First of all, this Hang on Outlet makes so much sense! I'm not sure how it helps save energy...maybe because you'd be inspired to unplug your stuff? [via productdose]


This would actually live in my purse. I'd never use take out cutlery again! [via econscious market]


Aaand this can't live in my house until I have a baby. But when I do they'll have a rad nursery- hopefully from Dwell Studio [via Design Public]


*sigh* if only it wasn't $3,000. Beautiful Bamboo Stagger Shelf [also via Design Public]


Okay, perhaps this Stink Tree Coffee Table shouldn't live in my house... well not unless it had a glass top because I'd probably spill my coffee on it. But I heart it anyways. [via 3rings]

Posted by Jen at 8:05 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Green Living, Love for Others

Sorry about the absence, which on my part has to do with busyness laziness and distraction :P. Can't speak for Jen but I think she was camping.

So I've been reading The Hand Sculpted House by Ianto Evans, well my mom took it out from the library and I hijacked it. Anyway it's good times. I'm very interested in cob building for a few reasons:

- They are cool looking in a hippie way. Which makes me think they could be cool in a Hanna way as well.

- You can design and build them yourself. No machines, no contractor. I mean it might take a while, but people do it.

- They are wonderfully energy efficient.

- Did I mention I would design it myself? Hello window seats in every room!

- Cheap like dirt. Ahahahaha. Well except the the dirt part. By which I mean land.

- They are well suited to our climate of snow and rainness in BC, which many other natural methods of building are not.

Anyway, it's catching on in BC (because we're a bunch of hippies out here) and you can actually attend a weeklong workshop on Mayne Island and learn how to do it. Which would be helpful. Also people in BC have managed to get building permits. As opposed to the advice in the book which is to build in the woods so THE MAN can't find you. Erm, no thanks.

Here's some Cobby inspiration for all of you who think I'm nuts and need convincing:

- A cob house on Mayne Island:


- A house on Cortes Island:


- Photos of this house near Victoria being built:

-And here's some cottages done by Cobworks, the company in Mayne through their workshops:

Posted by Hanna at 4:26 PM 1 comments  

Labels: Green Living

So I know this blog is suppose to be more about green living, crafty, DIY fun...but there are exciting big picture solutions out there that I need to share. Big picture solutions are inspiring to me. Solutions using poop. We live in an global world facing unprecedented changes in climate and we need to work together to solve them! And everyone poops. Let's use it.

This is a 25 minute video of a presentation by Stephen Salter, a Professional Engineer, who is a part of the Integrated Resource Recovery Team who prepared a report for the Province of BC using the Capital Regional District (13 municipalities on Southern Vancouver Island) as a case study for resource recovery. It's based off real examples from Sweden.

Oh yea. The background on poop and Victoria? We dump it straight into the ocean. Some see it as a problem. Other not. The fact is that it's a wasted resource.

Video from [here]



After you watch the clip, you'll see it's about more than just poop (but that's the best part). It's about being smarter with how we deal with waste. It takes so much energy to do things like grow food and heat homes. But what if we could take the left over energy from the food, use the compost to create energy, and use that to heat our homes. Kinda makes sense, eh?

OooOh! And on that 'eh?' note: HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Posted by Jen at 12:13 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Green Living

Did you know that 90% of energy required for washing laundry is just heating the water? [see fact here]

Simple solution: Wash your clothes in cold water! I haven't been washing my clothes in warm water for years...and they're all still doing okay. Although, I use a natural laundry detergent that dissolves best in warm water, so I dissolve the detergent in some warm water first and toss it in.

Dryers require a butt load of energy too... and aren't necessary on sunny and windy days. So save yourself some money, save the planet energy and get outside and enjoy the sun!

What? Don't have a yard or a clothesline? Check out Clothes Drying Sans Energy for some brilliant ideas... like this... [via here]

Posted by Jen at 6:37 PM 1 comments  

Labels: Green Living

I found this off a site from a young man I met at Gaining Ground Summit.

Also off that site I found this: amazing projects happening in Portland Oregon - I hope Hanna and Craig see some cool stuff!!

Posted by Jen at 4:47 PM 1 comments  

Labels: Green Living

Everyone wants their family to live somewhere healthy. But most homes are full of toxic chemicals, made using ill-building practices that harm the earth, and cost a fortune to heat and cool.

Well what if you used the earth as a building material, situated your house for optimal solar heating and it was beautiful.

There are examples of this happening all over the world - here's a sneak peak at a few of my favourites.

This couple Gord and Ann live on Vancouver Island and have started EcoSense, whose philosophy is that a home and all its systems should mimic the beauty and function of the natural world.

I love love love Rammed Earth houses! Hanna, Val and I saw one while wondering around on Salt Spring Island at the begining of May. Terra Firma is a company based on Salt Spring!




Dockside Green is being built here in Victoria, BC. It's a leading design for LEED Neighbourhood. The project is being done in a number of phases, with the first, Synergy completed and ready for moving in Feb '09.





Your house needs paint of course! An eco-house wouldn't use any smelly toxic regular paint - it would use Milk Paint! I just found out about Milk Paint this morning, a woman selling it called about being a vendor in the Green Living Expo this weekend.



Green building makes me happy. I want to be a home designer one day.

Heart!

Posted by Jen at 4:28 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Green Living