Greening an Apartment

In which I put the things I learn at work to use in my (rented) apartment....

First, we decided to paint: tobacco and grease stains abounded, not to mention water damage. Off I go, researching paint options. I want a paint with low or no VOC (volatile organic compounds) emissions (the "wet paint smell"). Consumer price? $34 a gallon. Um, no. Let's go with paint that has been gathered and recycled locally: $16-18 for 2 gallons. MUCH better. Less "green" in one sense, but green in others. A trade off.

We keep the paint colors on the lightish side, with plenty of white trim (and cabinets): this allows for reflection of natural light, which cuts down on our electic light use.

Next, we install compact flourescents and a low flow showerhead. We put filled milk jugs in the toilet to reduce water use.

Things still on the list? Fixing the mold/mildew problem in the bathroom. We have to kill what's there and put a mildew resistant paint up, and we have a dehumidifier on order. Taking "navy" showers (get wet, water off, soap up, rinse off, water off, etc) will help, too. We're also building a vermicomposting bin (that's worms), from which we will get "worm tea" for the plants along with delightful compost for our plants and those in other people's houses. We hope to cut our waste output down by about 75-80% through the composting process and through the recycling program here in town. Finally, we want to put roman shades in the windows so that we can reduce "solar heat gain" during the hot summer. It's not that big of a deal in our place (we live under a tree), but the privacy will be good, too.

So. That's what I've been busy doing....