There are many, many ways to make a home greener-perhaps so many ways, that it is easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer number and choices. Still, it is a topic that has certainly grown in consumer awareness and interest, and will likely continue to build in importance. In fact, a recent National Association of Realtors survey found that over 90 percent of homebuyers thought that energy effiiency in a home was either important or very important. Buyer's representatives can provide a valuable service to their clients by helping them understand the many different ways their home consume energy and other resources-the long-term implications of current buying decisions, and how certain features can be changed if they are interested in renovating for greener living.
Since it does take a lot of time and patience to sort through all the decisions linked to green ownership, I always find it helpful to come back to the basics, constantly reminding myself of the original recycling logo-that familiar triangle, where each arrow stands for one of three fundamental concepts, all starting with "re"--reduce, reuse, and recycle. It is a phrase that has been bandied about so much that it is easy to forget how elegantly it captures the real essence of green living. Essentially, the three "re"s break down like this:
Reduce--cutting back on how many resources we consume. This is undoubtedly the first and most important way to live greener. It is also typically the hardest one to adopt. So much of our culture and economy is built upon notions like a bigger house is better...that the newest gadget is cooler than the old one...and that convenience trumps everything else. Beyond reducing consumption, when we do need to acquire things, we strive for better choices such as buying recycled products or locally-produced items, to reduce the environmental impact of transportation.
Reuse--strectching the value of what we consume by putting items to further use. Examples: Convert your food scraps into compost. Turn an old shirt into a pajama top or a cleaning rag. Pull clean 8 1/2 X 11-inch sheets of paper out of the recycle bin and print on the reverse side. Share or donate items for resale. Before you toss anything into the trash, or even the recycle bin, think about ways to get more mileage out of it. I have taped "landfill" on my trash can, this is a simple but powerful reminder of the importance of our daily behaviors.
Recycle--convenient curbside recycling programs have helped many of us do a better job of how much paper, plastic, and metal we put into the waste stream. But we can stretch our recycling efforts further by finding ways to recycle products like old computers, cell phones and other electronicws, furniture, large appliances, and many more.
When working with buyer-clients, especially those who subscribe to a green philosophy, it is important to understand the many ways that reduce-reuse-recycle can impact decisions about the way a home is constructed, mantained, and lived in.
If you are in the market for a new home or have questions regarding retrofitting or remodeling your existing home, please feel free to comment on ths page or contact me via email or by phone. My information should be available in my profile. Bob's Team is licensed in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts and specializes in property for investors and first time home in the South County area including Westerly, Narragansett, North Kingstown, South Kingstown, Charlestown, Richmond, and Hopkinton.