Sustainable Home

The green-building movement has produced hundreds of "how-to" books and websites that are filled with tips about green building and what homeowners should do to go green. While helpful and informative, when it comes to making actual purchasing and installation decisions, these books do not make it any easier for a homeowner to prioritize against a budget. Here, Melisssa Rappaport Schifman shares her knowledge and experience for others to use in their journey toward a greener way of living.

In Zero Waste Home, Bea Johnson shares the story of how she simplified her life by reducing her waste. Today, Bea, her husband, Scott, and their two young sons produce just one quart of garbage a year, and their overall quality of life has changed for the better. They now have more time together, they've cut their annual spending by a remarkable 40 percent, and they are healthier than they've ever been.

We are exhausted. There's so much to do, and way too much to buy. Whether it's through late night TV ads, social media, or other sources of influence, we seem to be addicted to buying and then storing things. Sometimes we consume with no regret and other times we realize that we're doing more harm than good to our wallets and our homes. It's a constant cycle - one that many are longing to break. Who wants their hard-earned money to go toward something that soon ends up in a landfill?

If you want to save the planet, but your to-do list is already pretty long, and remembering your reusable coffee cup feels like a Herculean task, then this is the book for you. Covering every aspect of our lives from the stuff we buy and the food we eat, to how we travel, work, and celebrate. This audiobook provides stacks of practical ideas to slot into your daily life, alongside a gentle kick up the butt to put your newfound knowledge into action.

No source is left untapped in this all-encompassing guide to supplying lifesaving water after a disaster. You can survive up to three weeks without food but only three days without water! When catastrophe strikes, having enough water can spell the difference between life and death. The Prepper's Water Survival Guide offers a step-by-step plan with straightforward information you can easily follow.

To grow produce of the highest nutritional quality the essential minerals lacking in our soil must be replaced, but this re-mineralization calls for far more attention to detail than the simple addition of composted manure or NPK fertilizers. The Intelligent Gardener demystifies the process, while simultaneously debunking much of the false and misleading information perpetuated by both the conventional and organic agricultural movements. In doing so, it conclusively establishes the link between healthy soil, healthy food, and healthy people.

In Clean Mama's Guide to a Healthy Home, Becky Rapinchuk, author of Simply Clean and creator of the popular cleaning website Clean Mama, provides a step-by-step guide to take charge of your home's wellness with a comprehensive, all-natural cleaning system.

Written for novice and experienced DIY enthusiasts, this is an A-to-Z guide to ensure your success in turning a plain shipping container into a beautiful home.

The fundamentals of permaculture are simple: care for people and the Earth, and share what you have. With these in mind, practitioners promote a system with a sense of respect for all life on the planet. You may, however, be anxious about not knowing what to do. After all, not everybody knows about permaculture. But don’t worry–you don’t need to be an expert to start your own permaculture garden.

Over half a century ago, John Rowlands set out by canoe into the wilds of Canada to survey land for a timber company. After paddling alone for several days, he came upon "the lake of my boyhood dreams", which he named Cache Lake because there was stored the best that the north had to offer-timber for a cabin; fish, game, and berries to live on; and the peace and contentment he felt he could not live without.

When Christine Platt set out on her journey to live with less, she never intended to become The Afrominimalist. She just wanted to tame the chaos in her closet! But after struggling with the austerity and whiteness of mainstream minimalism, Christine realized why minimalism often seems unattainable for so many: the emphasis on all-white, barren aesthetics distracts from the practice of living with intention. And so, she decided to do things her way by curating a life of less influenced by the African diaspora.

From farmer Joel Salatin's point of view, life in the 21st century just ain't normal. In Folks, This Ain't Normal, he discusses how far removed we are from the simple, sustainable joy that comes from living close to the land and the people we love.

Discover the powerful world of herbal medicine with "Herbal Medicine Making," the ultimate guide to unlocking nature's healing potential. This comprehensive eBook paves the path towards a healthier, happier life by teaching you how to create a wide range of herbal remedies at home. Dive into this captivating and insightful journey that will help you embrace natural wellness and take control of your wellbeing. From tinctures to teas, "Herbal Medicine Making" covers everything you need to know in detail, guiding you step-by-step through the process of preparing and using herbs for various ...

A natural history of the wilderness in our homes, from the microbes in our showers to the crickets in our basements Even when the floors are sparkling clean and the house seems silent, our domestic domain is wild beyond imagination. In Never Home Alone, biologist Rob Dunn introduces us to the nearly 200,000 species living with us in our own homes, from the Egyptian meal moths in our cupboards and camel crickets in our basements to the lactobacillus lounging on our kitchen counters. You are not alone.

Compact Farms is a guide for anyone dreaming of starting, expanding, or perfecting a profitable farming enterprise on five acres or less. The farm plans explain how to harness an area's water supply, orientation, and geography in order to maximize efficiency and productivity while minimizing effort. Profiles of well-known farmers such as Eliot Coleman and Jean-Martin Fortier show that farming on a small scale in any region, in both urban and rural settings, can provide enough income to turn the endeavor from hobby to career.

When Ben Hewitt and his wife bought a sprawling acreage of field and forest in northern Vermont, they were eager to start a self-sustaining family farm. But over the years, the land became so much more than a building site; it became the birthplace of their two sons, the main source of family income and food, and even a classroom for their children. Through self-directed play, exploration, and experimentation on their farm, Hewitt's children learned how to play and read, test boundaries and challenge themselves, fail and recover.

Embracing a Sustainable Future with Green Technology refers to the adoption and integration of environmentally friendly innovations and practices that promote sustainability and minimize the harmful impacts of traditional industries on the planet. This approach involves utilizing advanced technologies designed to reduce energy consumption, lower carbon emissions, and conserve natural resources.

Step right into the world of "Sustainable Solutions for Independent Tiny Homes", a book that beautifully encapsulates everything you need to know about leading a modest yet gratifying life off the grid. Pioneering an era where size does not define satisfaction, this book is a multifaceted guide that accommodates nearly every topic under the sun, from tiny home designing to solar energy basics, and everything in between. The introductory chapter opens onto an enlightening dialogue on off-grid living, tracing the synergy between these two life-altering concepts. Diving into the heart of the ...

Earth tubes (earthtubes, or earth-air tubes) are underground tubes that use geothermal energy to cool or heat temper the air for your home. It works like cheap air conditioning because you can build it yourself for several hundred dollars and it is FREE to run (no electricity needed). Being completely passive, this is a sustainable technology based on designs that are 3,000 years old and still used today around the world to cool homes.

Did you know that in the United States alone, an estimated 345 billion gallons of water are used daily? This shouldn’t be surprising–we live in a world of consumerism, and unfortunately, this even correlates to how we use natural resources like electricity and water. But what are you supposed to do? It’s not like you can just go without water.