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Green at home?, lets just do it!

The National Building Museum's exhibition “The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design,” running through June 2007 in Washington, D.C., educates about five green principles: wisely using the land; working with the sun; creating high-performance and energy-efficient houses; improving indoor air quality; and wisely using the earth's material resources.

The exhibit includes a full-size, furnished version of a green house and 20 other homes from around the world that demonstrate cutting-edge green principles.

Here are the museum's “10 tips to go green” developed in collaboration with the American Society of Interior Designers Foundation.

• 1. Lowering the thermostat by just one degree can reduce heating costs by about 4 percent.
  
  
• 2. Use ceiling fans in the summer AND winter.
  
  
• 3. Conserve energy by purchasing major appliances with an Energy Star rating.
  
  
• 4. Repair leaky fixtures.
  
  
• 5. Install low-flow shower heads, faucets and toilets. Low-flow faucets reduce water consumption and heating costs by as much as 50 percent.
  
  
• 6. Choose carpeting, rugs, window treatments and other textiles made from natural fibers, such as cotton or wool, which are free of toxins.
  
  
• 7. Ask for flooring products made from rapidly renewable resources, such as bamboo.
  
  
• 8. Select solid woods harvested from sustainable managed forests, when possible, for furniture or cabinetry, rather than pressed woods or composites that may contain formaldehyde or other chemicals that may be toxic.
  
  
• 9. Eliminate waste by choosing products that are biodegradable or recyclable.
  
  
• 10. Recycle packing and shipping materials from purchases, and safely dispose of paint cans and other containers with contents.
  
  

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