Many of us are trying to be more responsible with the environment, and that includes with our building. “Green” homes are becoming very popular and new eco-friendly products are coming out all the time. Here are a few newer ones that may be of interest:

Water Conservation – special tanks monitor daily water usage and help to reduce water output, helping the environment and your water bill. www.culligan.com

Recycled Decor – it’s better than it sounds. Trendy bathroom tiles are made from recycled glass, counters from recycled quart, and other decor items made from post consumer products. www.aediconstruction.com

Graywater – this system uses a gray water tank which stores used shower water. The shower water is filtered, chlorinated, and sent back to flush toilets. www.bracsystems.com

Nature’s Energy – solar panels or a wind turbine on your roof can help produce a lot of energy for your household needs. www.altenergystore.com

Even if your home is already built, there are improvements that you can make to make it more “green”. Replace your windows with more efficient ones, install low pressure faucets in the bathrooms, if you are going to redo some floors install renewable bamboo floors rather than hardwood (also much cheaper). There are tons of ideas! Try out one or a bunch.

If you have done any of these things or other methods of conserving energy in your home, I would love to hear them!

For more information on Bellingham Real Estate or to search for homes in the Bellingham and Whatcom County area visit www.JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com, your one stop Bellingham real estate and community information resource!