Last week, I took a Backyard Composting class at the Pennsylvania Resource Council. It was quite informative and covered everything I need to know to use the Earth Machine compost bin they gave us, only costing $30 for both. What a deal! I am armed and ready to make my own compost now. A good thing since our new house doesn't have a garbage disposal.
In the room where we had the class, they had made all kinds of eco-friendly/sustainable renovations, including using no-VOC paint, carpet made of recycled materials. Recycled carpet! I hadn't even thought of such a thing. My guess is it's better for the environment and for us, breathing in fewer carpet-emitted chemicals.
In the room where we had the class, they had made all kinds of eco-friendly/sustainable renovations, including using no-VOC paint, carpet made of recycled materials. Recycled carpet! I hadn't even thought of such a thing. My guess is it's better for the environment and for us, breathing in fewer carpet-emitted chemicals.
After researching it a bit and checking it out at a local carpet store, I found improved ecological carpeting options are now very common and accessible to all; it's good quality and priced comparably with new-fiber carpet. For some of the more economical options, we found carpet from recycled water bottles, recycled carpet fibers, and even a naturally stain resistant corn fiber (no chemical stain resistant added.) These fibers are durable and come with solid warranties. We found many in stock at our carpet warehouse in the range of $1.50-$2.50 a square foot; right in our budget. Through this experience, I have learned that if a carpet store has a huge roll of the carpet you want in stock and you are carpeting a 350 square foot basement, the price per square foot is negotiable. Especially in this economy, and when your salesperson plays hockey and so does your husband.
I have been coveting the luxury of no-VOC paint for some time and have done a lot of legwork to find a way for us to afford it, since it's very important to me. No-VOC paint has been challenging to fit into our paint budget of $30 per gallon maximum, including tax, because it tends to be about 20% more than the regular (toxic) version of paint. We had planned our budget based on buying regular Behr paint at Home Depot. I noticed Sherwin Williams is having a 30% off paint sale now through this weekend, so I bought our entire 15 gallons of paint we need, just the no-VOC base. I will go back and get the colors mixed once we are in the house and can finalize our color choices. Piggybacked with a $10 off coupon, my excellent quality Sherwin Williams no-VOC paint cost about the same as the regular Behr paint at Home Depot.
I have been coveting the luxury of no-VOC paint for some time and have done a lot of legwork to find a way for us to afford it, since it's very important to me. No-VOC paint has been challenging to fit into our paint budget of $30 per gallon maximum, including tax, because it tends to be about 20% more than the regular (toxic) version of paint. We had planned our budget based on buying regular Behr paint at Home Depot. I noticed Sherwin Williams is having a 30% off paint sale now through this weekend, so I bought our entire 15 gallons of paint we need, just the no-VOC base. I will go back and get the colors mixed once we are in the house and can finalize our color choices. Piggybacked with a $10 off coupon, my excellent quality Sherwin Williams no-VOC paint cost about the same as the regular Behr paint at Home Depot.
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2 comments:
Great ideas here. We compost all year long (though truthfully the stuff we put there in the winter just freezes and doesn't begin breaking down until spring). Just don't add any meat scraps.
Great find on the paint! Happy you didn't have to compromise.
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