How To Green Your Hotel Room While Traveling

There isn’t much you can do to green your hotel room while out and about jet setting around the globe, or is there? As an environmentally conscious individual there is always something you can do to bring an eco vibe to any one thing or place you’re exposed to. Sprinkle a pinch of imagination, a tablespoon of inspiration and you’re halfway there.

Below we look at a few ways to green your hotel room while traveling, as usual share your feedback in the comment area.

Bring Eco Essentials From Home

Many travelers love to bring a piece of home with them and what better way to also incorporate eco touches in your hotel room, than by bringing your energy saving devices and gadgets, your organic cotton linens, hemp soap and so on.

Seek An Eco Hotel

Instead of a traditional hotel chain, you can try the Element from Starwood. This is a franchise line of eco hotels that have many earth friendly amenities including charging stations for your EV, certification from LEED, recycled carpets, energy saving appliances and more. The Element is known for their commitment to the environment along with providing guests with a natural and sustainable stay.

Conserve Water

Just like you do at home, keep your usage of water to a minimum and if at all possible try to maintain your bathroom habits in accordance to your eco sensibilities. Water is a precious resource that is coveted in most parts of the world since it’s not in abundance in certain parts of our globe. Treat it like the special treat that it is, and hopefully we will have it for centuries to come.

Curb Your Trash

For some reason, certain individuals think that a hotel stay is a license to party on and trash up the place without picking up after themselves. Just because there’s maid service doesn’t mean that garbage should pile up and everything goes in the trash. The less you consume, the less trash will accumulate so the rule of thumb here is that when in doubt, curb your trash.

Hold Off On Recurring Cleaning Service

Another little known trick to lessen your environmental footprint at any hotel is to not make use of the recurring cleaning service provided to guests that stay for multiple days. Instead request that linens only be changed if you plan to stay longer than a week, if not – there’s no need to have linens replaced for a two or three night stay.

There are many small things you can do to green your hotel stay whether for one night or longer. Try our tips above to help you in your eco journey.

Missy writes for a variety of clients including an easy car hire retailer in the UK.

Fancy Flooring: The Kitchen You Always Wanted

Give your day a jump start as this is where your routine cycle probably begins. For a room where you spend so much time and energy a little investment is not a bad idea. Interestingly, reshaping your kitchen floor covers only 4% of your expenditure if you renovate the entire kitchen.

Certain tips for getting a new kitchen floor: If you would like tiles, go for bigger ones to reduce the number of grout lines; unless of course, you want a dense patterned floor. Make your kitchenette look larger by going for a lighter color. Get your tiles arranged diagonally rather than lying parallel to the walls.
Now let’s consider some of the popular choices:

Vinyl Flooring
Vinyl is the most popular type of kitchen flooring for multiple reasons. To begin with, it fulfills the most basic criteria of good Bamboo Flooring: It’s durable. And then, it is far lighter on your budget than most other types of flooring. Vinyl would be a good option if you think aesthetically as well because vinyl flooring comes in a wide variety of designs. So, you can have your kitchen reflect your taste in appearance with flooring which is easy in installation, maintenance and high in durability, and not tough on your pocket. What could be more desirable than a waterproof kitchen floor, that is unlikely to be scratched, and id easy to clean?

Lamination
Another option would be laminating your floor. Here, you would install a sheet topped with plastic layer that is a photograph of wood or stone and gives your kitchen “the look”. You can even install it yourself. It is immensely important to have it very properly installed so it is advisable to have it done by some professionals rather than doing it yourself.

Wood Effect
A trendy natural looking style would be giving your floor a wood effect. One of the most popular effects is that of oak. This can be represented in multiple styles and colors as the floor is painted very nicely and that attribute opens this choice a variety of patterns and styles. Imagine a kitchen floor with sprinkled paint or dotted in your favorite color combinations. Wouldn’t that be amusing?

Linoleum
Go green! Though a tongue-twister linoleum kitchen flooring is desirable, inexpensive, durable, and made up of natural products: limestone, cork dust, wood flour, and linseed oil. Along with being environmentally friendly, linoleum is anti-bacterial. That, in addition to the fashionable look and range of available colors, makes it a wise choice to make. Get it installed well and it will stay with you for a long, long time.

Ceramic Tiles
The variety is not limited to appearance, texture, and designs but also to the prices for ceramic tiles. The price can range from $1 to $10, and the available colors seen infinite. The tiles are porous and therefore have to be glazed to add to the strength. As compared to vinyl and linoleum, these tiles are more wear-resistant and durable. They are fire and water resistant, and also easily mopped and maintained. So, why not give your kitchen a new, attractive look?

5 Unique Eco Options for the Bathroom

There are a variety of options available for those who want to go green in the bathroom. Bathrooms are one of the most energy-consuming, resource-intensive rooms in a home, and humans spend a great deal of time there. We begin and end our days in the bathroom and use it throughout the day.

Traditional bathrooms are not very eco-friendly, particularly those in older homes. However, bathrooms are the perfect space for reducing your home’s impact on the environment, and there are many things that homeowners can do to make their bathrooms greener.

Installing Low-flow Showerheads and Faucets
By installing low-flow showerheads and faucets, you can save thousands of gallons of water each year. Not only is this great for the environment, it is also a great way to reduce your water bill each month. Thanks to technology, there are a variety of low-flow faucets and showerheads available. Electronic tap technology allows you to simply tap shower or faucet heads to turn them on or off, allowing you to lather up and brush your teeth without leaving the water running.

Showerheads and faucets also have electronic sensors that turn off and on when movement is detected. Low-flow faucets and showerheads release less water without affecting the water’s pressure. These products are environmentally friendly, and they come in a variety of styles to match your bathroom’s decor.

Using Organic Towels and Washcloths
Conventional cotton plants are treated with a variety of chemicals, including pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, which cause damage to groundwater systems and negatively impact the earth’s soil. Also, to grow cotton commercially, millions of gallons of water must be used each year.

Using towels and washcloths made of organic cotton, bamboo and hemp is a great alternative. These plants are grown without chemicals and require less water. They are also made of natural fibers, so your towels and washcloths will be soft and will last long.

Environmentally Friendly Light Bulbs
Most single and double bathroom vanities can hold up to eight light bulbs, which uses a great deal of energy. Save energy by replacing your incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs.

These bulbs will provide you with plenty of light, so you’ll never have to worry about grooming yourself improperly or slipping on a puddle you didn’t see while entering walk-in bathtubs. Eco-friendly light bulbs do not need to be screwed in tightly. In fact, you’ll still have plenty of light if you screw them in half way.

Environmentally Friendly Toilets
Toilets are the largest consumers of water in the home. The average toilet uses three gallons of water every time it is flushed. Many of the modern toilets available are designed to save gallons of water each year. The 1.6 gallon toilet is quite popular. It costs the same as most basic toilets, but it uses almost half the amount of water than traditional toilets when flushed.

Dual-flush toilets have two flushing options; one option is designed for flushing liquids, and the other option is for flushing large amounts of waste. Composting toilets are also quite popular. These toilets have a decomposition system installed in them, which breaks down waste and turns it into fertilizer.

Taking Short Showers and Baths
When you spend thirty minutes or more in the shower, you waste gallons of water each day. However, taking a five minute shower uses approximately 50 liters of water, and a hot bath uses 150 liters. One of the best ways to save water is to reduce the amount of time you spend showering.

A good strategy is to place a waterproof timer in your shower. Set your timer for five minutes, and make sure that you take an invigorating shower within this time frame so that you’ll feel refreshed when your time is up. You can also save water by taking hot, relaxing baths. Bathing requires a bit more water than short showers but can save gallons of water each day.

Miguel Salcido is an avid blogger, father of 2 and a recent proud home owner. He loves studying home design and decor and has his eyes on purchasing some walk in bathtubs for his home.

Custom Home or Spec: What’s Best for You

In today’s new home building marketplace, there are three main categories of homes: custom, spec and tract. There can be some overlap in these categories. As a new home buyer, you have a remarkable selection of new homes and types from which to choose. You can pick any of these three categories or a blend, if that choice fits your needs and budget. You can always find out more by checking with an experienced builder such as Americas Home Place.

What is a Custom Home?

A true custom home is a “one-off” meaning it is unique. There is no other home like it. It has a unique floor plan, unique custom touches, unique amenities, as well as features, size, interior design and so on.

Size does not matter. You can have a very large 10,000 square foot mansion or you can have a 1200 square foot empty nester’s home. The home’s unique characteristics are what matters. If there is no other home like yours or nearly like yours, you probably have a custom home.

With a custom home, you can have just as much space as you need or much more than you may use. The choice is yours. You can have the same cabinets, floors and fixtures in a small house as in a mansion.

What is a Spec Home?

Spec homes are homes that a builder put up and then sells. He is speculating that he will make money selling this home. Sometimes the home is just partially finished and buyer then selects the final build out. Sometimes the home is completely finished. The house can also be unique in floor plan and amenities, but the buyer gets involved after the house is started and sometimes not until the house is finished.

The home can be a plain vanilla proposition or one that rivals the most luxuriant pure custom home. The key is that the builder started building it without a buyer.

What is a tract home?

A tract home is like a spec home in that the builder builds the home without a buyer in the hope that it will attract a seller. Usually it is a large builder with a large tract of land, and he or she is building a number of homes at the same time. It is assembly line building. Usually there are a limited number of floor plans with a limited number of build out options. A builder might have five different floor plans and build ten of each model. Sometimes the models are the same floor plan just reversed.
Tract home builders are usually large enough to do considerable marketing. They are building out an entire subdivision and they are pushing that development with advertising, open houses, model homes and real estate agents.

The Advantage of a Custom Home

Custom homes have one great advantage over both spec homes and tract homes. You can get what you want and where you want it. No other new homes option can do this for you. Take some time and learn more about building a custom home on your own lot.

Visit Americas Home Place and explore more advantages of building a custom home.

Mulch Your Spring Gardens with Fall Leaves

Autumn colors make everything look rustic and pretty, with its bright amber and scarlet leaves covering the ground. On the flipside, autumn leaves are notoriously difficult to manage (unless you’re one who enjoys trudging around the yard with the crush of leaves under your feet), which is no easy task. For most of us, clearing the yard of fallen leaves is often a tedious activity, having to spend hours raking dead leaves and bagging them, only to throw it all into the trash. Why let all that leaves and effort go to waste, when you can make your hard work worth it by saving the bagged leaves instead of throwing them out, and use them for mulch come spring.

Mulch, unlike compost, does not need to be decomposed in order to be used. In fact, it is quite the opposite: mulch needs to be dry so it can be used to insulate the soil surrounding the plants and keep the water in the soil from evaporating. Mulch’s dryness is also effective in keeping weeds from growing in your garden. It is only when mulch naturally decomposes that it feeds nutrients into the soil. Your effort of raking leaves in the fall becomes totally useful with mulching and you probably need to spend less on fertilizer!

The trick to mulching is making sure the leaves are kept dry. You can either use a mulch pit (any container large enough to hold all of your fall leaves) with a proper lid, or you can use garbage bags and secure them with twist ties. All you need to do after raking is to shred the collected leaves with either a leaf shredder or even a regular push mower, and then you can finally store these for spring mulching. And since it’s important to keep the leaves dry, it’s best to choose a bin that’s waterproof or put it someplace where it can’t get damp. If you’re using plastic bags, it would be ideal to use sturdy yet lightweight bags, much like the ones available from PlasticPlace. Made from 80% recycled content, these environment-friendly 3-ply COEX Supertuff garbage bags are reinforced by sturdy, leak-proof bottoms that would keep the leaves dry until the next season comes along.

Welcome spring with wonderful, healthy plants protected and nourished by a nice mulch of fall leaves. Easy and economical, this is a great way of growing your gardens.

May Flores is a freelance writer and graphic artist who occasionally does advertising work for Plastic Place, an online wholesaler of recyclable and biodegradable trash bags and garbage bags.

How To Wash Your Car In An Eco-Friendly Way

Little did you know, but one of the least environmentally friendly chores you could end up doing on a Saturday is washing your car in your driveway. Sure, it seems harmless enough, and we all know that the family car could use a good scrub, but for all the good you do cleaning your car, you could be unintentionally polluting other parts of the environment. Of course, keeping your car free from road salt, dirt, and general grime is one of the best ways to keep your vehicle in tiptop shape, so what is a clean-car-loving, environmentally conscientious person supposed to do?

Automatic Car Wash
The greenest way to wash your car is through a commercial car wash. These car washes use about 1/2 of the water that it takes an average person to wash their car in the driveway, and they are required by law to contain and collect the water used each wash. This leftover water can be cleaned and used again, or at least treated before it is dumped back out into the outdoors. Not only is this an environmentally friendly way to get a clean car, it’s also quick and practical.

Hand Wash
Without a doubt, hand washing your car is still the very best way to get it sparkling clean, and doing it in a responsible manner just takes a little work. First of all, get soap and cleaners that are nontoxic and biodegradable. (You can even find recipes that help you make a biodegradable soup at home.) Next, make sure that you are washing your car over grass, gravel or dirt. If you wash it the old fashioned way in the driveway, you are sending your harmful waste water straight into storm drains or bodies of open water. Washing over grass, gravel or dirt lets the water be absorbed and neutralized instead.

For the actual washing, make sure to move from top to bottom, doing the dirtiest part of your car last, rinsing each part as you go. Do not even think about leaving the hose water running while you are washing. Having a simple nozzle that will stop the water will help minimize your water bill and your water waste.

When it comes to keeping your car clean now days, how and where you wash your car really does matter. You don’t need to pay a lot of money to have someone professionally wash it for you, nor do you need to drive around town with a dirty car. Just be aware of a few simple things you can do to make the smallest environmental impact, while also taking care of your automobile investment.

This guest post was written by Freedom Rims, a Responsible Military Lender since 1983. Freedom Rims offers military financing for a variety of performance rims and tires including Ninja Rims and Strada Rims throughout the USA.

Renovate Your Kitchen with Useful Kitchen Remodeling Ideas

Renovate Your Kitchen with Useful Kitchen Remodeling Ideas In the article below, I am going to provide you with some of the vital kitchen remodeling ideas that are going to be extremely useful for you. In case you are thinking of getting your Discount Kitchen Cabinets renovated then you should go through these tips.

Kitchen Layout

The kitchen remodeling ideas are normally based on the shape and type of your kitchen space. For instance, ‘L’ shaped is the most in style kitchen design There are practically a large number of layouts that are appealing as well as innovative such as ‘U’ shaped kitchen layouts which are considered to be perfect for little kitchen areas, the parallel or dual ‘L’ shaped that are best for the larger ones.

While you are renovating your kitchen, you need to stay back and fully visualize the design which is the best and also matches your room in a perfect manner. While you are designing, you need to figure out the location where you are going to place your oven, stove, the fridge, and microwave along with various other kitchen appliances. You need to make room for your sink. These are some of the vital points that you need to take into account while you are in the designing phase; and determining this will support you to easily determine the left out aspects when you are renovating your kitchen.

Kitchen Sink

The sink happens to be one of the most vital aspects within a kitchen. You are required to locate the space based on your plumbing areas where your sink should be positioned. You are required to evaluate all the specs in this regard so that you can opt for the most accurate size sink in accordance to your kitchen requirements. Sinks that have 2 basins are extremely accepted whereas one of them can be used for washing and the other one for rinsing the dishes or various other functions. While you are trying to implement kitchen-remodeling ideas and concepts, you can even consider placing your dishwasher and sink close to each other for your own ease and handiness.

Cabinetry For Your Kitchen

A great is always the one which provide you with enough room for storing pans, glasses, dishes and several other vital cooking devices. An appropriate design will enable you to make use of your kitchen space to a great extent and that can be by getting your kitchen with a useful cabinetry. Your kitchen’s cabinetry may vary in dimensions depending on your requirements and where you prefer mounting them. For example, you can get small cabinets mounted on your fridge’s top which is going to provide you with an additional space. This is going to be practical as well as elegant.

Counter tops And Different Types

Counter tops tend to occupy most of the kitchen space, and for this reason opting for the accurate style and shade that goes with the rest in a must! You need to make sure that the counter top’s design and color matches the wall colors, floor, and even the cabinetry. You can find counter tops made of stone, granite, solid surface, or even laminate.

These are some of the most fundamental kitchen renovation ideals that provide you with a start when it comes to your home improvement and remodeling projects.

Latest Green Technology for New Build Homes

With more people becoming environmentally aware it is becoming more important for new home developers to look at options for making their new build homes as eco-friendly as possible using the latest in green technologies. This coincides with the government’s aim to make new build homes zero carbon by 2016.

As there are a variety of different green technologies available some are used throughout large developments whereas others are limited to smaller builds. One of the benefits of using some of these new technologies on large developments for developers is that the rating of one new home may offset the rating of another and certain technologies can be used to benefit the whole development.

In an attempt to achieve an excellent eco homes rating developers are using a range of green technologies including those that minimise the amount of fuel required such as solar panels – which may also give residents a chance to sell unused energy back to the grid.

Technologies to save water from low water use fittings and appliances to greywater systems which reuse water such as bath water to flush the toilet.

Whereas the energy saving methods may be the most well-known of the moment with many suppliers increasing their water rates significantly and certain companies now insisting on water meters for properties these are likely to become ever more important.

Alongside this developers are also looking at ways to reduce the impact of initially building the development with the use of materials with low toxicity and low embodied energy as well as taking opportunities to use reclaimed and recycled materials and even sourcing the heaviest materials from locations close to the development to minimise the impact of transporting these materials.

Whereas all new build homes have some extra benefits in comparison to older homes with regulations requiring a certain level of energy efficiency with quality windows, doors, appropriate ventilation and levels of insulation, developments with a higher eco-rating have gone further using green technologies to minimise energy loss attracting both buyers who are concerned about the environment and others that want to shrink their household bills.

While many of these technologies are used on a development wide basis other green technologies are generally used on smaller or one-off developments (one example springs to mind of a small developer building new homes in Liverpool) for people who want to build new homes that minimise energy usage and wastage as much as possible or even achieve passivhaus status, these properties may include systems such as ground source and air source heat pumps and wind turbines.

Designing your Bathroom for Greener Living

It’s easy to go low-flow when the federal government makes you. Most of us want to go green when we remodel our bathrooms, both from a sense of environmental consciousness as well as the relief a lower utility bill brings. But green bathroom remodeling is also insisted upon by our federal government.

It’s a good thing. The conservation of water is earth-friendly and it will save money while paying the bills, too. If Uncle Sam can shower with a low-flow shower head, then so can we. The maximum output of water federally allowed in a new low-flow shower head is 2.5 gallons per minute. That’s still a lot of water. Shower heads come in several varieties. One is the one most of us are used to, called “laminar flow.” Laminar flow shower heads mean individual streams of water.

There are also aerating shower heads, which mix air with the water and form a very humid spray. Depending on the climate where you live, your hair, and your preferences, either one can be right for you. If it’s considered a low-flow shower head, you’ll still save money when you invest in a low-flow shower head during a green bathroom remodeling project. You’ll save more if you stay beneath the 2.5 gallons per minute mandate.

Aerators can screw onto the end of sink faucets, too. They restrict the water flow to as little as 0.5 gallons per minute. The tiny gadgets are inexpensive, and thus extremely cost effective measures to conserve water and cut your bill. Toilets can be low-flow, too. In 1992, the low-flow toilet became standard when George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act, bring the gallons-per-flush from 3.5 gallons to 1.6 gallons. Also called the “low flush” toilet, the low-flow toilet has improved since the 1990s, and now one flush will do the trick when routinely, two flushes were needed when the low-flow models were first introduced, thus defeating the purpose. Technology has continued to find ways to make green bathroom remodeling worthwhile and not counterproductive, especially with the advent of the dual-flush toilet.

The dual-flush toilet saves the most water of all, cutting back up to 67% of water usage. Very little water is used when flushing liquids, usually less than a gallon. The 1.6 gallon flush is reserved for flushing solids, and it is usually employed significantly less often. Saving water during a green bathroom remodeling project has never been easier – or more legal.

How else can we be environmentally friendly in a green bathroom remodeling project? In addition to cutting back on water, consider ways to cut back on the electricity used to heat the water. Investing in solar hot water heaters which use solar panels on the roof and collection tanks for water can save a bundle of money on the utility bills. If the prior legislation continues, our government will probably soon have a say in how we can legally heat our bathroom water, so get a jump on the earth-conscious movement and think about solar power now.

Consider also sustainable materials when designing your vanity tops and cabinetry in your green bathroom remodeling project. Be aware of which types of materials are toxic (formaldehyde-based adhesives) when assembling your space, and which kinds of woods are sustainable (bamboo) versus which should be avoided (tropical hardwoods). Counter tops and tiles made from recycled glass, stone, and even newspaper are a great green way to reuse materials and still have a look that sparkles like granite.

Looking for a bathroom remodeling Professional? Please consider Budget Bath for all Bath bath remodeling Maryland related projects.

The Benefits Of Selling Green Real Estate

There is a new trend happening in real estate and it is going green. More and more people are looking for homes that have at least been partially converted to an environmentally friendly home. Homeowners not only want to save money on utility bills but also have their eyes on the environment and how they can help save this earth for their children. This is a trend that is only going to get stronger as the years go by and anyone selling their home needs to look at the advantages of selling green real estate.

You may have noticed it yourself when you have had people in your home looking at it for a potential purchase. They may have asked you questions about your utility bills or may have paid a lot of attention to the windows and doors. These are all indications that homebuyers are looking for a little bit of green in every house.

If you are selling your home you should mention the green aspects of it. When you are showing people your home, take an extra moment to talk about the new energy-efficient windows you purchased last year or the new digital thermostat you had installed. This can make a difference when you are selling your home.

If you don’t have many green features that you can accentuate, the next best thing you can do is to physically add some green to your home. Pick up some leafy green plants and place them next to your sofa on the end tables. Purchase some beautiful leafy flowers that you can put on the night table beside your children’s bunk beds. Grab some of these leaves and arrange a few on top of the pillows on the bunk beds. This will create a green effect that will be to your advantage.

Adding plants and flowers to your home is always a good idea if you are trying to sell it anyway. It doesn’t take long for air in the house to get very stale, especially in the winter when the heat is on. Plants and flowers actually act as an air purifier in the home by adding extra oxygen to it.

Do whatever you can afford to do to green up your home for a faster sale. There are a lot of people that are thinking about the environment these days and looking for a home that has at least some green features to it. The more you can add to your home when it is up for sale the better chance you have of selling it quickly.