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The green movement is sweeping the country as people change their ideas on what is important and what can be done to not only save money but the environment too. While there are companies touting everything from green cleaning products to pet accessories, one of the most significant and lasting ways to make a difference is in the way you furnish and decorate your home by using the (in)famous green credo "Reuse, reduce, recycle".

Let’s start with "reuse". You would be amazed at the items in your home that can be repurposed. For example, drawer pulls and handles that would otherwise be discarded in a remodel can be reused as coat pegs and hooks. Even if you aren’t remodeling, this is a great and inexpensive way to hang everything from pictures to towels. Another great repurposing idea is the recent trend in using vintage wooden signs as décor instead of just advertisement or other rather utilitarian purposes. They can simply be hung on the wall or you can be move creative by lacquering the sign’s surface and attaching some of those drawer handles to be used as a serving tray if it is the right size and depth. Even hand made wooden toys can be repurposed as a pencil holder, a centerpiece or décor for the base of a lamp!

Reducing your consumption is not as hard as it sounds. It can mean buying less, but it can also mean using all of what you purchase. When you buy a box of cereal, what do you do with the box and plastic bag after you are done? You throw it away. Instead, you can reduce your consumption by painting the box and using it as a magazine holder and using the bag as packing material for your next shipping item. Simple actions like these can not only save extra waste from heading into your local landfill, but it also saves you some cash.

Another great way to reduce your impact is to consider your purchases and their origins carefully. Most woods used in furniture, for example, are virgin woods (not reused or recycled material), shipped from across the world and then treated with harsh chemicals which affect biological ecosystems by their use, disposable and exposure. When purchasing a set of wood patio furniture, consider your options. Perhaps you could purchase a set from garage sale and thus reuse a set already made which has relatively no ecological impact. Or you could commission it from a local artisan, which minimizing the environmental impact of shipping across the world while nurturing your local economy. Another option is to make sure to purchase a set made by a company that is Fair Trade certified, which means that the people who sold the wood and made the furniture were paid fairly and participated in social and environmental standards for sustainability. Affordable outdoor furniture that is eco-friendly is within your reach if only you think a bit before you purchase, as it is with any major purchase situation.

Recycling is an important but last resort in the green movement. But recycling is more than cashing in on your soda cans and bottles; it includes e-waste like computers, cell phones and batteries. There are great organizations that take these types of waste, all of which contain harsh and toxic chemicals, and recycle them into more useful products which keeps more bad stuff out of the landfill. Eye glasses, clothes, books and videos can all be donated to charity, which is a definite form of recycling that many people forget about. Recycling the wood from a torn-down fence into a tree house or play-fort is another great way to recycle what you have. Old jeans can become pillow covers with a bit on ingenuity and we all know old t-shirts make great rags.

The most important thing about going green is that you do what you can. Not everyone can afford an organic rubber mattress and fair trade jewelry; in fact, not everyone wants these things. But if everyone takes some time to consider the "3 R’s" before taking on any new home project, sustainable living and a much less wasteful life can be within our grasp.

Tags: affordable outdoor furniture | affordable outdoor furniture | drawer pulls and handles | hand made wooden toys | hand made wooden toys | vintage wooden signs | vintage wooden signs | wood patio furniture | wood patio furniture

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