By John Ivanko •
August 19, 2009
According to Richard Florida in his latest book, Who’s Your City?, the average American moves every seven years. “More than 40 million people relocate each year; 15 million make significant moves of more than 50 or 100 miles,” writes Florida. That’s a lot of carboard boxes, time and energy.
The implications for such a footloose society is further complicated by a staggering statistic: a roughly 50 percent divorce rate nationally, leading to multiple homes for what was once a single family home. Of course, second home ownership was also on the rise before the financial meltdown, increasing by 22 percent between 1995 and 2005, according to the Harvard University’s Joint Center on Housing Studies. Now we have two (or more) homes (to fill with stuff) only to later sell them, on average, every seven years.
Then when we age, we’re left with the quagmire of what to do with all our accumulated stuff. The solution for many, of course, is to jam it into self-storage lockers. Over the past two decades, self-storage has emerged as a $20 billion industry and comprises over 52,000 facilities, according to the Self Storage Association. In California, many people park their vehicles in their driveway or on the street not because of their famously great weather (no city snow removal), but because their garages are packed full of more stuff.
Florida points out that there are several key trends emerging:
By Becky Striepe •
August 12, 2009
[Creative Commons photo via galant]
Have your tomato plants been producing like crazy? Are your cucumbers and green beans blowing up? If you’re producing more than you can eat, it’s a great time to preserve some of your summer bounty for winter! Here are some home canning tips, along with a great five-part series of videos on the topic!
When Michelle Obama announced plans for a White House kitchen garden, local foodies, gardeners, and health advocates rejoiced: what better way to promote the value of home-grown food than get the first family involved. It turns out that the Obamas aren’t the only executive family growing vegetables on the grounds of the official residence: a number of governors and their spouses have taken up the cause of not just planting vegetables, but also implementing more sustainable landscaping practices at governors’ mansions and even state capitols.
By Paige Donner •
August 7, 2009
First Time Homebuyers qualified for Fed. Stimulus Funds. Why not \”greenovate!\” $50K available in grant money for home improvements for qualified individuals.”
Were you starting to believe that the Federal Stimulus $$ were for everyone but you? Brace yourself, because you, - yes YOU! - even if you’re not a billionaire banker or jet-setting car company executive - may be able to qualify for a nice chunk of change from the government to buy your first home.
In a national program, the Federal government is making available up to $75K dollars in a 0% interest, 20-year deferred home loan if you meet certain qualifications. What are the qualifications? You must be a low ($46K per year) –medium ($66K) income earner and have a FICO score of at least 620. If you have all that, pay attention, because you can get yourself qualified for not just up to $75K in a 0% home loan but also another $10K towards the down payment of said home or the closing costs upon purchase, you choose.
By Becky Striepe •
August 5, 2009
Container gardening is a great way to grow your own veggies, even in a limited space. We’ve looked at making an upside down tomato planter. Now let’s make use of that patio or back porch’s floor space with a home made Earth Box! Not only does this contraption let you grow a bunch of veggies and herbs in a small space, it’s self-watering! Once you start to get sprouts, you just have to add a bit of water from time to time to replenish the reservoir if you don’t get any rain!
By Zachary Shahan •
July 24, 2009
Jeff McIntire-Strasburg occasionally writes posts on new, innovative green products (see Five Greenish Products You’ve Seen on TV and Five More Greenish Products You’ve Seen on TV). Rather than try to steal his thunder, this post looks at some basic, simple, green products that can make your everyday life many times greener.
Staying away from the topics of food and transportation, which are probably the biggest daily products you could green, here is a list of products you use everyday.
By Becky Striepe •
July 1, 2009
Summer is here! That means cookouts, porch parties, and backyard picnics! You can fancy up your next outdoor shindig with this easy peasy fabric scrap banner. Here’s what you need to make one:
By Becky Striepe •
June 24, 2009
We’re normally into all-ages sorts of crafts, but once in a while a crafty gal has got to cut loose! How about fancying up your next cocktail party with a home-made vodka infusion?
Many store bought “infused” vodkas are full of mystery sweeteners and artificial flavors. Keep all those unwanted chemicals out of your cocktail and get creative at the same time! You can even go for an organic vodka.
This infusion recipe only take a few days, so if you get started today, you’ll be all set for any shindigs this weekend! Here are a basic recipe and a couple of flavor suggestions to get you going:
Do you remember RecycleBank, the Philadelphia-based company that rewarded customers for recycling? I thought that was a great idea, and I’ve got a similar response to Earth Aid’s new rewards program for energy savings. Rolled out earlier this month in Washington, DC, Earth Aid offers a program to track your energy use and savings, and then to “pay” you for those savings through reward points that can be redeemed at partner companies.
Sean Daily, 
