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by Michelle Bexelius

When Dr. Cates and I were approached to do a segment on “It’s Easy Being Green” TV series, the first thing we thought of was to design an eco-nursery. We felt it was so important to introduce fresh, healthy, green living to new parents and to their new babies. Tune in on July 5th and July 20th at 11:30 pst on the Fine Living Channel to see the nursery revealed!

Here are a few ideas to help create a beautiful, sustainable spot for your beloved baby –

1. No-VOC paint: Being a new parent is exciting and so it’s understandable to get excited to decorate the new baby’s nursery. Parents make a trip to the paint store buying paint that has high VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds), which off-gas into the air for a good couple of years. It may look great, but the air quality is sacrificed. Today there are many alternatives such as Envirocoat, which have low VOC’s. There is no smell, they dry extremely fast and look just as good. Read the rest of this entry »

by Wendy Strgar

Walking into your bedroom should make your heart rate slow down. It should be the place where you sigh deeply and your whole body relaxes. The bedroom is your nest. A singular space that both regenerates you on a cellular level every night as you sleep and provides the environment and impetus for physical intimacy. As the place where we love deeply, procreate our next generation, and regenerate ourselves, our bedroom is deservedly the sanctuary for our sanity.

Don’t let the world into your nest. Guard the sanctity of the space by keeping the world at bay at the door. I know there are many late night TV lovers who will argue the point here, but I still say that a television in the bedroom is one voice too many, especially if you are in a committed relationship that is fragmented by the business of life.

The older I get, the more convinced I am that life must provide a retreat or we wither on the vine. Read the rest of this entry »

by Dr. Trevor Holly Cates

We spend a great deal of time in our kitchens; cooking, cleaning, eating and sometimes socializing. During that time, we may be exposed to a number of toxins that can negatively impact our health. Do you know what’s lurking in your kitchen?

Cleaning products stored under the kitchen sink can contribute to poor indoor air quality. The chemicals in cleaning supplies vary in toxicity levels. The warning labels refer to acute exposures only and often provide inadequate information. Exposure to some of the ingredients can cause eye and respiratory tract irritation, headaches, dizziness, visual disorders, and memory impairment. The long-term effects are not known for many of the compounds, but some are known to cause cancer in animals; others are known to cause cancer in humans. Switching to eco-friendly, non-toxic cleaning products is a great place to start making your home greener. Read the rest of this entry »

by Liesl Bradner

A little bark is going a long way in the greening of home flooring. Bark is the core substance in cork, a material which has been used for floors since 1894 and has recently re-emerged as the environmentally friendly choice of flooring for home and commercial use.

“People want something that is green, and with cork you never have to cut down any trees,” explains Tom Banner, owner of Cork USA in Sherman Oaks, California. Cork is harvested from the bark of a tree every nine years and takes seven to ten years to grow back. With an average lifespan of over 200 years, the harvesting enables trees to thrive without harmful chemicals and herbicides.

The benefits of using cork flooring are endless. It’s durable, comfortable, quiet and maintains an even temperature. Unlike carpet, cork is hypoallergenic and antimicrobial, so it does not cause allergies and is naturally resistant to mold, mildew and termites too. And no shocking static electricity can be generated from cork floors. To top it all off, cork floors look beautiful too! Read the rest of this entry »

by Liesl Bradner

Want to make your home eco-friendly? Instead of taking on the entire house all at once, why not try one room at a time. Since the bathroom is a place we all tend to spend a lot of time in, let’s begin there. Here are some simple solutions to green your bathroom.

TOILET
We spend a lot of time here and every flush counts. Every flush uses between two to seven gallons of water.

• Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily. Dispose of tissues and other such waste in the trash rather than the toilet. During the 70’s water shortage in California, people were advised when it’s yellow let it mellow.
• Install low flush or dual flush toilets

SHOWER
Most people take at least one shower a day and use it as a place to relax, think and unwind. Unfortunately that Zen-shower experience is wasting tons of valuable water. Read the rest of this entry »