Everyday Green Home

On today’s Green Gab, my guest is Kathy Curran. Kathy has been on an amazing journey to incrementally green her life, and now that the holidays are upon us, greening her gift-giving is her first order of business.

Sustainable Choices

It’s really important to understand where what you buy comes from. Most of us don’t need more stuff. Our homes are already packed to the gills with stuff we don’t need or use. So, as you buy gifts for others, it’s important to make sure that you understand where the products you are buying are coming from. If items have to travel a long way to reach you, that’s not sustainable. If the company you are buying from employs child labor, well, that’s not what you want to endorse. If the company that you are purchasing products from has a record of environmental violations, that’s also not a green choice. When it doubt, look for companies that have achieved B Corporation status. B stands for “benefit”. So they are companies that exist to benefit mankind, not just to solely turn a profit.

It’s not just what you buy, but who you are buying it from and where is it coming from that should play into our gift choices.

Local and Organic are Pretty Safe Choices

We have found some really unique gifts that allow us to make good environmental choices by shopping at local food purveyors. Staying regional with your purchases reduces the carbon footprint of your purchase. Many local food purveyors also have minimal packaging, and many of their products will be all-natural, organic, and made from sustainable crops. They also generally are not packed with the chemicals and preservatives that factory foods have.

Many green gift choices also support your local community and the business owners that serve your local community. Green gifts keep dollars working within your communities.

Give Experiences and not Stuff

We all have that person on our list who is impossible to shop for. They already have everything, don’t need anything, and yet, you still need to give them a gift. The best types of gifts for people like this is to focus on giving experiences, rather than stuff.

Some of our favorite experiences to give are:

1. Local classes of workshops pertaining to a hobby - gardening, cooking, painting, writing, pottery, etc.
2. Tickets to a favorite play or concert
3. Yearly family passes to the State Parks in your state or a state nearby
4. Memberships to a museum or local attraction
5. Online memberships to heirloom seed clubs or other clubs that support hobbyists
6. Gift certificates for Air BnB
7. A tour of a local attraction that they’ve never been to
8. Give apps like Story Corp to document family history and stories

Green Your Gift Wrapping

Gift wrap and all the packaging that goes into giving gifts is a huge source of waste. The more gifts you give, the more important it is for you to make greener choices with your gift wrap. 

Some of our favorite ways to make gift wrapping greener are:

1. Wrap in fabrics, not paper
2. Use old maps, newspapers as gift wrap
3. Buy recycled brown paper to as wrapping paper
4. Save gift bags for re-use.
5. Buy recycled wrapping paper.
6. Recycle your wrapping paper.
7. Use mason jars, buckets, clay pots or other items that go with a gift to “wrap” it.

 

Simplify, Don’t Accumulate

One of the biggest gifts we can leave our children is to simplify your life and unburden yourself of all the stuff. They won’t want most of it and it only creates more work and waste to deal with generations of the stuff that we have in our lives.

The next generation doesn’t want to drag Grandma’s china to their 6 apartments in 3 cities before they get married and settle into a tiny house! So, instead of leaving a ton of stuff, we thing it’s a great idea to identify one special heirloom piece - a teacup, painting, letter, etc. that you want to be meaningful to that child. Then write out the heritage of that item and why it was special to you or Grandma, or Uncle Bob, and give them the one thing they can cherish, along with the documentation of the sentimental value to your family. It’s much more likely to be cherished and displayed with care, than an 88 piece set of china that no one has room to store and will never get used.

 

Resources Mentioned:

Story Corp App 

StoryWorth

White LED Lights

Colored LED Lights

 

Gifts for Friends

Unique Journal with Laser-cut cover

Food Wraps – for lunches and food storage

Tablecloth – made entirely of recycled bottles

Joy Essential Oil

Metal Straws

We live in exciting times. Nev Hyman has come up with a solution to both the global housing crisis and the current situation with plastic waste worldwide. He has set the stage for the global roll-out of his innovative method of creating building panels from all seven codes of recyclable plastics. 

Nev Hyman, from Nev House, based on the Gold Coast of Australia, joins Marla today, to give us an international perspective on green ways of getting much-needed housing out into the world. Nev has been spending time in the United States, talking about his mission with Nev House and spreading the Nev House message. 

Nev has been involved in the surfing industry for 45 years. He has never had a "real" job because he has only ever made surfboards and sponsored professional surfers around the world. He started two surfboard companies, Nev Future Shapes, and Bio Wire Surfboards. Bio Wire Surfboards was sold to the eleven-time world surfing champion, Kelly Slater, in 2015.

Nev's passion for surfing, and traveling the world, created within him an awareness of the environment. In 1992, he started noticing that there was a lot of plastic in the ocean. He wanted to do something about it and this is how Nev House was born. Nev made the world's largest surfboard and he surfed it at Huntington Beach with 64 people on it, twice in 2015. This earned him a Guinness world record!

Nev also won an event called Pitch at Palace, where he pitched to Prince Andrew in front of hundreds of people around the world in 2017. This has allowed him to meet and become pals with the royal family. This is because they love what Nev House is doing!

A few weeks back, Nev attended a Go Green summit in Knoxville, Tennessee. At the summit, there was a lot of interest in Nev House, and Nev found it very easy to talk to the people there about taking the waste out of the environment and turning it into houses. 

Nev House provides low-cost homes, schools, and clinics, made from unsorted and unwashed recycled plastic. There are some major issues around the recycling of plastics that have to be dealt with before creating a safe, sustainable, aesthetically pleasing, low-maintenance solution. Nev House has come up with a process that allows them to take all seven codes of plastic and create from them lightweight building panels. Most of the plastic that is recycled currently is either code 1 or 2 because the higher numbers become very difficult to recycle.

A quantum shift 

There's been a quantum shift recently with recycling around the world. Now is the time for people to put thought and energy into repurposing through re-design, and this is just what Nev House is doing. About seven years ago, China put out the Green Sword to stop the rest of the world from sending them contaminated plastic.  BASF, one of the largest chemical companies on the planet, has started a fund called The Alliance Against Plastic Waste, where 30 of the largest plastic companies in the world pool together 1.4 billion dollars to help innovators to come up with solutions for re-purposing plastic by re-design. 

Plastic production is not going to stop. A 40% increase in plastic production is predicted for the next five years. There is not going to be enough bio-degradable plastics to replace the fossil-fuel plastics that are already in the environment, so solutions have to be found for ways to use the plastics that have already been produced to create shelter because housing is the largest market on the planet. 

"The demand for affordable, rapidly deployed, low-cost, hygienic homes is beyond anyone's comprehension. It's a multi-trillion-dollar industry."

The McKinsey Report, put out in 2014, was looking for the best solution to the affordable housing crisis that the planet is facing right now. The report stated that there are currently more than 250-million displaced people needing shelter.

"We're taking the seven codes of plastic and turning it into a modular design that can be built in a day, or two days. Category 5, or Hurricane 5 rated, earthquake resistant, flood-resistant homes that are culturally-correct in their design, to suit whatever culture the homes can be delivered to."

"Plastic is not evil. The improper disposal of plastic is."

"We can't live without plastic. If we didn't have plastic, we wouldn't have humanity the way it is now, good or bad."

How can you take co-mingled plastic and turn it into panels for housing?

A co-mingled mass of plastics cannot be recycled by normal recycling processes like extrusion, intrusion, injection molding, or roto-molding, all of which require pure polymer. Different plastics melt at different rates, so if you try to melt different plastics together, some of them will burn before the others begin to melt. At Nev House, they use a technique with molds and layers of different plastics with bioplastics on the surface, to create panels for housing. This is called "encapsulation".

"We're encapsulating everything that could potentially be nasty."

Nev has found a solution for the environment using proven technology which he can turnkey in six months. He can start taking the plastic waste out of local communities anywhere on the planet and make things happen fast! Cities have been offering to pay Nev good money to take care of their waste because they know that it would cost them a similar amount to take their waste to a landfill.

How can we all individually help?

Support companies like 4Ocean and POP. Nev House has set up a program called POP which is a plastic offset program that will allow multinational companies like Nestle and Coke to fund recycling plants.

Links:

Nev's website - www.nevhouse.com 

4Ocean's website - https://4ocean.com/

To see the biggest surfboard in the world - www.nevhyman.com

 

 

How do you look at your stuff? There’s a lot of stuff that makes up your home. When you think about it, your home is a collection of a bunch of resources, materials, and systems. Or, in other words, a lot of stuff. How can you look at the stuff in your home in terms of the three R’s when you bring in more stuff?

The Three R’s and Your Stuff

It can be a fun challenge to bring more stuff in your home following the three R’s: reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Reduce

Anytime you can reduce the amount of material you use, you win. This not only simplifies your life, but also reduces the amount of materials and how much it costs to put those things together for your home. For instance, maybe instead of putting flooring down, you may just want to finish the concrete. The simpler you can make it, maybe even by using a system, that can work to your advantage.

Reuse

There are secondhand stores everywhere, so this is pretty easy. Have you checked out Habitat for Humanity’s ReStores? They have so much stuff in there, and it changes all the time. It can be an adventure to search for used furniture and household goods for building materials. You might even be able to reuse components from homes that are being torn down, remodeled, or redecorated. How about taking an old door and turning it into a table or transforming a tabletop into a barn door?

Recycle

This is probably the one R we see the most. A lot of us have curbside recycling bins, so we feel like we’re constantly feeding the system. And we’re giving those materials a new opportunity for a new life when they’re recycled. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough places demanding those recycled materials, and a lot of our recycling efforts are not coming to fruition. But you can make a difference when you put new stuff in your home that has recycled components, such as flooring and paper.

What Is the Stuff in Your Home?

You’ll get all kinds of ideas on how to get the right stuff in your home in this podcast. Be sure to check back for new information regularly on how you can make your home greener by using the three R’s plus other ideas!

Read more at The Green Home Coach Website! The Green Gab Podcast Links Bar:  Subscribe via iTunes |   Subscribe via RSS Feed |  Facebook Page |  Twitter Page |  Stitcher Page Connect with The Green Gab Podcast Hosts:

— Marla Esser Cloos on – The Web – Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn

— Tony Pratte on – The Web – Facebook – LinkedIn

 Green Gab: About the Hosts of The Green Gab Podcast:

Green Gab Podcast Host Marla Esser Cloos is the Founder of The Green Home Coach – a company leading the way to inspire you to learn about, focus on and put into place Green Solutions when it comes to your life, home building and more.

Marla is an NAHB Master Certified Green Professional, LEED AP and Missouri Woman Business Enterprise. She Earned her B.S. in Engineering and Public Policy and a Certificate in Energy from Washington University.

Click here to learn more about Marla at her website online via TheGreenHomeCoach.Com

Connect with Marla Esser Cloos on – The Web – Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn

Green Gab Podcast Host Tony Pratte is the Director of Builder/Contractor Relations at The Sound Room in St. Louis, Missouri.

Tony is a graduate of St. Louis University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has earned a Masters in Environmental Management & Sustainability at Harvard University

Tony’s 20+ year career has allowed to him to collect a number of experiences, connections and perspectives that offer an incredibly unique point of view that adds incredible value to each episode.

Connect with Tony Pratte on – The Web – Facebook – LinkedIn

Every parent has said to their children—multiple times, “Turn off the water.” We teach our children the importance of not wasting water, but it’s important for us adults to remember as well. And it’s about so much more than just turning off the faucet.

Water plays a bigger role in today’s modern world than it did in the past. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average American family uses 300 gallons of water each day. And that only accounts for indoor water usage: drinking, cooking, cleaning, and personal hygiene. That’s a staggering amount of water. To put it into perspective, imagine for a moment that you had to carry that much water to your home before you could use it. That would definitely make you think about the amount of water you’re using on a daily basis.

The Leaks That Are Upping Your Water Usage Research shows that the typical home loses somewhere between 2,000 and up to 20,000 gallons of water each year because of leaks. That’s a lot of water!

Leaks can come from a number of sources, some of which you might not have considered. What about your toilet that doesn’t shut off? Or a tiny leak in your plumbing? It all adds up to a noticeable increase in water usage.

How can you tell if you have leaks in your home? Start by reviewing your water bill. If you see an unexpected rise, it’s probably be time to investigate. You might need help from a professional to inspect irrigation systems or pipes that you cannot easily access. Most leaks are not those that we see with the naked eye.

Water as Power

We use water in and around our homes and offices, but we also use water as a power source. It takes a little more than one gallon of water to produce one watt-hour of electricity. That means a 150-watt incandescent light bulb requires 174 gallons of water to operate for just one hour. But most of us don’t run a light bulb for just one hour. And that water usage just racks up.

Reducing our water usage results in an energy savings. And the opposite is also true: Reducing our energy usage results in a water savings.

We don’t think about this correlation most of the time, mostly because even Energy Star appliances aren’t labeled with how much water is used to create the energy they use.

Easy Ways to Reduce Water Usage You can take small steps to cut back on your water usage on a daily basis. Here are just a few: • Take shorter showers: five minutes or less. • Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth or shaving. • Switch to a low-flow showerhead. • Use the half flush option on the toilet when available and appropriate. • Turn off water faucets tightly (and fix them as needed) to avoid drips. • Keep cold drinking water in the fridge so you don’t have to wait for it to cool at the tap. • When washing dishes, use a sink of water to wash and then rinse them all together instead of individually. • Water the garden only when plants really need it, and then just the roots and soil rather than spraying leaves and flowers. • Use soaker hoses instead of sprinklers. • Water outside in the early morning or late evening when water evaporates less.

On this episode of Green Gab, you’ll learn even more about water usage from Angie Mendica of Crescent Plumbing. And read the full chapter about water usage in my book, Living Green Effortlessly, to learn more about how you can use less water—and less energy.

Resources:

Plumbing Fixture Recommendations

Watersense Plumbing Fixtures

Read more at The Green Home Coach Website! The Green Gab Podcast Links Bar:  Subscribe via iTunes |   Subscribe via RSS Feed |  Facebook Page |  Twitter Page |  Stitcher Page Connect with The Green Gab Podcast Hosts:

— Marla Esser Cloos on – The Web – Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn

— Tony Pratte on – The Web – Facebook – LinkedIn

 Green Gab: About the Hosts of The Green Gab Podcast:

Green Gab Podcast Host Marla Esser Cloos is the Founder of The Green Home Coach – a company leading the way to inspire you to learn about, focus on and put into place Green Solutions when it comes to your life, home building and more.

Marla is an NAHB Master Certified Green Professional, LEED AP and Missouri Woman Business Enterprise. She Earned her B.S. in Engineering and Public Policy and a Certificate in Energy from Washington University.

Click here to learn more about Marla at her website online via TheGreenHomeCoach.Com

Connect with Marla Esser Cloos on – The Web – Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn

Green Gab Podcast Host Tony Pratte is the Director of Builder/Contractor Relations at The Sound Room in St. Louis, Missouri.

Tony is a graduate of St. Louis University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has earned a Masters in Environmental Management & Sustainability at Harvard University

Tony’s 20+ year career has allowed to him to collect a number of experiences, connections and perspectives that offer an incredibly unique point of view that adds incredible value to each episode.

Connect with Tony Pratte on – The Web – Facebook – LinkedIn

All of us want to breathe well in our homes.  Yet often, the indoor air quality or the indoor environment, may not be allowing us to breathe as well as we want.  There are immediate actions all of us can take to breathe well in our homes.  Years ago, I started switching to non-toxic, safer cleaners and now I even use a few homemade cleaners.  Both your local stores and online outlets offer many safer, non-toxic cleaning products and natural cleaning recipes abound on the internet. 

Next, you will want understand how leaky your home is, as leaks bring pollutants into our homes, as well as leaking the heated or cooled air.  There is a lot you can do on your own, yet you may want to bring in a home professional, such as an energy auditor, to help locate the leaks and advise the best way to address them.

Read more at The Green Home Coach Website! The Green Gab Podcast Links Bar:  Subscribe via iTunes |   Subscribe via RSS Feed |  Facebook Page |  Twitter Page |  Stitcher Page Connect with The Green Gab Podcast Hosts:

— Marla Esser Cloos on – The Web – Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn

— Tony Pratte on – The Web – Facebook – LinkedIn

 Green Gab: About the Hosts of The Green Gab Podcast:

Green Gab Podcast Host Marla Esser Cloos is the Founder of The Green Home Coach – a company leading the way to inspire you to learn about, focus on and put into place Green Solutions when it comes to your life, home building and more.

Marla is an NAHB Master Certified Green Professional, LEED AP and Missouri Woman Business Enterprise. She Earned her B.S. in Engineering and Public Policy and a Certificate in Energy from Washington University.

Click here to learn more about Marla at her website online via TheGreenHomeCoach.Com

Connect with Marla Esser Cloos on – The Web – Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn

Green Gab Podcast Host Tony Pratte is the Director of Builder/Contractor Relations at The Sound Room in St. Louis, Missouri.

Tony is a graduate of St. Louis University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has earned a Masters in Environmental Management & Sustainability at Harvard University

Tony’s 20+ year career has allowed to him to collect a number of experiences, connections and perspectives that offer an incredibly unique point of view that adds incredible value to each episode.

Connect with Tony Pratte on – The Web – Facebook – LinkedIn

Is a new home on the horizon for you? Or would you like to improve the efficiency of your existing home? This time, we’re gabbing with Christy Howell of Align, who provides suggestions to build a green home that meets you where you are and provides sustainability for the future.

What Is Sustainability?

At its core, sustainability means that it’s built to last. Anything can be sustainable, from your home to your lifestyle. If it lasts and continues to serve you, then it’s sustainable. To build a green home, you want it to work with you—and for you—instead of being a slave to it. You want to build it mindfully with intention in the choices you make.

Where to Start to Build a Green Home

When you’re ready to build a green home, look first to your building envelope. That’s your foundation, walls, windows, doors, and roof. They make up the main elements of the building. There are lots of choices for sustainability in the building envelope. You can do a stick build, which is traditional framing with lumber. Or you can choose a modular approach. If cost is an issue, you could opt for partially green. Maybe go for sustainable components in the doors and windows. Pick the things that are most important to you.

Follow the Standard

The National Green Building Standard lists up to six different categories to implement when you build a green home. They are 1. Energy efficiency 2. Water efficiency 3. Resource efficiency 4. Lot development 5. Operation and maintenance 6. Indoor environmental quality There are different levels of implementation and certification, and you can choose the one that fits best for you to build a green home. The four certification levels are bronze, silver, gold, and emerald, with emerald being the highest. While your goal may not be to obtain NGBS certification, their guides are definitely a good source of information for building.

What Makes a Home Green?

Green is a catch-all phrase and can mean different things to different people. Perhaps the most meaningful component of green is that the home is safer, healthier, and more comfortable. Health and wellness come from how you build a green home. If you can bring in slightly better components to your home, or even just switch out cleaning solutions, you’re taking steps in the right direction. And that will make a world of difference in the long run.

Read more at The Green Home Coach Website! The Green Gab Podcast Links Bar:  Subscribe via iTunes |   Subscribe via RSS Feed |  Facebook Page |  Twitter Page |  Stitcher Page Connect with The Green Gab Podcast Host:

— Marla Esser Cloos on – The Web – Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn

 Green Gab: About the Host of The Green Gab Podcast:

Green Gab Podcast Host Marla Esser Cloos is the Founder of The Green Home Coach – a company leading the way to inspire you to learn about, focus on and put into place Green Solutions when it comes to your life, home building and more.

Marla is an NAHB Master Certified Green Professional, LEED AP and Missouri Woman Business Enterprise. She Earned her B.S. in Engineering and Public Policy and a Certificate in Energy from Washington University.

Click here to learn more about Marla at her website online via TheGreenHomeCoach.Com

Connect with Marla Esser Cloos on – The Web – Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn

There is so much to talk about on the topic of lighting. Lighting in your home is of particular importance because there are so many choices. Today, we’ll be providing a few tips of things to think about when lighting your home.

#1 Tip for Lighting in Your Home: Choose LEDs

When it comes to lighting in your home, my top tip is to choose LED lights whenever possible. If you have working old-style bulbs, throw them out and replace them with LED as soon as you can. While it might sound like a waste to throw out bulbs, the truth is that you’ll save energy and money. LEDs will pay for themselves in a few months. Not only are LED lights more energy efficient, they’re fun to use as lighting in your home. You can create ambiance, and there are just so many choices. Even at big-box retailers, you can find LEDs to replace just about any bulb in your home.

#2: Layer Your Lighting for Ambiance

Where do you start when it comes to lighting in your home? Think about layering. I like overhead lighting for general light: chandeliers, ceiling lights, and hall fixtures. All of those can now be LEDs. If you’re having a challenge with chandelier bulbs being too bright, install a dimmer. Instant ambiance! Of course, make sure you’re using dimmable bulbs. Some dimmable bulbs get warmer colored as they’re dimmed and whiter when they’re bright. That’s the perfect choice for a room that pulls double duty since you can adjust the lighting easily. When putting lighting in your home for ambiance, consider cabinet lighting on your baseboards or above the cabinets. Or put lighting behind glass in your cabinets. And what about safety lighting? The possibilities are endless.

#3: Automate Lighting in Your Home

Automation packages give you control over the lights in some or all of your home. You can have your lights come on at set times to wake you or welcome you home. And when you’re on vacation, lighting automation acts as a safety feature as well. Get creative!

Resources:

LED Lightbulb

Dimmer

Safety Lighting

Read more at The Green Home Coach Website! The Green Gab Podcast Links Bar:  Subscribe via iTunes |   Subscribe via RSS Feed |  Facebook Page |  Twitter Page |  Stitcher Page Connect with The Green Gab Podcast Hosts:

— Marla Esser Cloos on – The Web – Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn

— Tony Pratte on – The Web – Facebook – LinkedIn

 Green Gab: About the Hosts of The Green Gab Podcast:

Green Gab Podcast Host Marla Esser Cloos is the Founder of The Green Home Coach – a company leading the way to inspire you to learn about, focus on and put into place Green Solutions when it comes to your life, home building and more.

Marla is an NAHB Master Certified Green Professional, LEED AP and Missouri Woman Business Enterprise. She Earned her B.S. in Engineering and Public Policy and a Certificate in Energy from Washington University.

Click here to learn more about Marla at her website online via TheGreenHomeCoach.Com

Connect with Marla Esser Cloos on – The Web – Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn

Green Gab Podcast Host Tony Pratte is the Director of Builder/Contractor Relations at The Sound Room in St. Louis, Missouri.

Tony is a graduate of St. Louis University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has earned a Masters in Environmental Management & Sustainability at Harvard University

Tony’s 20+ year career has allowed to him to collect a number of experiences, connections and perspectives that offer an incredibly unique point of view that adds incredible value to each episode.

Connect with Tony Pratte on – The Web – Facebook – LinkedIn

Today we’re gabbing with Kellye Markowski of Energy Smart Homes, an energy auditing and consulting company. She focuses on home comfort by helping homeowners reduce their energy consumption and costs. By working with a company like Energy Smart Homes, homeowners are able to improve the home’s energy efficiency, whether it is a new construction or remodel. And that puts more dollars in your wallet, not just today but for all of the years you own the home. That makes your home and life comfortable in more ways than one!

Don’t Assume Your Home Is Energy Efficient

One of the biggest issues Kellye sees in her work is the assumption that the house was built with energy efficiency in mind. Sometimes, yes, but sometimes, no. That’s why the best time to look at an energy audit is before you start a build or even a remodel. But if you’re feeling a difference in temperature in different parts of your home, or your energy bills seem high, it might be a good time to look into the issue. Usually, if there are challenges with home comfort, one of the first areas to look is the thermal envelope. This is how a home stays warm in winter and cooler in summer, how air is exchanged through walls, floors, and ceilings. While some homes have issues with the thermal envelope, they can often be addressed inexpensively. The key is knowing that the problem is there. And, of course, it’s easier to rectify before a build or remodel instead of tackling it after the fact.

Home Comfort Includes Health and Safety

During a home audit, not just home comfort is addressed. We spend a lot of time in our homes, and the audit also involves health and safety. It’s all about considering the holistic health of your home. Air quality in a home can contribute to many health issues, and a leaky house isn’t as safe as a tight home. The way the home was constructed can contribute to family members suffering from asthma and allergies. But their health might improve when air tightness and ventilation are addressed.

A Small Investment Can Have a Huge Payout

While you do have to pay an energy auditor to come and inspect your home, most homeowners feel that the report they receive gives them a huge return on investment. The number one reason homeowners schedule an energy audit is because their bills are high and their home comfort is low. An energy audit is a day-long process that addresses various aspects of the home and provides homeowners with a number of options to increase their home comfort. Working with someone like Kellye results in suggestions that are attached to various price points and can result in numerous improvements. “Weatherization isn’t glamourous, but it can really make a difference in the comfort of your home.”

Subscribe on iTunes and get the show notes on The Green Gab Podcast. Get the gab with us as we share what we’ve done, as well as tips for greening up your home, your job, your family and your life! Get in on the gab for why green matters.

Resources:

Energy Smart Homes

Shop Everyday Green Home

Read more at The Green Home Coach Website! The Green Gab Podcast Links Bar:  Subscribe via iTunes |   Subscribe via RSS Feed |  Facebook Page |  Twitter Page |  Stitcher Page Connect with The Green Gab Podcast Hosts:

— Marla Esser Cloos on – The Web – Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn

— Tony Pratte on – The Web – Facebook – LinkedIn

 Green Gab: About the Hosts of The Green Gab Podcast:

Green Gab Podcast Host Marla Esser Cloos is the Founder of The Green Home Coach – a company leading the way to inspire you to learn about, focus on and put into place Green Solutions when it comes to your life, home building and more.

Marla is an NAHB Master Certified Green Professional, LEED AP and Missouri Woman Business Enterprise. She Earned her B.S. in Engineering and Public Policy and a Certificate in Energy from Washington University.

Click here to learn more about Marla at her website online via TheGreenHomeCoach.Com

Connect with Marla Esser Cloos on – The Web – Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn

Green Gab Podcast Host Tony Pratte is the Director of Builder/Contractor Relations at The Sound Room in St. Louis, Missouri.

Tony is a graduate of St. Louis University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has earned a Masters in Environmental Management & Sustainability at Harvard University

Tony’s 20+ year career has allowed to him to collect a number of experiences, connections and perspectives that offer an incredibly unique point of view that adds incredible value to each episode.

Connect with Tony Pratte on – The Web – Facebook – LinkedIn

 

Learning to drive a home and the systems in it require some basic training something like learning to drive a car.

We talk through some basic training on HVAC filters, thermostat operations/programming, lighting controls, appliance operation, water heater, fan controls, recycling practices/resources, app-controlled stuff and maintenance.

Read more at The Green Home Coach Website! The Green Gab Podcast Links Bar:  Subscribe via iTunes |   Subscribe via RSS Feed |  Facebook Page |  Twitter Page |  Stitcher Page Connect with The Green Gab Podcast Hosts:

— Marla Esser Cloos on – The Web – Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn

— Tony Pratte on – The Web – Facebook – LinkedIn

 Green Gab: About the Hosts of The Green Gab Podcast:

Green Gab Podcast Host Marla Esser Cloos is the Founder of The Green Home Coach – a company leading the way to inspire you to learn about, focus on and put into place Green Solutions when it comes to your life, home building and more.

Marla is an NAHB Master Certified Green Professional, LEED AP and Missouri Woman Business Enterprise. She Earned her B.S. in Engineering and Public Policy and a Certificate in Energy from Washington University.

Click here to learn more about Marla at her website online via TheGreenHomeCoach.Com

Connect with Marla Esser Cloos on – The Web – Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn

Green Gab Podcast Host Tony Pratte is the Director of Builder/Contractor Relations at The Sound Room in St. Louis, Missouri.

Tony is a graduate of St. Louis University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has earned a Masters in Environmental Management & Sustainability at Harvard University

Tony’s 20+ year career has allowed to him to collect a number of experiences, connections and perspectives that offer an incredibly unique point of view that adds incredible value to each episode.

Connect with Tony Pratte on – The Web – Facebook – LinkedIn

Wondering what to do with all of those holiday decorations all around your home? Lea Gallagher is a professional organizer and provides tips to get that holiday organizing handled. After all, there can be a lot of chaos around the holidays, with busyness, deadlines, and—let’s face it—wrapping paper everywhere. As you start off the new year, you can give yourself a gift now that will mean a lot next holiday season: organization!

Holiday Organizing Basics

As you’re packing up all of your holiday decorations, it’s a great time to think about how you can organize it to find it better next year. The best time of year to evaluate your holiday décor is right after the holiday has ended.

As you’re putting things away, ask yourself first: Did I use these things this year? If you didn’t, will you use it next year. Likely not, so perhaps you can purge. Ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I need it?

2. Do I use it?

3. Do I love it?

If you answer yes to two of those questions, keep it; if not, it might be time to find that item a new home.

The Benefits of Holiday Organizing

One of the best benefits of taking some time this holiday season to get organized is that you’ll reduce your stress next year. Essentially, your past self is taking care of your future self by getting organized.

Another great benefit of holiday organizing is that you can reduce, reuse, and recycle. That’s at the heart of sustainability and huge in organizing. After all, if you reduce the amount of stuff you have, there’s less to maintain. There’s less guilt in throwing things away. And you save money and space by reusing what you have.

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Resources

Everyday Green Home

Untangle Organizing

Untangle Organizing on Facebook

Untangle Organizing on Instagram

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Green Gab Podcast Host Marla Esser Cloos is the Founder of The Green Home Coach – a company leading the way to inspire you to learn about, focus on and put into place Green Solutions when it comes to your life, home building and more.

Marla is an NAHB Master Certified Green Professional, LEED AP and Missouri Woman Business Enterprise. She Earned her B.S. in Engineering and Public Policy and a Certificate in Energy from Washington University.

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