural floor coverings are a good thing to use in bedrooms--tile, wood, cotton, wool, bamboo,cork, Stores like Bed Bath & Beyond and Crate and Barrel are a good bet and many items can even be found at places like JC Penney or Target.

The first matress maker in the USA to receive GreenGuard certification for its mattresses, certifying that they meet low VOC emmisions standards is Lifekind. They offer a variety of other bedding products as well at http://www.lifekind.com

Sweet dreams.

Foreclosure anyone????

2008-06-04T21:14:32Z

Okay, It really can happen to anyone. I know I did a post aboout this before but somehow we never think it can happen to the rich and famous--OK, Neverland doesn't count....ANYTHING can happen if you are talking about Michael Jackson.

This is really kind of sad but brings home the point. I know it is a matter of scale and those of us who work with a lot of first time home buyers and working class families can sometimes be less than sympathetic when it is a multi million dollar mansion that is going into foreclosure--but ED MCMAHON???? All those years of late night television and the Publisher's Clearing House giveaways have not kept him out of the foreclosure mess. Like so many other people with even less resources a medical problem made him unable to work for months resulting in his going into default on his mortgage. Granted, his is bigger than a lot of other people's It is still sad to think that an also 85 year old man is in danger of losing his home.

http://www.latimes.com/la-fi-mcmahon4-2008jun04,0,4963138.story If you read the story, you will see that there are some unusual factors here. I particularly like the argument that the house being so close to Brittany Spears house makes it harder to sell.....probably not nearly as hard as the mold problem!

Albuquerque Prescription for Health

2008-05-28T16:20:25Z

Albuquerque is a regular contender on the list of healthiest cities in the US. Some of the reason has to do with our clean air, which is no longer as clean as it used to be as the city and its industry grow and expand but also because of the efforts ofthe city to promoe healthy lifestyles.

The city fleet has a majority of its vehicles running on natural gas, E85 and biodiesel. Many of the buses have bike racks on the front so commuters can bike part of the way or if your biking destination is far enough away that you would need to drive to it - going mountain biking in the Petroglyphs if you live in the North east Heights for example.

Here is a new program the city has created to encourage people to get out and walk (or roll) around their neighborhoods.

Get Up and Get Moving!

The Albuquerque Prescription Trails Pilot Program provides prescriptions for walking and wheelchair rolling and a walking guide that suggests routes in our community.

The world's Best Clients

2008-05-25T15:34:27Z

I had a remarkable experience last week. I have Buyer clients with whom I spent close to a year helping them find a home here in Albuquerque. They moved from the east coast almost a year and a half ago. I have kept in touch with them regularly.

Last week I got a call from the wife to tell me that she had picked up a lyer on her way to work for an Open House that was coming up on the weekend. It looked like a very nice house and it was a FSBO--she did not know if I could get the listing but she thought that I might have a buyer for it--a nice Craftsman style bungalow completely remodeled downtown within walking distance of state office buildings (which is why she had they flyer having walked past it on her way to work).

This particular one did not work out but these clients have given me a referral which turned into a sale and one which produced both a sale and a new Realtor whom I was able to sponsor into EXIT REALTY.

Now, if I just had 3 or 4 more of these kind of clients......

Affordable ABQ Green

2008-05-06T01:41:16Z

For anyone thinking about moving to the Land of Enchantment, I have good news for you. Albuquerque is a city working hard to be green (I think the mayor is trying to get into a competition with Rocky Anderson up in Salt Lake City). Check out http://cabq.gov/sustainability One of the great things about it is that the public transportation continues to improve with frequent busees (even equipped with bicycle racks on some routes) the expansion of the RailRunner light rail train which will eventually extend from Belen in the south through Albuquerque up to Santa Fe in the north.

Most exciting for me as an EcoBroker is the fact that there are over 2,000 EnergyStar certified homes in Albuquerque. I checked this afternoon and there were 40 of them on the market at VERY AFFORDABLE PRICES.

How affordable? Try between $125,000 and $210,000. Green, eco-friendly building does not have to be expensive. These homes are mostly three bedroom two bath family homes in planned developments in conveniently located neighborhoods. The secret to accomplishing this? There is none. It is just the result of a builder who made a committment to build to this standard and does it because it is the right thing to do and because it is profitable. Building this way can actually reduce both time and labor costs. We all know that the more you buy of something the less it costs you per item with bulk rates so if you are buying enough insulation, EnergyStar rated appliances and windows and doors and HVAC systems to build 200-500 houses at a time, your overall cost is not going to be grater than other builders who are building conventionally. If you want to know how this particular builder ot started down the energy efficiency path, here is a link to the Department of Energy Building America program that tells about it. http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/building_america/pdfs/hot-dry_mixed-dry_bpg/38360_casestudyb_vol2_sept05.pdf

I do residential resale so I am not promoting them because I work for them or even have any of their homes listed but because I think this is the type of housing we need a lot more of. One of the ways to lower our dependence on fossil fuels, foreign or domestic, is to use less of the stuff. The technologhy exists to do that easily and comfortably. These homes use at least 15 to 30 percent less energy than standard homes with the occupants not changing their habits at all (except fiddling with the thermostat is a no-no). This is not rocket science...it may, however be the science we need.

1968 revisited?

2008-04-26T23:46:26Z

I went to a meet-up group today at one of our two remaining independent bookstores. There is a group that meets there every Saturday afternoon to knit and/or crochet. In the course of the conversation one of the other group members who is the same age as I am made a comment about how the last time she had been really interested in simple living, and doing things like knitting and spinning her own yarn (which how the conversation got started--someone is taking a spinning and weaving class) was "back in the 60's when we were hippies"...

Well, she and I were probably the only ones who really qualified for that category since the one other person present in our age bracket (Boomers and older) was definitely and emphatically NOT a hippie and no one else in the group was born before 1975. It made me reflect, though on what she was saying. Perhaps it is just 20/20 hindsight with a dose of maturity tossed in for seasoning, but the core values and beliefs of that time seem to be regenerating in full blown mainstream ways.

Recycling, alternative fuels (more about that in another post--growing grain to fuel vehicles rather than feed people is NOT an acceptable solution to the end of cheap oil....at some point you just have learn to use less of the stuff)organic farming and gardening, low or no toxic paints, walking and cycling as well as using public transportation as a means of primary transportation....these are all ideas I was well acquainted with "back in the day"....

I wrote in a previous post about NYC being one of the greenest cities and that being in large part because people live in small apartments in multi-unit buildings. It is also in part because the walk a lot and use mass transit a lot. If one of the most cosmopolitan, sophisticated cities in the world can also be one of the greenest, there is no reason, given the political will to make it so, the rest of our cities can't follow suit. Same ideas, maybe a different point of view.

Oh, yeah, I'm knitting with only natural fibers--wool, cotton, silk and alpaca so far and recycled fiber too rayon and cotton--and I've begun spinning with a hand spindle--the really old fashioned way!

Why I like Relocation Buyers

2008-04-23T20:54:02Z

I've decided I love working with relocation buyers. Usually, they are looking because they really need to buy now. The actually listen when you explain things to them about the town or neighborhood--unless they have lived in the area before and then they want to know what is the same and what has changed. For me, they have been a great source of referrals. 90% of referrals I have gotten have come from buyers whom I represented when they moved to the area.

The other thing I like about relocation buyers is that I get to learn a lot about where they have come from, which is often useful when I have someone else relocating from the same area. Since I love working online, it makes relocation clients a good match as well since a lot of our contact and many times a lot of the transaction is done that way too.

On top of all that, I can wear my sweatshirt and jeans if I want! It's the Southwest so I can usually get away with "dressy" jeans anyway--you have to live out here to understand that I guess. If you need a reference, think Governor Bill Richardson in every photo you have ever seen of him when he was not wearing a suit.......

EnergyStar rated Homes

2008-04-22T14:28:19Z

It's Earth Day 2008. Clearly, we need to make it at least Earth month but I guess we will take what we can get in terms of focusing people's attention. I was astounded to read about the lake in Greenland that disappeared in 90 minutes. The entire lake drained through the glacial ice in about ninety minutes and at the highest flow was moving as fast as Niagra Falls. This is SCIENCE magazine, folks, not the National Enquirer. www.sciencemag.org

What can we do to encourage our clients to consider sustainable living when we are working wit them? One of the most effective we all know is to show them what's in it for them. Most buyers are familiar with the EnergyStar rating and know that it means that appliances and products like windows given this rating are more energy efficient than products without this rating. What they most understand is that more energy efficiency means money saved on energy bills for them.

The Department of Energy Building America program supports the research and development of energy efficient buildings. http://www.buildingamerica.gov/

To earn the ENERGY STAR, a home must meet guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These homes are at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC), and include additional energy-saving features that typically make them 20-30% more efficient than standard homes. Any home three stories or less can earn the ENERGY STAR label if it has been verified to meet EPA's guidelines, including: single family, attached, and low-rise multi-family homes; manufactured homes; systems-built homes (e.g., SIP, ICF, or modular construction); log homes, concrete homes; and even existing retrofitted homes. According to the EnergyStar site, these homes can save a homeowner between $200 and $400 per hear in heating, cooling and water heating costs. They also often require less maintenance and repair which creates even larger savings when compared to other homes.

You can find a list of EnergyStar rated homebuilders and locations of homes they have built by state at www.energystar.govClick on the link and find your state to see who the builders are and what city the homes are in as well as the name of the subdivision in which they are located. These are not necessarily high end homes. Those of you who know me, know that this is my soapbox moment. Green can be quite affordable. the largest EnergyStar builder in my area builds most of their homes in the 150k to 250k range.

These techniques are ot rocket science. They need not be expensive. Being simple and creative may be what we really need.

How to dress green

2007-08-29T23:11:40Z

Okay, here is one for the casual fans among us and the fashion mavens too. Same TIME magazine article as the last tips:

1. Wear "vintage" clothing. What they suggest is not just hitting the Goodwill (although there are those among us who love to do just that) but also to donate your clothes to organizations like homeless shelters or take them to resale shops who deal in "professional" clothes. Besides reducing the amount of materials used to produce new garments, it turns out that cotton accounts for less than 3% of the land farmed globally, but about a quarter of the pesticides.....And giving clothes to people like the homeless or battered women's shelters is just a good thing to do besides the recycling aspect of it.

The best part of this one was the other way to get rid of old clothes and get new ones---throw a closet party--invite friends over and everyone brings a few items to trade.

2. Okay, this one is primarily for the gentlemen. It seems that in 2005 Japanese "salarymen" swapped their trademark dark blue business suits for open collars and light tropical colors as part of the government's effort to save energy by keeping it's office temperatures at 82 degrees throughout the summer. In one summr of not wearing suits and ties Japan cut an estimated 79,000 TONS of co2. Casual Friday everyday, all summer? Hey, if any of you work in companies with large offices or have been in a hotel you know that the suits and ties are to help keep people warm because air conditioning is frigid! 82 might be a bit much but most folks can be pretty comfortable anywhere between 72 and 80.

Take a Right Turn

2007-08-27T21:54:01Z

Okay, this is amazing even to me, a dyed in the wool tree hugger! I was cleaning out some old articlea and I ran across aa April, 2007 issue of TIME MAGAZINE that had a feature story about things we can do to make a difference in Global warming.....I am not making this up--it is the April 9, 2007 issue with the penguin on the cover.

UPS (yes, the guys in the brown truck) announced in 2004 that it's drivers would avoid making left turns. It turns out that they figured out they could reduce CO2 emissions and save millions of dollars in fuel costs. They have saved A THOUSAND METRIC TONS in metro New York City since January. A software program actually maps out customized routes for every driver to minimize left turns because the time spent idling while waiting to turn left against oncoming traffic burns so much fuel and costs millions of dollars every year.

Does someone know how to program my GPS to do that????

Good Old Small Homes

2007-08-24T01:04:51Z

Just reread an article about some of the things that make New York City one of the "greenest" cities in the country. There isn't a lot of new construction there. There is great public transportation and driving is a nightmare--even the mayor takes public transit to work.

Most people do not live in large homes. In fact they live in apartments. One of the pluses of apartment living is that heating and cooling costs tend to be lower because of the shared walls. People walk more in New York because things are closer together so thy get the bonus of exercise as well. Consider a townhouse or a condo unit to get the energy benefit while still owning your own home.

One more thought......according to several climate change studies, the single act of buying an existing home will save more energy and resources than recycling all the paper, plastic, glass and metal and using only compact florescent lightbulbs for 40 years of living in new construction.

Remodeling My Business

2007-07-29T21:10:35Z

We all feel overwhelmed or discouraged at some time in our lives. If we try to live in awareness, we can see these moments approaching and do something creative before we are driven to change simply because it is too painful to remain stuck where we are.

I recently attended a business development seminar and came back prepared to make some changes as a result. I felt one of those moments approaching and this seminar came along at the right time. I had applied one of their suggestions and seen an immediate result so I was encouraged. It doesn't matter which Rel Estate Guru it was, the point is that I was and am motivated to take a positive, creative step out of my personal rut. The key thing is to take action and keep taking it until change happens. Find whatever system or method inspires you. It will be different for every individual.

It seems to me that one of the challenges we face is knowing the difference between when to keep doing something long enough to get a result and when we have crossed the line into insanity--doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. For example I'm sure many of us can relate to farming an area or niche market. Sometimes we have to realize that it may not be that we need to stop farming that particular area; we may just need to use a different method. Any gardener can tell you that sometimes building a raised bed and tending it is much more effective than double digging sandy, rocky soil if you want healthy produce quickly. If you don't want weeds in your flower garden you can pull them or you can mulch around the flowers. Both methods work. Depending on what kind of weeds you have and what kind of mulch you have one may work better than the other

I am becoming much more focused, learning to create and use boundaries and hopefully to work smarter instead or harder while still providing stellar service for clients committed to working with me.

A Room of One's Own--Small house living

2007-07-26T23:14:52Z

I was musing the other day about small space living. A friend who lived i a 25 foot fifth wheel trailer for a couple of years pointed out that it really felt like he had much more space because he spent so much time outdoors. Another small house (650 square feet) dweller said that just having a 36 inch tall bookcase as a divider behind the desk and chair at one end of the living space was enough give him the sense of having a separate office space of his own, even when the rest of the family was in the room with him.

We are used to building walls as boundaries in this country and we somehow, most of us, continue to think that bigger is better and that we need ever more space. I'm still not convinced that we own our stuff rather than the other way around because most of the space is used to store stuff rather than to actually live in. When all is said and done, except for the catered sit down dinner,when you have people over to share a meal, most folks crowd nto the kitchen/dining room area and the rest of the house stays empty.

Most of us shared bedrooms and televisions sets just fine with other family members. I think we probably got to know them a lot better too because we actually spent time with them rather than having each one in their own room with their own television and/or computer.

My two favorite places that I have lived in were a 450 square foot studio apartment in San Francisco (okay it was right after college and I didn't have that much stuff, an 8x35 foot fifth wheel travel trailer I lived in with my husband for 6 months and another 450 square foot studio apartment for a year or so in 2005-2006. Having a larger house only works for me now because that way I have room for an office separate from the sewing and painting (acrylic) and fiber art. My husband has someplace to build airplanes (remote control, not the real ones) and garden scale railroads and do woodworking. I think we really should just buy an old warehouse and make a small apartment in one end!

Of course, my other belief is that smaller homes are greener because they use less resources too, which means making a smaller impact on the planet.

The power of relationship building

2007-07-18T00:13:03Z

I am meeting tomorrow with two renters who like where they live. They like it so much, they want to buy it. The landlord has made oises since they moved inabout being tired of being a landlord and wanting to sell the house. He brought the subject up again a few days ago....and they called me.

These buyers contacted me several months ago on behalf of a friend of theirs who lived out of state and was planning to relocate. They heard my underwriting on the local public radio station and contacted me nased on that. After talking to them, it turned out that I was going to be visiting the area the currently lived in the following week to see family. I took an afternoon and went to see her. We talked about her move, her wants and needs and I set her up to get listings from me. She is now here and we are actively looking for a place.

When her friends began talking about buying the house from the landlord she told them they needed to call me first. Talk about a circular referral....I met with them today and will meet with them and the landlord tomorrow to see if we can begin to work out a deal.

Both of these sales will be under 100k but know that there will be several more from their circle of friends and acquaintances and the satisfaction is pricless.

TheMoveable Edible Landscape

2007-07-13T01:02:43Z

For those who think that edible landscaping is too big a hassle for them and vegetables in the front yard is a little too risque...here is an idea. Herbs and in particular grow well in pots. Placed as accent pieces on the porch or in distinct places in the yard they are quite attractive.

Growing a pot with purple, sweet and peppermint basil can be stunning. Add hanging baskets of cherry or grape tomatoes in red and yellow along with a pot of mesclun (mixed lettuces and greens) and you can grow wonderful fresh salads as well as saving money at the grocery store.

Ornamental cabbages make stunning borders. Grapevines over a trellis provide summer shade as well as delicious, healthy, healthy fruit. Artichokes are amazingly large plants and quite a stunning accent plant if you have room for one or two plants. A little creativity can lead to a beautiful and interesting low care landscape that gives you food for the table as well.

Simple Green

2007-07-08T11:03:46Z

No, not the cleaning product. Just some more ideas in the wake of the Live Earth Event.

Install motion detectors on room lights. That way the lights will automatically come on when you enter and will go off when you leave--no more yelling at people (or yourself) for forgetting to turn off the light
Work at home more
Carpool or walk whenever possible
Use public transportation whenever possible. If the mayor of New York City can do it, so can you, assuming you live somewhere that actually has decent public transit
Use recycled paper and ink cartridges in your office
Use recycled paper stock for your mailings
Put recycling bins for plastic, cans and paper in your office
Walk an bicycle more often instead of taking the car on short errands
Take your own bags to the market
Get paper instead of plastic if you do not take your own

Affordable Housing

2007-07-02T00:47:38Z

What constitutes affordable housing? A lot depends on where you live and what you earn. In some parts of the country, income is much higher than others. people moving from the east or west coast find housing in New Mexico to be very affordable. Many of those who were born and raised here find it to be expensive because they are not coming from an area with higher wages and higher housing prices.

Some things that can make a home more affordable for more people are high efficiency appliances, heating and cooling systems that keep utility bills lower. An extra $50 to $100 per month can buy significantly more house or-more importantly a house closer to work so that less money is spent on commuting. Hopefully this will come with the added benefit of less driving and therefore a lower carbon footprint.

The ability to walk, bicycle or use public transportation can significantly lower both the cost of commuting but the amount of pollution in the atmosphere. The exercise certainly can't hurt any of us an may well help us save money on medical bills since we will be healthier as a result. Given the cost of gasoline these days and of maintaining a car a significant amount of money can be redirected to house rather than commuting and polluting.

NAR's Home From Work program can have a great impact on helping these changes come about. If employers of low to mid level workers--places that hire clerks, retail sles people, service workers participate in this program they can increase their employee loyalty and lower their absentee rate while increasing their retention or trained staff. That means a savings in training costs. How does that work? Check out www.tcah.org

Simple Energy Saving Solutions

2007-06-23T23:43:11Z

As a society, we seem to eschew simplicity in favor of technology. Here are some simpler approaches.

Want to save energy on heating and cooling? Adjust the thermostat up in summer and down in winter and dress appropriately--shorts and a tshirt are great for summer at home and wear a sweater in the winter. Use a programmable thermostat. Add insulation.

Turn off the air conditioner in favor of a fan and better air circulation through open windows and doors--remember heat rises--thick walls and cooling towers have worked for centuries all over the world. They still work when properly applied.

Need to save on gas and lower your carbon footprint? Walk or take public transportation. Ride a bicycle to get there. If it is a trip longer than that consider buying a smaller Vespa type scooter or a smaller car. While you are looking at smaller cars, don't forget to look at the new cleaner burning diesels.

Smaller houses use less resources. Period. That doesn't mean that they are necessarily less expensive monetarily in the short run. But using better materials, more insulation,careful efficient design, properly sized system will not only conserve resources but you will save many times what you spend over the life of the home.

'Do not forget the small stuff like fluorescent light bulbs and using recycled products. A return to cloth napkins will save many trees....you are going to do laundry anyway and they are not going to add enough to a load to increase the amount of water and soap (soap NOT detergent) you use.

See, it IS easy being green.

Manufactured home sweet home

2007-06-22T22:55:54Z

I know people who hate the thought of selling a manufactured home. The older ones are not anything like their newer energy efficient counterparts....but they are a home for some families who otherwise would never b able to afford one.

Placed on a permanent foundation with proper insulation they can be at least as good as some of the poorly constructed housing we all know is out there. I was delighted to see someone who had taken the initiative to surround an older manufactured home with straw bales and stucco over it. He replaced the roof with a flat one and the place looked like any other pueblo style small home in the surrounding area.

Manufactured homes have become quite sophisticated in recent years, but the old "tin cans" have their usefulness too. With a little creativity and care, they provide a safe secure home for those who might otherwise join the ranks of the homeless. A person who works full time for minimum wage can barely afford to rent a small apartment in most cities, let alone own a home.

If you are one of the many people in this country working for $8.00/hr, or less your monthly salary is less than the mortgage payment on a 200k house. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area it takes twice that to look at a fixer upper in a bad market!

Rethinking how we use older homes, smaller homes and "trailers" can contribute a lot to providing much needed housing to those who otherwise ill continue to populate homeless shelters, parks and the streets.

Good Old Green Homes

2007-06-20T13:30:06Z

Green building is considered to be a trend that is becoming mainstream. The truth is that it has always been mainstream. Before transportation was a convenient as it is today, people always used local materials to build with. There was a natural attempt to build homes that took advantage of the site. In the Northeast, for example, there was a lot of wood and stone building in the shelter of a hill or bluff that could offer protection from winter weather. In the South, homes were raised above ground to allow air circulation below the floor. In the Southwest, adobe has been the building material of choice for thousands of years.

Green building is practical building. the hew technologies are wonderful additions to the way we can conserve but we do not need to be high tech in order to be ecologically responsible.

Beautiful Edibles

2007-06-19T02:21:17Z

I know I make a big to do out of natural landscaping and using the front yard for something other than just lawn and/ or here in the southwest rock. I can't say that I am a big fan of all native plants though. I will NOT miss the thistles or the goat heads.

Met with the landscaper today. He reminded me that prickly pear cactus are edible. Good, I wanted to keep it anyway....Rose petals and nasturtiums work and rose hips tea is full of vitamin C. I am not talking about the hybrid roses that demand lots of care and feeding or that wind up in flower shows. I am talking about the wilder varieties; the ones over running the porch at your grandmothers house or at that listing you got for the estate of your friend's elderly aunt. We haven't decided on what kind of fruit tree to add yet---probably apple or cherry

My husband's desire for a rock garden is a great thing to pair with my desire for an herb garden, especially all those things like thyme and rosemary and sage that come in creeping varieties and don't demand much in the way of water or soil. Leeks and garlic are quite attractive too and the hollyhocks and gladiola will just add riotous color. I may separate some of the iris this fall too and start a bet in the front.....Hey, I hate to exercise, but working in the garden is pure joy, the exercise is incidental---until I stop and the muscles let me know I should be doing more of it!

Yards and gardens take a while to mature so not too much to be added at once, mostly changing the form. The rosemary, and sage are just getting established. The prickly pear has probably been here almost as long as the house and is definitely the focal point. Hollyhocks are growing wild all over the neighborhood having escaped the confines of the yards in which they started.

Saving water is a huge issue in this neck of the woods.Our drip system had to be replaced in order to even think about having any sort of planting. While many people see xeriscaping and southwest landscaping as rock and cactus, it can be much more than that and still be quite stingy with water.Hmmmmm, where am I going to put the rain barrel? Maybe behind the rose bush....

What's inyour Front Yard?

2007-06-17T01:37:15Z

I think it is time to revive the cottage garden. Lawns in the United States consume about 38 billion dollars and 23 million acres of arable land. At an average of a third of an acre, each lawn could produce enough vegetables to feed a family of 6 and still have space for a small lawn.

To add insult to injury, those lawns also consume 270 BILLION gallons of water per week. That amount ow water is enough to water 81 million acres of organically grown vegetables all summer long. I won't even talk about the deadly mix of chemicals that goes into the groundwater from the fertilizers and weed killers used to keep these lawns manicured and green....

The cottage garden on the other hand served multiple purposes. It provided herbs both medicinal and culinary. It was a lovely place to sit and enjoy a beverage and a conversation. It provided vegetables and fruit for the table and beauty for the eye. Most contained lots of flowers, both edible and ornamental. The required little intensive care or water once established...the weeds didn't have much of a chance against the abundance of other plants. Rain barrels can easily be used to water a cottage garden and a compost pile is always a good thing as long as it is tended to.

If all the logical arguments fail to convince you, sink your teeth into a homegrown tomato or fresh shelled peas from the garden. Reach out the back door and pick the salad green for dinner....and don't forget to smell the roses while you are there.

The charm os living small

2007-06-15T20:30:21Z

"... SMALL HOUSE ON THE SIDE STREET MIGHT HAVE CHARM IF IT DIDN'T APE THE BIG HOUSE ON THE AVENUE..." Frank Lloyd Wright

Perhaps one of the reasons that small houses today are so seldom accepted is that those not custom designed and built, tend to be simply a small version of a larger house that is probably not all that well designed to start with. Fortunately,advocates of the Not So Big House have begun to have an impact and it is becoming possible to find homes designed to accommodate living in smaller spaces. A small houses that included the same nonfunctional space as it's larger counterpart is not going to be one that anyone is going to be comfortable living in. It may have quite enough space to live in, but that is hardly helpful if t is not usable space. Hallways and nooks and crannies not large enough to serve a useful purpose but too public to be used for storage to not contribute to small space living.

Thoughtful planning and carefl use can create wonderful living space with a little effort.

Small is Beautiful

2007-06-15T01:44:02Z

Many of you know about my great admiration for Frank Lloyd Wright. As with most creative and inspired people, he had his warts as a human being, but he was driven by the idea that everyone should have an opportunity to live in a beautiful, functional home. His Usonian houses were his attempt to provide what he understood to be a much needed solution to an ongoing problem.

He wrote in 1954 in THE NATURAL HOUSE "The house of modest cost is not only Amaerica's major architectural problem but the problem most difficult for her major architects. As for me, I would rather solve it with satisfaction to myself and Usonia (his made up word for the United states and the North American continent) than build anything I can think of at the moment"

Wright's Usonian houses remain as a tribute to the splendor that can take place in small places that feel palatial. Built in furniture, open floor plans that still include private retreats and the use of sweeping vistas through walls of glass , courtyards and broad roof overhangs that make the outdoors an extension of the livable space are the basic tools he used. They are still available today and there is a growing demand for their use to be revived.

Greenwashing vs Shades of Green

2007-06-12T00:00:32Z

Every now and the someone will ask me what makes a home "green". In real estate w have many opportunities to make choices that can lessen the impact of housing on the environment. I believe that greenwashing is making a minor change and trumpeting it as a major green step.It is advertising something to be other than what it is. There can be legitimate disagreements of course--fuel made from grain is less polluting than petroleum but what happens to the food supply, especially for people on subsistence diets if we start growing grain for fuel instead of food? We really do need to consider the 7th generation.

On the other hand the fact that you may not be able to afford the most efficient model of an appliance doesn't mean hat buying one that is less efficient but still better than standard makes you less "green" Any improvement helps as long asthe long term consequences are not the same or worse than what exists.

Reduce--buy a smaller house .......Reuse......buy an existing house .......Recycle------replace the kitchen cabinets with new ones (made from sustainably harvested or reclaimed wood or recycled metal) and use the old ones to organize the storage in the garage