Greening Your Home
WHERE DOES ONE START WHEN CONSIDERING AN ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY HOME
MAKE-OVER - AND DOES IT NEED TO BE EXPENSIVE? TATYANNA WRIGHT EXPLAINS THAT
GOING “ECO” CAN BE BOTH ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL
BY TATYANNA WRIGHT | ILLUSTRATIONS BY CAROLINE ROGERS
As a parent, thinking about my family’s safety
goes beyond the nuances most people experience
once they become a parent—it extends to the
home. With a few simple green improvements
you can easily improve your family’s health
by greening your home. It should not be an
expensive exercise—very simple and cost-effective measures can be taken.
You don’t need to throw out each and every
“regular” household cleaning product. As each
one runs out, replace it with an environmentally
friendly product. For automatic dishwashers,
Ecover produces excellent phosphate-free
dishwasher tablets leaving a sparkle rivaling any
Palmolive product.
Seventh Generation’s concentrated non-toxic
laundry liquid is biodegradable, hypoallergenic,
phosphate free, safe for septic tanks, even
Kosher certified. Just because you can’t smell
a laundry scent doesn’t mean your clothes
haven’t been washed properly. It means if you
have sensitive skin you won’t react with a rash
or possibly have a hard time breathing as you
sleep face down on your freshly washed sheets
and inhale that “clean” scent.
For an all-in-one cleaning product, Dr.
Bronner’s Sal Suds is incredible. Dilute a little
with water and wash your hardwood floors, or
spritz countertops and bathrooms for instant
wipe-off cleanliness. All Dr. Bronner products
are certified organic and fair trade.
When it comes to green home furnishings or
redecorating, think about the items you really
need to replace, where the item will be placed
and what it will be used for. For example, if
you’re searching for a new area rug, seek out
natural materials like hemp, jute and sisal,
all rapidly renewable plant materials. Green
Depot’s sumptuous area rugs are woven by hand
in India, are not chemically treated and only use
low-impact, vegetable dyes.
Organic cotton bedding for your child can be
pricey but worth the investment when you
consider the amount of years your child will
sleep on the sheets. Keep the cost down and
only buy one or two sets. Q Collection and Q
Collection Junior design both have a line of
bedding and nursery furniture. The company
is committed to manufacturing non-toxic,
sustainable bedding, textiles and furniture with
the highest environmental standards.
Storage can be both an eyesore and a problem
solver. Thankfully, the wonderful storage baskets
at Serena & Lily offer colorful, sustainable and
practical options you’re sure to love. The baskets
are handmade by artisans in Africa and Bali,
and are a fabulous way to store everything from
toys and craft supplies, to linens and laundry.
Environmentally friendly toys have developed
beyond traditional hand-crafted wooden
blocks. Tegu magnetic blocks are made from
sustainably harvested FSC wood in Honduras
