eHow.com Video: Eco-Friendly Home Decorating

Eco-Friendly Home Decorating

Eco-Friendly Home Decorating

Low VOC paints provide an eco-friendly way to change the look and feel of your space. Donate extra supplies and buy locally to prevent waste and support local eco-systems. 

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Video Transcript:

Hi, my name is Anjie Cho, and this is a video about eco-friendly home decorating.

There are many simple ways to decorate your home in an eco-friendly way. Something that many of my clients want to change when it comes to home decorating is the color of the paint on the wall. This is a fairly easy and inexpensive way to change up the way your home looks and feels. But, no matter what color you choose, the type of paint you go with can make a difference.

The green option is to go for a low or Zero VOC paint. VOC stands for Volatile Organic Compound. Toxins are released into the air by traditional VOC paints, and sadly VOC paints release toxins into the air for years after the paint is applied. There are so many different paint companies now that offer low or Zero VOC options.

The other plus is that they have minimal odor when wet. There are even Zero VOC food-based paints available made with milk casein. Benjamin Moore, which is one of the most commonly found paint companies, has a Zero VOC product called Natura. Other companies that offer high performance Zero VOC paints are Yolo Interior Paints, Ivy Coatings, they're local to me and made in Brooklyn, New York. They are also a true Zero VOC premium quality non-toxic paint. Finally, SafeCoat is also a premium quality Zero VOC paint. The Zero VOCs are really easy to find.

Next, look for low VOCs in your polyurethane. We use polyurethane to finish wood floors and other wood furnishings. Another alternative to finishing wood is to use tung oil or linseed oil. Those are also naturally occurring.

Other considerations when it comes to eco-friendly home decorating are to incorporate as many reclaimed materials as possible. These can be purchasing vintage furniture items or reusing and re-purposing something that you already have instead of buying something new. And the other end of this is to be sure to donate anything you don't need or use anymore rather, rather than throwing it out.

Finally, buy local. This can be as simple as purchasing from a local mom and pop store even if the item is manufactured elsewhere. You can even get more local and research furniture materials that are manufactured near your home. Local manufacturing is more eco-friendly because there's less transportation and gas emissions involved. And also buying local strengthens your community.

This is Anjie Cho and I'm a Green Interior Architect with Anjie Cho Architect and Founder of Holistic Spaces. And this has been eco-friendly home decorating.

by Anjie Cho

Space Clearing with Palo Santo

Lately, my favorite method of space clearing has been smudging with palo santo. While we traditionally use orange essential oil in feng shui for space clearing, I love the smell of palo santo. It is especially useful on an everyday basis to refresh your home if you've had guests.

While white sage is the most commonly used substance for smudging, or clearing a room of negative energy, there are also a significant number of people who choose to instead use palo santo wood, or “holy wood/stick.” Palo santo is derived from specific trees found in the South American rainforests of Galapagos Islands, Ecuador and Peru and has been used for most of known history for a variety of healing including medicines, native ceremonies and, especially in Incan culture, spiritual clearing of a space, crowd or person. In addition to its ancient uses as a purifying agent, palo santo wood also harbors a better smell than sage and can be used in place of it as a matter of preference or to avoid allergies.

For the most part, using palo santo wood for space clearing follows the exact same steps as using sage. As with sage, the wood should be ignited then gently blown down to an ember to allow for spreading smoke around the room. Guidance of smoke to different areas of the room including corners, inside closets and in each direction of the compass is important. Also, be sure to allow the wood to produce enough smoke to fill the air. Though palo santo wood and sage are the same in regards to meaning behind smudges and ability of use in this situation, there are some perks to palo santo wood that sage does not share.

It is important to ensure you have a fire-proof container for resting the palo santo as well as extinguishing the flame once your smudging practice is complete. Many cultures who use palo santo or sage for smudging choose to use an abalone shell, which symbolizes the presence of water, thereby balancing the remaining elements of air, fire and earth. By the same element system, however, other cultures feel that involving the water element in this practice cancels out the effectiveness of the element of fire. As this is not an original feng shui practice, either is acceptable for your practice. Just be sure that whatever tool you use is not flammable and will withstand the heat of burning palo santo and ashes. 

The most obvious difference between palo santo wood and sage is the smell. Many people find the smell of sage less than pleasant, but palo santo provides an aromatic, often desirable smell. In addition, the smoke produced from burning palo santo can actually be used to ward off mosquitos and other insects (aren’t they really the source of negative energy anyway?!). Perhaps one of the most useful differences between sage and palo santo is the fact that palo santo wood can be snuffed and relit, whereas, once sage begins to burn, it will often continue to burn completely. Regardless of what substance you choose, both sage and palo santo are time-tested and ancient tools for clearing space and releasing negative energy.

by Anjie Cho

eHow.com Video: How to Make Eco-Friendly Washing Detergent With White Vinegar

How to Make Eco-Friendly Washing Detergent With White Vinegar

How to Make Eco-Friendly Washing Detergent With White Vinegar

Most detergents are not eco-friendly or hypo-allergenic. Making your own washing detergent from white vinegar is an easy, healthy way to detoxify your home and support the environment

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Video Transcript:

I'm Anjie Cho and this is how to make eco-friendly washing detergent with white vinegar.

Sadly most conventional laundry washing detergents are not biodegradable. Most are petroleum based and they aggravate skin allergies. I'm here to share my favorite do-it-yourself recipe for an eco-friendly washing detergent.

You'll need a bar of natural Castile soap, washing soda, borax and your favorite essential oil. And of course white vinegar. First you grate the soap into small pieces. Avoid commercial soaps which are not eco-friendly. This is also a great way to use up those small left-over slivers of soap. To that, add one cup of washing soda. Washing soda is also known as soda ash or sodium carbonate. It's easy to find at your local grocery store.

Next add one cup of borax. Borax is a naturally occurring mineral. Also find this at the grocery store. Mix this all together with nine drops of your favorite essential oil. I love lavender or orange. These oils have a sweet and cheerful scent. You store it in an airtight container and you can use two to three tablespoons per load.

Now what about the white vinegar? White vinegar is a great all around natural, non-toxic cleaning alternative for everything from cleaning windows and counter tops to adding to your washing detergent. It's also a perfect alternative for bleach. Chlorine bleach isn't necessarily bad but it's very dangerous to have in your home around children. It's fatal if swallowed and caustic. It also pollutes and contaminates our water supply.

Instead of bleach use white vinegar in conjunction with your eco-friendly washing detergent by adding one cup to each lead and half a cup to the rinse cycle. The vinegar will boost the laundry detergent by fighting odors as well as whitening and brightening your laundry. It's a natural bleaching agent. In the rinse cycle it can replace our conventional fabric softener which is also terrible for the environment.

Making your own eco-friendly washing detergent is an excellent way to go green and create a healthy and non-toxic home.

by Anjie Cho