The Green Indoors

A little humor for your day

iloveOrange — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 06:49:12 +0000

An old Virgin Mobile commercial – not directly related to sustainable living, but worth the watch nonetheless.

Are we moving backwards?

iloveOrange — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 23:03:41 +0000

As the trendiness of “green” drops and the economy (slowly) gets better, it seems that people have begun to see envrionmental conservation and sustainability as less important.

For instance, the GOP, who are now in charge of the House of Representatives, has decided to remove the the composting program Pelosi set in place during her tenure. Trash is now over-flowing and Styrofoam is back in style! Perhaps there was a true life cycle analysis done on this program and the GOP decided composting was a bigger impact than just trashing all the utensils, food, etc. But I’m skeptical. Maybe it’s because green isn’t “cool” any more?

I’m hoping for environmental stewardship becomes the classic Jackie O instead of the trendy – and short-lived – armadillo heels. Here’s to classic, long-term style!

The Best $10 You’ll Spend Today

iloveOrange — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 01:20:03 +0000

Originally via my boyfriend, via NerdStink (now you know a little about my bf), this $10 Belkin product combats vampire electronics in your home or office.

So now instead of running around like a maniac every time you leave your house (like I do), you can purchase one – or fifty – of these nifty gadgets that will turn off the power to your DVD player, toaster, etc. for you. Watch this incredibly dorky corporate video for a tutorial. Or just buy the power timer here.

344 Square Feet

iloveOrange — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:09:10 +0000

This apartment would be a bit too claustrophobic for me, but I love the ingenuity of his design! The natural light in the apartment seems to be one of the best additions, but I wonder how much of his space is really environmentally-friendly besides the lighting.

Worth watching.

The Outdoor Shower

iloveOrange — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:19:16 +0000

While it’s only March, I’m already beginning to think of summer. And with summer comes memories of cool evening soccer games, fresh vegetables (reminder: sign up for your CSA!), long meandering bike rides, and the total embarrassment of growing up with my parents’ outdoor shower.

In 1986, my father built the first edition of his outdoor shower which featured a 270 degree view of the Green Mountains. Beautiful for the showerer, but not so great for the rest of us hoping to enjoy the outdoors without a reenactment of Woodstock.

Embarrassment aside, the outdoor shower can be an easy way to enjoy the summer and be easier on the earth. All the grey water goes directly back into the ground (note: please be sure to use eco-conscious bathing products) and the water can be heated to the perfect temperature with long outdoor pipes.

For more information on a DIY outdoor shower, check out Sustain Lane’s quick tutorial here.

Construction is very simple. My father “perfected” the design for the fourth edition: beautiful stones for “flooring”, a low-flow showerhead, rock wall on one side, and his favorite part: an unobstructed view of Vermont.

Low-Flow Toilets

iloveOrange — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:32:58 +0000

If you’re in the market for a new bathroom fixture, be sure not to get sucked into a low-flow toilet that either A) uses equally as much water as conventional fixture or (worse?) B) doesn’t flush well.

This video from Consumer Reports has a bit of useful info if you’re in the toilet market and some entertainment as he tests the toilets for “floaters” in the new Kohler Archer. Enjoy.

Watch the video here.

Wonderful Containers!

iloveOrange — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 03:22:22 +0000

All the container houses you could imagine (in 2009 – I’m hoping for many more in a couple decades).

Click here to view the list. Below are photos of two of my favorites.