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Which green home solutions pay for themselves?
Trick question: They basically all pay for themselves in the long run! But a new infographic from One Block Off the Grid helps you choose home energy improvement projects based on up-front cost and how long they'll take to start paying you back. The quickest payback is a smart thermostat, with a payback time of […]
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This amazing off-grid hobbit house cost less than $5,000 to build
Self-taught builder Simon Dale constructed this straight-out-of-a-fantasy-novel house in four months for less than $5,000. The house is designed for low-impact building and low-impact living: it was made from reclaimed lumber and salvaged materials, and the Dales live off the grid, with a compost toilet, a green roof, spring-sourced water, and natural heating and cooling. […]
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In the market for a Tiny House? Here's where to buy one
The economy sucks, housing prices have yet to hit bottom, and your biggest fixed expense is almost certainly rent, unless it's summertime, in which case it's your electricity bill. Sounds like it's time to lead a richer life by reducing your dependence on worldly goods and wasted energy, no?
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Replace your lawnmower with goats
Anyone still caring for a clipped green lawn can lessen their enviro guilt by trading in weed-killing chemicals for a herd of goats. If you’ve got invasive plants, never fear: Your milkweed brings all the goats to the yard. They could eat it, but they have to charge ($725/day plus tax for a 60-goat herd at Rent-a-Ruminant).
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Hemp chair is not just eco-friendly, it’s eco-kind
You know those hiddy plastic stackable chairs that you see on basically every porch, stoop, and backyard? (I have some. They came with the house.) Well, what if they were biodegradable, made with sustainable materials, and kind of awesome looking? And also made out of pot? TOTAL DREAM CHAIR, right? Okay, so Werner Aisslinger’s stackable […]
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Ask Umbra Book Club: What makes a home?
Home is where the art is. And the war too.Photo: Stefano ADearest readers, Welcome to February’s book club conversation. I hope you’ve gotten some good couch time in at home to read At Home: A Short History of Private Life, by Bill Bryson. If you haven’t been able to cozy up next to this “history […]