Set sprinklers to water the lawn or garden only - not the street or sidewalk.
Use the microwave to cook small meals. (It uses less power than an oven.)
Purchase "Green Power" for your home's electricity. (Contact your power supplier to see where and if it is available.)
Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher; wash only full loads.
Cut back on air conditioning and heating use if you can.
Turn off appliances and lights when you leave the room.
GULFPORT, Miss. — With her Gulfport home taking in eight feet of water, Dorothy Ladner was one of the thousands across the coast who needed to remodel after Hurricane Katrina. The choices were dizzying, she said, so she took it slow, one project at a time.
Along the way, she met Bianca Wooden, a kitchen designer in Ocean Springs. Ladner needed cabinets. Wooden saw an opportunity. She told her client about Lyptus, a eucalyptus-based wood that grows many times faster that the traditional cherries, oaks and maples that grace some coast homes.
Ladner liked the idea of using a sustainable product that regenerates itself quickly. And, she said, the price was comparable to slow-growth woods. She doesn't call herself a "treehugger," but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try, she said.
"If you can help the environment and stay within a budget, it's wonderful," she said.
Wooden works out of a funky square car and a small showroom in Ocean Springs, where she recycles and uses Earth-friendly products herself. At first glance, nothing in the showroom screams, "build green. Save the Earth!" And that's the point, she said.
Several manufacturers have realized the market potential of changing their practices to make products that look no different from their old materials. And while no company is perfect, at least the options exist, she said.
There is recycled wood, glass and metals, formaldehyde-free glues and resins, and very energy- and water-efficient appliances. And she understands her clients' hesitance. She doesn't expect them to build a green house, roof to foundation.
"There are so many different things. You don't have to be 100 percent perfect; every little thing helps," she said.
In many cases, the product may be about 10 percent to 20 percent more, she said. But, sometimes, like Lyptus wood, the cost is comparable. And for those self-conscious about labels, no one has to know, unless you tell them, she said.
"There's a negative feeling about being green. You have to have so much. You think it's political, or you support this cause," she said.
Because Wooden believes in living green, unless the client is dead set on a certain wood, a certain counter or a certain faucet, she tries to educate them. Choose quartz, instead of granite, because there are no chemical sealers, she said.
Manufacturers that use all the wood they cut, or recycle the sawdust into another product exist. Once on site, if a client asks her advice about a product she doesn't sell, like lighting, she still tells them what is the most efficient, lowest-impact product. Besides the feel-good component of buying green, she said, there's the practicality.
"Buying high-quality materials you don't have to throw away or replace — isn't that the most green?" she said.
When the Baxters built their home in Fontainebleu, they called in Bianca Wooden of BTK Kitchens to do the kitchen and bath. Wooden believes in green building, and she incorporates elements of environmentally friendly cabinets, counters, water fixtures and appliances in her homes.
The cost, she said, is comparable for many items. And the quality is the same if not better.
For what is more green, she said, than buying high-quality, good-workmanship products that won't need to be replaced in a few years?
This is Janine Baxter's kitchen, and the little things Wooden helped her do to build it green:
•Quartz countertops: Better than granite, because some have up to 50 percent recycled materials. And there's no need to seal or polish with harsh chemicals. Starts at about $54 per square foot. Other options, said Wooden, include the more affordable Corian, with up to 13 percent recycled materials. Another good option is recycled glass.
•WaterSense-certified plumbing fixtures: Wooden said there are faucets that run at 2.5 gallons per minute or lower. Add to that a tankless water heater for maximum benefit. The water heater may cost more up front, but is recovered quickly in less cold water waste while waiting for pipes to fill up with hot water.
•EnergyStar appliances: These promote less electricity use, which cuts down on bills, and cuts down on emissions from energy producers. All of Baxter's appliances are energy-efficient.
•Double-paned windows: Baxter chose double-paned windows to keep heat in when it's cold outside and vice versa. Also, her windows are positioned to bring in natural light, which warms naturally.
•No waste cabinets: Wooden promotes Environmental Stewardship Council and Forestry Stewardship Council-certified cabinetry. Natural finish means no harsh chemicals. The cabinets can be made formaldehyde-free, or with a natural linseed-oil finish. Baxter's cabinets were made from wood where no piece was wasted. What didn't go into her order went into another, said Wooden.
