Midweek Inspiration...Re-duce : Re-use : Re-cycle

A cute reminder...

10 Simple Ways to Brighten your Home

Fresh Flowers ~ my favorites are tulips & hydrangeas, but always find options that are in season & grown locally. I love tulips on the bedside table to start every day out on a bright note.

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Pillows ~ a new set of pillow covers for your sofa, side chairs or bed will brighten any room.

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Candles ~ candles always bring a smile to my face. I prefer soy candles and make sure to have plenty of scented and unscented options in white and light green.

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Fruit ~ an ironstone bowl full of lemons, a wooden bowl full of fresh green pippin apples, a silver platter displayed with pomegranates or a clear glass vase filled with limes. The best options are seasonally available and locally grown.

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Tea Towels ~ such an inexpensive and functional way to freshen up the kitchen.

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Painted Furniture ~ a great way to freshen your home is to paint a tired furniture piece or a second-hand item. White is always fresh, but a bright green or orange can be just the pop of color to set the mood of a room.

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Doormat ~ the first item that you step across to enter your home can make a big impression. I plan to monogram our IKEA sisal doormats with a large black "H" (I'll post a blog tutorial when I get to this project.) 

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New Lampshade ~ such an easy update that can completely change the look and feel of the room. Painting the interior of an existing lampshade can also give a subtle glow.

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Bird Stencil ~ check out the cute little bird stencil that I definitely want to create once we have switch plates at The Farmhouse. It would definitely brighten my day as I turned on the lights to fresh new day.

New Curtains ~ adding or changing out a set of curtains can refresh an entire room. We are adding curtains to our large living room windows, (mostly for insulation purposes) but it will definitely refresh the space.

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My Top 13 Health & Green Tips for 2013

This topic has been on my mind a lot lately; how do we make ourselves, our homes and the environment healthier. While working on our house we are trying to make the best choices for our family, wallets and the environment. It's definitely a fine line trying to balance all three.

A couple things we've done:

used primer and paint that was being thrown out

(instead of buying new)

purchased a Viking stove on Craigslist

(instead of buying a new stove)

used what was left by the previous owners; including the

basic floor plan, the shed out back that will

be turned into my studio (yay!!) and ripping up carpet

to reveal hardwood fir floors that we'll definitely be keeping

(instead of changing the floor plan or tearing the house down, tearing down the dilapidated shed and rebuilding a studio or ripping out the flooring and installing my dream wide-plank hardwood floors)

used "eco" insulation to install below the floor

(contains more than 99% natural ingredients, is certified to include a minimum of 58% total recycled content and is formaldehyde free)

Gladly taken hand-me-down materials and furniture - a little elbow grease goes a long way and makes a unique space

(instead of purchasing all new materials and furniture)

chipped all of the branches that we limbed - about 20 piles 10' high...that was a ton of work!

(instead of hauling to the dump)

So you might be not be remodeling an old Farmhouse, but there are definitely easy everyday things we can do to make our world a little better. Here are a few to get you thinking...

1. Focus on organic or locally-grown foods.
2. Reduce the amount of meat and dairy in the diet ~  a vegetarian requires 1/4 acre of land/year, while a carnivore requires over an acre.
3. Buy bulk food instead of packaged products.
4. Use re-usable bags for produce and groceries. 
5. Drink more water. Use re-usable water bottles, instead of buying bottled water.
6. Use green household products instead of chemicals. Or make your own (check out this home-made laundry detergent).
7. Wash clothes in cold water (when possible); always rinse with cold. Learn more green laundry tips.
   
8. Save energy. Unplug appliances when not in use, turn off lights when not in the room and if purchasing new appliances buy Energy Star efficient products.
9. Save Water. Take shorter showers. Turn water off while brushing your teeth and fill a dishpan when hand-washing dishes.
10. Reduce paper usage. Pay bills electronically; use washable towels instead of paper towels, order magazines and newspapers digitally and stop junk mail.
11. Compost all waste. Some cool products to make this easier...a compost tumbler and a counter top compost bin.
12. Drive less. Use public transit if it's available, make each trip count, walk or ride a bike when possible and carpool if the option is available.
13. Plant a garden. Not only does this nurture the soul, but it can cut back on your grocery bills and protect the environment by decreasing the amount of pesticides used and transportation pollution created for purchased produce.  Find some inspiration on Tin Roof Farmhouse Pinterst Board: Farm Inspiration.

What do you do in your home and life?

Green Tips for the Laundry

With Earth Day approaching this weekend, I've pulled together a short list of some easy ways to be green (and save green):

1.  Wash your clothes in cold water. Every once in a while you may have a load that requires hot water, but washing just 80% of your laundry in cold water for a year could save you more than $60 in energy costs -- and up to $100 if you live in an area with high electric rates.
2. Wash less. Your clothes will last longer. Some clothing belongs in the wash after only one use, but many garments can stand two or even three wearings before they need washing.
3. Follow directions. Use the amount of laundry detergent that the manufacturer recommends. Using more detergent than necessary actually gets in the way of effective cleansing of the fabrics, which will then require an extra rinse cycle, which uses more energy and water. More is not always better!
4. Wash full loads of laundry. Sort clothes and schedule laundering so you can wash only full loads. It takes almost as much electricity to run a small load as it does to run a full one, and it is better for the machine to have a full load during the spin cycle so it doesn't fly off balance.
5. Clean your dryer's lint filter before every load. It can slash your energy usage by as much as 30%!
6. Don't overload or underload your dryer. Dry a full load in your dryer, but don't overload. It uses way too much energy, and it causes excessive wrinkling, which in turn may force you to iron your clothes, using even more energy.
7. Or my favorite tip...put up a clothesline in your backyard (or over you tub). By using a clothesline instead of your dryer, you'll cut your residential energy costs by 5%. That may sound like pennies, but it can add up to savings of over a hundred bucks a year. Check out Project Laundry List for more inspiration and to share your clothesline photo.

We will definitely have a clothesline at The Farmhouse this summer! It brings me back to my childhood, growing up without a dryer. Luckily we don't have goats at The Farmhouse yet, because my childhood goats loved to eat all of our shirt sleeves off the clothesline. My brother and I definitely lived up to the hippie beach kid look growing up.

And some inspiration...