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When it comes to green living, you can never really go too far. Humans have long been nothing more than parasites on the Earth, wreaking destruction and spreading pollution in our bid for survival. But now that we know the damage we’ve been causing, hopefully we can begin to reverse the process, and you should spread this attitude to every area of your life. So when you decide to remodel your living room, think about the many ways that you can do it in keeping with a cleaner planet. One great method of greening up the process is using salvaged items instead of buying everything new. Reduce, reuse, and recycle whenever possible (reclaim is another good “R”) and you’ll effectively reverse your carbon footprint even as you create the beautiful and eclectic space you crave. Here are a few ways to do it.

Salvaged Living Room: Photo: salvagedgrace.com

1. Flooring: Reclaimed hardwoods are a great way to create the basis for a sophisticated and luxurious space. Instead of supporting deforestation, opt for planks that have been removed from another home (probably during remodel or demolition). Companies that sell reclaimed hardwoods can often refurbish them so they look like new (or leave them distressed if you prefer). And it will cost you a fraction of what you would pay for new. Bonus: the cost to the planet is nada.

2. Sofas and chairs. Often the focal point of the living room, you want your seating (and especially the sofa) to be both beautiful and comfortable, since it largely defines the feeling and style of the room. So you’re probably not too keen to pick something up off the side of the road. However, used furniture stores and estate sales may provide you with a more workable solution. With a little stuffing and some new upholstery, or even a simple slipcover, these items can be given a second life in your home. And often, older furniture is a lot sturdier than the new stuff. So check local stores or simply hit up Craig’s List to keep these items out of the landfill for another couple of decades (or longer).

Old Sofa, remade into new with scraps of materials. Photo: squintlimited.com

3. Tables and storage. Once again, reclaimed is the way to go. However, you have a lot of options in this area. Of course, you can get prefab furniture at almost any thrift store, and some of it may even be in pretty good shape or require only minimal work. But think about the other ways you can use already used wood. Start by taking a look around your house. Do you have an old dresser or bookshelf in the garage that has seen better days? Spruce it up with some sanding and a fresh coat of paint and use it as a home entertainment and media storage center. Or if you find a nice table that simply doesn’t fit your space, get jiggy-saw with it and cut it down to size.

Reclaimed Crates To Be Used As Shelving

4. Lighting: Overhead lights can get the green treatment with compact fluorescent bulbs, but when it comes to table lamps, the sky is the limit with salvage. A wooden table leg on a base with a hole drilled through it can become a hip lamp, while a glass bottle full of river rocks can give your room a rustic look. Almost anything can be made into a lamp, so get your imagination on with your salvage items in this area.

Chandlier Made With Reclaimed Mason Jars. Photo: reclaimedlighting.com

5. Accessories: Candle-holders, vases, picture frames, pillows and so on can all be created from salvaged items of any stripe (plastics, metal, wood, even corrugated cardboard, just to give you a few ideas). So don’t hesitate to pick up some weirdo items and get crafty. You’ll definitely end up with some original pieces that are bound to impress (and express your personal style), and your house will be the greenest on the block.

Recycle Memories Into Pillows

Submitted by guest blogger Kyle Simpson writes for Sofas and Sectionals where you can find an assortment of high end furniture like a Palliser sofa or Berkline sofa.Similar Posts:

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This handy To Go- Reusable Bamboo Utensil set set also has chopsticks. It comes wrapped up, throw a set in your car, your purse, your picnic supplies, your backpack and you are ready to go. No more plastic eating utensils! Plus this would make a great gift for your friends. Thai Bamboo Utensil Set It’s $22.00.
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Tulsi Hybrid Solar Cooking Oven

I know it’s late in the season- but better late than ever. If you are like me and wait till the ‘season’ is over, you get better pricing with products on sale!  I love this solar outdoor oven- no more propane and charcoal (saving environment and money) because all you need is the sun! And it’s portable- great for ball games, picnics and camping.
Tulsi-Hybrid Solar Cooking Oven (on sale now for $235)Similar Posts:

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exclusivelygreenmarket.com

I’m actually doing this post because I want these. (Hint, Hint) Christmas is coming up and this would be the perfect gift. Now when someone asked me what I want, I can just send them the link! No more paper napkins and tablecloths, plus they are made in America and organic!

exclusivelygreenmarket.com

The above products are available from Exclusively Green Market made by Fiberactive Organics.

About Fiberactive Organics:

Fiberactive Organics has two missions, one is to increase the market for organic cotton in order to promote organic farming throughout the world, especially in the US, specifically here in North Carolina. We would like to purchase all of the cotton for our thread and fabrics from US farmers, but there just aren’t enough of them growing organic. We have been forced to buy cotton from other countries, which is wonderful quality, but I don’t like using the petroleum to transport it to the US. My ultimate dream is to take my products from the soil to retail-ready within 400 miles of the home office.

My second mission is to provide work for those who would otherwise be unemployed. Five Montagnard women now work at Fiberactive on a one-day-at-a-time basis, only coming to work when I have a job for them to do. I provide them with the necessary tools so that they can work from home when they choose. They get good wages, free transportation, and lots of on-the-job training. I love sending “the girls” home with bags of fresh eggs and vegetable from my little farm.special garden area where we grow clover, etc. for our rabbits.

• Tablecloth ($70)
• Napkins ($38)

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Photo Inhabitat

LED lights (Light Emitting Diodes) are lightbulbs which are super energy efficient. In the old days they were used for such things as flashlights. Today you see them in your computer screens and now in your home or office.

I Just Gotta Tell Ya

• Estimated 600 million fluorescent lamps are disposed of in U.S. landfills, amounting to 30,000 pounds of mercury waste.
• It only takes 4 mg of mercury to contaminate up to 7,000 gallons of freshwater, meaning that the 30,000 pounds of mercury thrown away in compact fluorescent light bulbs each year is enough to pollute nearly every lake, pond, river and stream and oceans in North America
• Breaking one mercury light bulb in your home can contaminate your home to such a degree that hazardous materials experts are needed to remove the mercury
• It is unlawful for anyone to dispose of fluorescent bulbs as universal waste in the states of California, Minnesota, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

The Re-Green Factor

• LED bulbs last up to 10x longer than CFL’s and can potentially save more than $700 over it’s lifetime and reduce energy usage up to 80%
• LED use less energy (saving even more money)
• No mercury is used in the manufacturing of LED’s
• LED’s are more durable- they do not have a filament, therefore are not damaged under normal circumstances.

Where to recycle

• E-cycle takes batteries and flurescent bulbs by mail.
• Lightbulb Recycling- facts and information on lightbulbs and recycling- click on your state to find lightbulb recycling resources.

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I Just Gotta Tell Ya

• Each year in the USA, more than 40 billion plastic utensils are thrown into landfills.
• Plastic cutlery is made from petroleum, a non-renewable resource. In a landfill, a piece of plastic may take between 500-1000 years to breakdown into smaller components. Each year in the USA, more than 40 billion plastic utensils are thrown into landfills.

Now you can Replace plastic with eco-friendly products at Bangalla- in perfect timing for the annual Fourth of July party!

Here is What they Offer:

Enviroware-Forks, Spoons and Knives- 10-25- 50 Packs- ($1.99-$5.45)

Green Kitchware

Bamboo Plates -10-25-50 Packs- ($3.49-$9.99)

Bamboo Plates

Bamboo Bowls 10-25-50 Packs- ($2.99-$6.99)

Bamboo Cups 10-25-50 Packs ($2.99-$6.99)

Now You can Save 10% on eco-friendly products. Buy Now.Similar Posts:

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• Bio Wash Ball – Saves You $500.00 per year

• 10.6 Tons of Pillows go into Landfills every year
• Recent studies have shown synthetic pillows have higher levels of dust mites than feather pillows.
• ‘Conventional Pillows’ contain petroleum chemicals or additives which release VOC’s into the air.

The most environmentally Friendly thing to do is:

• Get Pillows Cleaned – I just throw mine into the washer and line dry.
• Reuse Pillows
• Donate Pillows- shelters animal and human might take them
• Give Away- post on Craigslist or other venues.

Anti-Allergy- May contain synthetics unless they have a certified organic label for the materials.

Buckwheat- made with 100% organic buckwheat hulls. Good environmentally because buckwheat does not need pesticides to grow. Naturally dust mite repellant.

Down Pillows- Made from feathers

Horse Hair Pillows- Old fashioned material made from horse hairs.

Kapok- Derived from Kapok Tree seed pods, they are blended with other natural materials, organic cotton and linen. Good anti- allergy properties.

Natural Latex- Pillow Fillers as an alternative to polyurethane. Holds it;s shape to conform to your neck and head. Derived from rubber trees.

Organic Cotton- Good hypo allergenic, if allergic to latex, buckwheat or wool.

Recycled Polyester- Pillows may still contain chemical additives and will off gas VOCs. But the good news, they are recycling!

Wool- Good choice, moisture resistant qualities, natural fiber, good insulator. Can buy certified organic wood that has not been treated with chemicals.

Where to Find Eco Friendly Pillows

• Building For Health
• Evo
• White Lotus

Resources

The Pillow Shop- Cleans Pillows with no chemicals, reuses shipping boxes, employs bio-degradable pillow ticks.

Hollander Home Fashions- Zero Waste Program – saving over 11 Million Bottles a year going into landfill

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The other part of Gifts That Give Back- they are perfect for the person who has everything, the hard to buy for person, the teary eyed person who always takes back the gift you gave them. Really what could they say, when you make a purchase to fight poverty! 

The Following are a few charities that you can purchase gifts and know that a percentage of what you purchase will go back into doing good things. 

Heifer international- (www.heifer.org) Heifer’s mission is…To work with communities to end hunger and poverty and to care for the earth.

Oxfam American (oxfamamericaunwrapped.com) Oxfam America works in 100 countries around the world. This catalog contains gift items that symbolically represent our work. The items selected represent project goals from grants disbursed by our seven offices around the world. The purchase of each gift item is a contribution toward Oxfam America’s many programs, not a donation to a specific project or goal. Your donation will be used where it is needed the most–to help people living in poverty throughout the world.

Mercy Corps (www.mercycorps.org) Supporters of Mercy Corps’ Give for Kidsprogram help us open schools, fund health clinics, ensure healthy food and supply clean water. Your donation gives children a chance

World Wildlife Fund (www.worldwildlifefund.org) Donate, Adopt or Buy Gifts- supports WWF’s mission is the conservation of nature. Using the best available scientific knowledge and advancing that knowledge where we can, we work to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth and the health of ecological systems

Product Red (joinred.com) Help eliminate AIDS in Africa. You will be the first to receive updates on (RED) products, receive special offers only available to members and learn about all the ways your purchases are making an impact. (RED) is working because of your support.

Bamboo Tornado (www.retro51.com) Save the Rainforest with purchase of Bamboo Pens

Endangered Species Chocolate www.chocolatebar.com – 10% of purchases go to helping species, habit and humanity 

Dancing Deer Baking Company )www.dancingdeer.com The Sweet Home Project is our philanthropy to help end family homelessness. Through a partnership with One Family Inc., a nonprofit initiative of the Paul and Phyllis Fireman Foundation, we donate 35% of the retail price of Sweet Home goodies & gifts, year-round, directly to scholarships, housing, childcare and counseling to help homeless mothers get back on their feet. The best news is, not one of the mothers has returned to shelter since completing the program.

Goodshop.com - Up to 30% of what you purchase goes to help your favorite charity or school.

Other Resources

• Inhabit- 
• CNN Post on Gift that Give Back

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This bundle is a great starter kit for anyone who would like to start incorporating eco-friendly, non-toxic household cleaners and household products into your home.

The basket includes:

- Epic All Purpose Cleaner, Glass & Mirror cleaner, Dish Soap and Hand Soap

- A TWIST Euro clothe and sponge – one each

- A TWIST Loofah and Naked sponge - one each

- TWIST bamboo cloth

- Biobag Tall Kitchen bags

- Chico re-useable shopping bag

- Buygreen.com 100% organic cotton shopping bag

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