Has Spring Cleaning got you thinking about all of those dust bunnies lingering in the back of your thoughts? Things like, how do I take steps to become more eco-friendly or how do I get my home ready for resale? Well take it easy because we've got answers for you. Too bad for those real dust bunnies though...we can't do anything about those except recommend a good house cleaner!

Are you green...on green?

Did you know that here in the United States we use at least twice as much water and energy as anyone else in the world? Neither did I until I read this book. If that surprises, shocks, or dismays you, then you are amongst the growing masses of people who want to start living more eco-friendlier existenses, but don't necessarily know how. You are not alone! The trouble is it's hard to figure out just what is green?

I found a solution in Elizabeth Rogers' and Thomas M. Kostigen's The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time. I received it as a gift from my Mother and it has helped me to rid the guilt I feel for not doing more while it seems the rest of the world is getting greener by the second. It is broken down into chapters based on different aspects of everyday living such as Home, Travel, Shopping, etc., and is chock-full of practical everyday tips that make sense for the average consumer, someone just like me, and someone just like you. Here are a few that I enjoyed.

• If you shaved just two minutes off of your shower than you would be saving ten gallons of water. If that doesn't seem like much, think about this...if everybody in the country saved just one gallon of water from their daily shower over the course of a year, it would equal two times the amount of fresh water withdrawn from the Great Lakes every day. Keep in mind that The Great Lakes are the world's largest source of freshwater.
• If you set your thermostat just one degree higher for your air-conditioning and one degree lower for your heating you could save about $100 on your utility bill per year. If everybody in America turned the dial, we could save more than $10 billion per year on energy costs. That would be enough to provide a year's worth of gasoline, electricity and natural gas to everybody in Iowa.
• You've heard it before, but let me say it again...recycle! If everyone in America took the time to recycle the plastic, glass and aluminum products that end up in the trash can, we could decrease the amount of waste sent to landfills by 75%. As it is, it takes an area the size of Pennsylvania to dump all of our waste each year!

To learn more about this book click here.

When it comes time to sell

While many of you may not be considering selling your home in today's market, things will change. Our economy will recover and once again it will be a seller's market. With that in mind, there are some things to keep in the back of your thoughts for when that time comes.

Have you noticed everywhere you turn, it is 'green' this, and 'green' that? I even heard a jewelry ad on the radio announcing that they were green because they reused old gold. It seems like everybody is jumping on the green bandwagon! Which is great that there is a growing awareness and this environmental movement happening, however, in a few years, as it becomes normal and each of us become more acclimated with this new green lifestyle that is on the rise consumers are going to expect their cleaners to be free of toxins, and their food to be pestacide and hormone free and...the homes that they buy to be green.

Now how does building a green home and updating your home with green in mind affect your home's resale value? Jerry Howard, the CEO of the National Association of Home Builders says "We're seeing a lot of demand, particularly on the high end of the market." And to prove it a survey was conducted in 2006 and some 90 percent of the people surveyed by the American Institute of Architects said they'd be willing to pay $5,000 more to build or buy a house that would use less energy or protect the earth.

Why not be at the forefront of this new green trend? I guarantee it will pay off when it comes time to sell. So from paint to flooring to appliances, it ain't easy being green, but it can be rewarding!

Here are a few green ideas to keep in mind if you are thinking of updating or building your home.

• Install a solar water heater. You may be able to save $450 per year in energy costs. They are initially more costly to purchase and install, but you can pay for the difference in a matter of three years with the savings in energy costs and tax credits.
• Instead of treated wood for your deck, try recycled plastic lumber. You'll prevent the toxins in the wood from leaching into your soil and are removing plastic that would end up in landfills.
• Use porous pavement instead of asphalt for driveways. Porous pavement prevents unnatural water runoff, reduces drainage problems and helps to keep pollutants from entering groundwater.

Contact Information:

Chris Selle
(410) 308-9898
chris@allwayscarpets.com