It’s the little things that count, right? To make the world a better, greener place, we can recycle, take shorter showers and drive less. There are a lot of things manufacturers can do to make sure we have products that make things a little more environmentally friendly (e.g., selling recyclable goods, low-flow showerheads and non-gas guzzlers). But here’s a good, green and simple idea: tube free TP.

Yep, toilet paper without the cardboard tube in the middle. You can still use it in your regular toilet paper holder, but the slightly useless tube isn’t there.

Think it doesn’t make a difference? According to Treehugger, those tubes add up to 160 MILLION pounds of trash per year. Imagine the difference it could make if toilet paper tubes went the way of the dodo!

Image courtesy of elycefeliz on Flickr.

One Project Closer has an awesome post about building, renovating and living in a green home, asking the central question, “How do you measure green?” Here are a few of their benchmarks:

• Water conservation
• Energy efficiency
• Resource efficiency
• Community and site impact
• Indoor environmental quality

The fact is, there’s no one measurement for green. There are a lot of things to consider. Are you just interested in a product’s energy efficiency or is it important how they treat their workers? What if something is made of non-sustainable materials but provides an energy savings over its lifetime? Or what if the “non-green” product lasts longer than the green one? Or if a local product is widely available and the green option needs to be shipped halfway across the world?

Lots to think about! What’s most important to you? What would you like to see as standards for green home products?

Photo courtesy of Stuck in Customs on Flickr

We were delighted to have architect and author Sarah Susanka as a guest of Marvin Windows and Doors at this year’s Remodeling Show. Here are some tips from Sarah’s latest book, “Not So Big Remodeling,” written with Marc Vassallo.

1. One is Better Than None. When undergoing a remodeling project, include as many green upgrades as the budget allows. If the prospect of many upgrades seems overwhelming, just pick one and do it well. Every improvement makes a difference to the long-term sustainability of the structure.

2. Waste Not, Want Not. Reuse as many of the original components from the existing house as is reasonable. There are often interesting ways to repurpose materials, such as using wall studs to extend the eaves or grinding up old stucco for the driveway base.

3. Mind Your Materials. Choose paints and varnishes that are free from harmful VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) and formaldehyde. Look for engineered wood products and FSC-certified woods (Forestry Stewardship Council). Marvin offers FSC-certified wood windows.

4. Give Your House a Check-up. Obtain an energy audit from a home energy expert to identify problem areas and streamline the process of improving the home’s energy efficiency. This alone can save hundreds of dollars a year.

5. Seal Leaks. Have the existing HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system checked by a qualified contractor. Replace substandard ductwork and seal all ductwork in unconditioned spaces.

6. Improve Efficiency. Increase efficiency and lower energy bills by using double or triple-paned windows with a coating known as “low E.” Choose efficient HVAC equipment and EnergyStar rated appliances.

7. Increase Insulation. Attics and crawl spaces are common culprits for substandard insulation. There are many insulation options to choose from, such as sprayed-in, closed-cell, no-VOC foam insulation.

8. Use the Roof. Extend the roof overhangs to protect the exterior from weather and shade the house from the high summer sun. Consider adding a solar hot water system or a photovoltaic array.

Laundry. It’s the eternal chore — never seems to be done. No matter how many loads, there’s always a mountain of clothing. And let’s not even get started on the folding!

With all the laundry being done out there, it’s no surprise to learn that most of us have room for improvement in this area when it comes to living green. Between using bleaches and hot water and drying every single last item of clothing, we’re due for a laundry overhaul.

Without buying an entire laundry room’s worth of new things, there’s some things you can do immediately:

• Cold water works great for washing! Please note that MayoClinic.com does recommend laundering sheets in hot water to kill dust mites and allergens.
• Hang it up! Buy a clothes line or a a drying rack and use it. In addition to saving money and energy, line drying will help keep your clothes looking great for longer.

If you are ready to make some larger changes, then the most obvious place to start is by looking at replacing your washer and/or dryer. The Green Guide recommends that when shopping for a washing machine, you look at ENERGY STAR ratings, water factor, top loaders vs. front loaders and programmable wash cycles.

For dryers, their recommendations are a little different. They point out that if your washing machine is energy efficient, that will help speed drying time. A good thing to look for however is moisture sensors — clothes get just as dry as you need them. And if you can hang on to your old dryer until 2011, you may have some options. The Green Guide says that “smart dryers” are “green machines…designed to use power only during the electricity grid’s non-peak periods. That reduces overall demand and the emissions from largely coal-fired power plants.”

And for some ratings on washers, visit Re-Nest’s round-up of energy efficient washing machines.

Photo courtesy of aussiegall on Flickr

How much water do you use? When you think of that question, you probably think of things like drinking water and showers. But there’s so much more to think about when it comes to your total water usage.

To help you out, The Green Guide from National Geographic provides a handy water usage calculator. It starts with the basics, like how many people live in your house and when it was built, and moves on to more personal questions like the number of showers you take and if flush the toilet after every usage.

And there’s a lot in the way of food that goes into water: specifically the amount of water that animals drink (if you are a vegetarian, you may well get a lower total water usage). Beyond that there’s appliances and shopping. Whew! It’s a lot to make you think, and by the end, you’ll be able to figure out your main water usage areas. If you’re ready to take the next step, The Green Guide will help you pledge to lower your water usage.

Knowledge is power, so go to the Water Footprint Calculator and learn!

Photo courtesy of Tanya Puntti on Flickr.

Our friends at re-nest have posted a very useful life cycle assessor. Looking at it, you realize that there’s a lot to think about when acquiring a new item. When you purchase a widget, it’s helpful to think about it all the way from the raw materials to its disposal. And there are other questions to consider too! Re-nest lists an extensive list, including:

• Are employees treated fairly?
• What is the typical lifespan?
• Is it recyclable?

Do you think this is a realistic tool? Or do you ask these questions for larger purchases, or maybe only for certain categories, such as electronics?

Image courtesy of re-nest.

Two recent articles from Twin Cities-based news site MinnPost have focused on the future of the urban landscape — on the suburban one, too.

The first viewpoint comes from Richard Florida, author of the book “The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity.” In a nutshell, he believes that when the economy recovers, it “will demand cleaner, more efficient ways of living, traveling, working and arranging our communities if we hope to climb out of our hole and catch the next wave of prosperity.”

Smaller homes and better, more efficient public transportation seem to be two of his main viewpoints. And this idea of transforming the way we live is important and valid and may come to pass.

But MinnPost also featured the viewpoint of author Joel Kotkin (“The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050″). His view is that the new green urbanism is a bit of a pipe dream. Partly this has to do with psychology: a large number of Americans will always prefer single family suburban homes to multi-family urban living.

But isn’t the problem of urban sprawl something cities are racing to fix? Kotkin believes that cities will decline in importance. Jobs and services will keep moving outwards to where people live, hopefully cutting down on time spent in the car.

What do you think? Which vision will take hold after the recovery? Will you find yourself living in urban mixed-used developments or suburban homes with picket fences? Or will some third building trend drive the recovery? Do you think stages of life affect people’s housing choices?

We’ve covered smaller living spaces before, but it’s worth another look.

By now we’re over a year into the current recession. Despite some green shoots of recovery, the future is far from certain. Combine that with a new interest in sustainability, and the footprints of new homes have been shrinking.

Inhabitat’s recent post on small house living features some interesting statistics, such as that home square footage has been steadily decreasing since 2007 and that census statistics indicate that newly constructed homes now have less bedrooms.

Obviously people are heeding the call of the recession and living in less space. However, that does not necessarily mean less money is being spent. As designers like Sarah Susanka have pointed out, quality over quantity can be very valuable when building or remodeling a home. For those that are building less house and putting on smaller additions for the sake of money though, the question is if this new-found aesthetic will last when better times are here.

Or we may continue to see smaller houses as people continue to want to live in certain areas. There’s only so much land, as Japanese builders have known for a long time. We featured this narrow house in a post a while back, but it’s getting some attention from NPR. Who knows? These ultra-small, super-innovative homes might become the wave of the future here!

What do you think of small houses? A necessity or a virtue? Or both?

There’s been a lot of ink spilled lately about alternative energy on a macroeconomic scale. But what about ways you can use these new forms personally?

It seems like every other cornfield now has been given over to wind energy. No doubt these massive structures can provide great benefit to companies and cities. If you wanted to experiment however, it was a little difficult. But now there are some options.

Looking similar, though on a smaller scale than the average wind turbine, the Proven Energy 2.5 kW 300 V Wind Turbine Grid Tie can be used for personal energy usage. As Luxury Housing Trends points out, it’s not cheap, but the company’s promise of their product powering a three-bedroom house (minus heat) might make it worthwhile over the long run.

For an wind energy option that provides less power but is small enough to go on the roof of your house, check out our recent profile of the WindTronics wind turbine, which was on display at this year’s International Builders Show.

Also via Luxury Housing Trends, we have a new option for solar power. It’s an easy, low-maintenance kit. According to the site, the Sunforce 39626 160-Watt High-Efficiency Polycrystalline Solar Power Kit has “weatherproof solar cells…made with an aluminum frame and tempered glass coverings to ensure that they’re durable enough to withstand the elements. This kit comes with two 80-watt polycrystalline solar panels, a 200-watt power inverts, a 30-amp digital charge controller, a voltage tester and a wiring kit with mount accessories included.”

Have you thought of using wind energy, solar power or other forms of alternative energy in your home?

Photo courtesy of nualabugeye on Flickr

Re-use, reduce and recycle. Lately, the fourth “r” in that series could be “reclaim.” Using reclaimed materials in your home can not only be green, but it can provide a stellar conversation piece and the chance to own something truly unique.

One of the most popular uses of reclaiming is reclaimed wood. Where does this wood come from? Almost anywhere. We’ve heard of wood being reclaimed from the bottom of a river, as well as the more usual practice of reclaiming from an older home.

And the reclamation craze goes beyond wood! For period-appropriate pieces and fixtures, there’s nothing better than an original in need of a new home.

Re-Nest recently featured a kitchen that has lovely cabinets made from reclaimed Douglas fir. Most of the glass used in the cabinet doors is also reclaimed. The builder and owner, George Ramos, made a conscious effort to use green materials, such as a sustainably sourced mahogany countertop, even when reclaimed ones weren’t available.

Please check out Re-Nest’s post to learn more!

Images courtesy of Re-Nest