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Living green includes eco-friendly home decorations
The Plain Dealer
August 16, 2007
By Brenda Junkin
Living green doesn`t mean you have to wear Birkenstocks and sit on rocks. Living green is about mainstream America.
"Eco-friendly living, or green living, is about how we live our day-to-day life," says Robyn Griggs, editor of Natural Home magazine. "How the choices we make affect the planet, our life and our family`s life."
For the past eight years, Natural Home magazine has been supporting, and encouraging, everyday people to improve their quality of life through living green.
"For example," says Griggs, "the average food we eat today travels about 1,200 miles. That`s a lot of carbon emission from fossil fuels, which exasperate changes in global warming. If we simply bought 25 percent of our food locally, we`d save 150 pounds of carbon in the atmosphere per year. That`s substantial. Plus, by eating seasonally, we`d rediscover the joy of biting into the first strawberry of the season.
"Cleaning products are among the most toxic substances we encounter on a daily basis," says Griggs. "If you see a warning sign on the label or can`t pronounce the ingredients, it`s probably not good for you or the environment."
Living green isn`t solely about changing our eating habits or reading the labels on our cleaning solutions. Decorating your home with eco-friendly products is also good for the environment and lots of fun.
Caren Glatcz, founder of Eco-kiss, a boutique specializing in eco-friendly home decor at Mustard Seed Market in Solon, has a few ideas on decorating green.
"One of the first things people do when they decorate is paint," says Glatcz. "If you want to start decorating with eco-friendly products, use Harmony, by Sherwin-Williams. This low-odor paint is void of the toxins found in most paints."
Once you`ve painted the rooms in your house, start restocking with green.
"There are few people who can afford to start all over with green decor," says Glatcz. "Replenishing your kitchen towels or bedding to organic fabric is a great place to start. Soy candles with cotton wicks can replace your wax and lead wick candles." To read full article, click here. © The Plain Dealer
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There have been countless benefits to being a member of E4S. The largest benefit has been the contacts and connections with like minded individuals. E4S is a community of amazing people willing to share their talents, committed to supporting other sustainable businesses, and dedicated to a healthier planet for all. The E4S Third Tuesday Network Events have been an injection of adrenaline.
- Rebecca Reynolds, Green Clean
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