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Environmentally Friendly Apartment Decorating
Want a stylish and environmentally friendly apartment? You can decorate your apartment with environmentally friendly materials, from your shower curtain to your bookshelves. Here are some suggestions about how to decorate in an environmentally sensitive way.
Reuse and recycle
You can shop for items that have already been used once. The easiest way to do this is to browse the classified ads on your local Craigslist or in the newspaper. Local estate sales can yield older furniture, antiques, or one-of-a-kind items. Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore stores sell donated furniture, home accessories, and building materials. You can try your local Goodwill or check out Goodwill’s online auction site for interesting accessories.
You can also reuse and transform items in your own apartment. You may be able to turn a stack of CD jewel cases into the leg of a small table. If you’re more ambitious, you can look into recovering or re-upholstering older furniture.
Buy “green” decorative items
Another way you can reduce your decorating’s environmental footprint is to buy furniture and decorations designed with environmental concerns in mind. The Cradle to Cradle certification is awarded to products designed with use of renewable energy, efficient use of water, and environmentally safe materials; certification has been awarded on products from whiteboards to handbags and surf wax. The blog Green Your Decor has a list of ten stores for environmentally sound products. You can also check out the environmentally friendly rug kits offered by FLOR, furniture and mirrors at Eco-Artware and the organic bedding options at Kushtush.
Know your materials
Just being aware of the materials being used can make a difference. Worried about the pesticides used to grow cotton? Target sells bed sheets made from bamboo, a much more eco-friendly crop. Also, some retailers sell hemp shower curtains.
Decorate to save energy
One last thing you can do to help the environment is take steps to reduce your energy bill. Adding heavier curtains to your windows will block out sunlight in the summer, allowing you to run less air conditioning. In the winter, accent your bed or couch with decorative throws and blankets (such as the bamboo blankets available from Green Earth Bamboo) so that you don’t have to run as much heat.
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Readers Poll
What do you think is the ideal number of apartment roommates?
- 0 (47%, 24 Votes)
- 1 (33%, 17 Votes)
- 2 (16%, 8 Votes)
- More than 2 (4%, 2 Votes)
Total Voters: 51
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