I couldn’t help but notice the new additions to our Fresh New Spaces Group from kitHAUS.

It made me want to know more about this project, like is it prefab? What green technologies were used? What is the rest of the context of the site? So I popped on over to their website, and recognized their smaller shed instantly, I know I’ve been in one a few times at different shows and exhibitions and such. This house is so much bigger – kitHAUS, we want to know more; you teased us by adding this to the flickr group, now come chat with us about how these modules are designed and how you put them together!

I’m so happy this article is up online from Sunset. It’s an inspiring story about a family (The Johnsons) who cut out so much of their stuff and try hard to live the Zero Waste life. A commenter on their site named Stephanie summed it up pretty well “This article has stuck with me, challenged me, frustrated me, and inspired me.” Seriously, you cannot win; I remember reading about their compostable toothbrushes being sent from Australia and thinking “well, shipping from Australia kind of cancels out the fact that they are compostable.” Also, the wife mentions that she sends the little sticky strip from Netflix back to Netflix so it won’t go in her own trash. O.K., but you haven’t eliminated it. But these are the words of a cynic. The greater point is that these people are trying very hard to live smaller, produce as little waste as possible, and spend less. Their tips regarding toys, food, and wardrobes is great, and overall, if you can pick up just one good tip from the Johnsons then it was worth reading.

Speaking of working with a small budgets and small wardrobes, here is another article that will help you cut down from The New York Times this year. It’s about going a month on just six pieces of clothing and includes links to some fun blogs where people share what they come up with.

image by Thomas J. Story for Sunset Magazine

O.K. now that Halloween is over, the stores are filled with Yuletide tunes, people are buzzing about Black Friday insanity, and the stores are filled with all kinds of Holiday decorations. Here are a few quick tips to decrease your holiday carbon footprint.

1) Consider sending holiday cards over the interwebs. I hate this idea because holiday cards are some of the only good snail mail I receive all year long, but it will save on paper and the energy used to deliver your cards. If you can’t stand the thought, at least use recycled paper, and be sure to recycle the cards you receive.

2) Use reusable or recycled wrapping paper. If you’re like my grandparents, you neatly folded up every piece of wrapping paper you ever used and put it in a drawer, and never used it again. You can use newspaper, recycled paper, cloth bags, or a pretty extra piece of fabric you have around the house to wrap up your gifts. Here’s a fun video with some good ideas if you want to get super-crafy:

3) If you do the tree thing, don’t feel too guilty. Christmas tree farms are not the enemy. Just be sure to leave your tree out for mulch composting after the holidays. You may also consider a live tree to plant later (though honestly, in most parts of this country, January 1st is not exactly prime dig-a-hole-in-the-ground-and-plant time).

4) E-cycle: If you’re expecting to upgrade some of your electronics via some killer gifts, make sure you dispose of your old ones in a recyclable way. If they are not fit for donation or resale, check the EPA’s guidelines for E-cycling them.

5) Buy eco-friendly gifts. I love to shop handmade, and from the green sections of retail websites. I’ll be working up a list of what Design Public has to offer in this arena in the coming weeks.  Here’s one of my many faves, the k studio Birds Pillow:

1) I related so much to this New York Times article last week about feeling guilty about our green failures. Sometimes it feels like you can’t win, or you have one habit you know is not very good for the environment but you cannot give it up. The author, Joyce Walder really hits the nail on the head with this article, it was a really fun read. Oh, and the title of this post was my favorite quote from the article.

What not-so-green habits are you feeling guilty about? I can start. After being very serious about water conservation, thinking about every dish that would need washing and not even giving my poor cat her beloved fresh water from the sink faucet, I am addicted to taking a bath in a really big bathtub. It uses lord knows how many gallons. Even worse than that, while I’m in there, I read People magazine. It’s shameful. Please begin public flogging now.  And/Or join in and tell us your not-so-green shame.

2) Another link: Here is The Greenwatching Index, so you can try and keep track of what’s really green and what’s just using the term for marketing purposes.

3) Finally, I wanted to share an interview I did with architect Christian Dauer on another website. In this Mission District renovation, he reused as much of what would have otherwise been construction waste as possible, and it added to the beauty and spirit of the house. Even this gorgeous kitchen table was constructed from on-site reclaimed wood:

image via houzz.com

Yesterday I was reading about The Zip Car 30 Day Low-Car Diet. This, in addition to being a brilliant marketing ploy, is a great idea. Participants from around the U.S. agree to give up their personal vehicles for thirty days. In exchange, they are given a year’s worth of Zip Car use for free. I remember the then-Dean of the Architecture School at UVA, William McDonough, describing a shared car transportation plan for a sustainable town he was working on over ten years ago, and I remember cynically thinking that such a thing would only work on a commune. I’m glad Zip Car has proved me wrong. You can follow the participants here.  Last year, 61% of the participants realized they were ready to give up their personal cars and stick with bikes, public transportation, and the occasional Zip rental.

Could you do it? If you sat down, looked at the cost of your car payments, maintenance, insurance and gasoline and realized it cost you about 20% of your income would it sway you at all? Do you have any sort of ample public transportation and/or good bike trails? I don’t use my car much, but honestly, it’s to ingrained in me to have one that I don’t know if I could give it up. I remember this same conversation going for Campbell Scott whenever he tried to sell his idea of the Supertrain in the movie Singles. The response was always “people love their cars.” When the temperature drops below 80, I do tend to walk on a lot of my errands, but it sure is tough not to hop in the car when it’s 100 degrees or when the weather is bad!