How to Buy New Light Bulbs Without Guessing

The days of incandescent lighting are coming to a close, and most of us agree it's for the best. But if you've been buying incandescent bulbs for years (and who hasn't?), replacing these bulbs with CFL or LED options can be a frustrating task. Since the terminology used for labeling new bulbs is somewhat different than that of old bulbs, it can be tough to figure out which one is right for you. We can help decode all that. 

Give Up Watts

In the olden days, watts were essentially the most important detail on a bulb. In order to light your space correctly, you matched your old bulb wattage to new bulb wattage. As it turns out, watts refers to the amount of energy a bulb requires, not the amount of light it gives off. CFL and LED bulbs can give off more light without using as many watts as incandescent bulbs, so when you're checking wattage, go for the lowest number possible. 

Look for Lumens

If you want to know how much light your bulb will give off, check the number of lumens. Lumens represent how much light a bulb produces, regardless of how many watts are required to produce it. Since we're so used to checking bulb wattage, we often ignored this information with incandescent bulbs, but with new, eco-friendly bulbs, it can be the most important! On average, a 60W incandescent bulb produces 800 lumens of light. For brighter spaces, opt for more lumens. And vice versa. 

Mind Appearance

If you're used to shopping for "soft white" or "daylight" bulbs, it can be frustrating to not find those terms on CFL and LED labels. This information is still there, in fact, it's even more detailed! Check your bulb packaging for the term light appearance. This measurement includes the temperature of a bulb in Kelvins. You can find more detail on that system here, but in general, the lower the temperature, the warmer, more yellow your bulb will be. Bulbs with higher temperatures, or cool bulbs, give off light more similar to natural daylight. 

In addition to these important details, you can also find this helpful information on your CFL or LED bulb packaging:

  • Estimated yearly cost - Typically based on average United States energy costs and usage

  • Life - How long your bulb will last, usually based on 3 hours of use per day

  • CRI - Color rendering index - A rating of how accurately colors display under this light

 You can even check to be sure that the bulb you're selecting is dimmable! While it may be a bit of a change to move from incandescent lighting to more eco-friendly options, with a little adjustment and practice, buying a light bulb can be just as easy as it's always been, and maybe even more effective! 

by Anjie Cho

The Best Ways to Reuse Items That Aren't Plastic Bags

We talk a lot about reducing, reusing and recycling as part of creating a holistic space, and I know we're not the only ones encouraging that green behavior. A quick Google search can return tons of suggestions for keeping those plastic bags, water bottles and cardboard items out of landfills. But what about other items made from recyclable material? What can you do with them once they've served their original purpose? We've got a few creative ideas on how to keep those items useful for a little longer!

Turn Wine Into Coasters

Well, sort of. If you enjoy a good glass of wine from time to time (guilty!), you've probably seen your fair share of corks, maybe even wondered what to do with them. There are places you can recycle them, but you can also use them to save a little money and your good furniture at the same time! Check out one of the many online tutorials, like this one, for turning old corks into coasters!

Give Your Plants a Little Tea

Likewise, if you're an avid tea drinker like me, you probably go through a teapot or two over time. Some pots make it longer than others for various reasons, but you don't have to throw that pot with a small crack or chip to the curb! Instead, use it to add a little nature to your home! Find a small plant that brings you joy and doesn't need much drainage, and create a new home for it in your old teapot!

Brush Outside Your Mouth

A toothbrush only lasts so long for its purpose, typically about 3 months with regular use. After that, it's not really hygienically safe for scrubbing your mouth. But its scrubbing power may still be strong! Instead of tossing it, put an old toothbrush (or two) to use in your home. Toothbrushes are great for scrubbing tile, small surfaces, shoes, even inside bottles, and they're much more cost effective than buying a single purpose brush!

Wash With Mesh

If you're a fan of fruit, you likely know it's often cheaper to purchase it in bulk. Many times, that means buying a red or green mesh bag full of lemons, oranges, and the like. Forget tossing that mesh in a recycling bin, since they can often get tangled during the sorting process, and don't even think about trashing it! Instead, use that material to make your own bath loofahs or pot scrubbers! It can be as easy as wadding up the mesh and securing with elastic or something similar. 

Let in Light With Newspaper

This reuse idea may not be quite as creative, but it's still super useful! Instead of buying paper towels for cleaning your windows, thus adding to the demand for paper products, keep a hold on old newspapers and use them! Newspaper is actually some of the best material to use for cleaning windows, which you should be doing often to make sure you can be seen and heard!

Do you reuse your recyclable materials? What are your favorite ways to breathe new life into old items? Share with us, so we can all take steps to be a little greener each day!

by Anjie Cho

4 Tips for Buying Sustainable Wood

As you're creating your holistic space, there will almost definitely be situations in which you need to seek out wood in some way or another. Whether to add a wall, redo flooring or to replace an entertainment center, the uses for wood in our society are numerous. Unfortunately, the wood we use is often in danger of extinction and is not often harvested in an eco-friendly, sustainable or respectable way. 

Not only can using certain harvesting processes significantly reduce the number of certain types of trees on our planet, it can also displace many species of animals, as well as indigenous people who call these forests home. In addition, unsustainable, at times even illegal, practices can contribute to poor water quality and environmental issues as well. 

Since trees produce the very oxygen we breathe, opting for a sustainable route on this front is a no-brainer. But actually putting this into practice can be difficult if you don't know what you're looking for. Keep these tips in mind when hunting down wood for new projects or searching for that perfect coffee table. 

Seek out Gold Standard

The FSC, or Forest Stewardship Council, is well-known as the highest standard in ensuring that wood is sustainably harvested. This organization takes great care, from the initial cut to the final product, to ensure that wood delivered to the masses is produced with high regard for the environment, animal species that live in these forests and indigenous people who depend upon these trees for livelihood. The FSC has an easily identifiable label stamped on each piece of certified sustainable wood, which is available at most supply companies. Before anything, look for this option. If you cannot find it, ask in depth about the origin of the wood you have your eye on. 

Avoid Tropical Woods

Though it's ideal not to buy any wood that isn't certifiably sustainable, purchasing certain tropical woods can do even more damage, based on the fact that these trees do not grow as quickly or in as great of numbers as other materials. If you're in the market for any of the woods below, look for the FSC label, ensure that it's been sustainably harvested, or seriously reconsider. 

  • Big Leaf Mahogany

  • Spanish Cedar

  • Caribbean Pine

  • Ipe

  • Rosewood

  • Teak

  • Ramin

  • Merbau

  • African Mahogany

  • Okoume

Know WHERE Your Wood Originated

If you're unable to find the type of wood you want with an FSC label, it's important to ask the right questions in determining whether your particular selection is contributing to deforestation and other negative outcomes. For certain woods, including Beech, Pine, Oak, Douglas Fir and more, the geographical area of harvesting is just as important as the actual process. This post in Eluxe Magazine is a great resource for determining whether you're buying legal, ethically harvested wood. 

Keep an Open Mind

Wood may be one of the most elegant, timeless and sturdy options for building, but it isn't the only one. If furniture is your end game, be open to other options, like bamboo, wicker, plastic wood or a plastic-wood composite, all of which can significantly reduce the harm done to our forests, while still providing beautiful options for holistic living. 

Other options include seeking out reclaimed or recycled wood, both in building projects and in completed furniture, or checking out your choices of used furniture on trusted sites like eBay. In this case, be sure to clear the wood of any predecessor energy before welcoming it into your space! 

by Anjie Cho