Alison Haynes - Clean Sweep: The Ultimate Guide to Decluttering, Detoxing, and Destressing Your Home

An environmentally friendly house is an energy-efficient and comfortable onewarm in winter, cool in summer, light enough in key rooms, and pleasant to be in because it is well ventilated and smells fresh. The green house takes less of a toll on the environmentand also on the pocket. Ideally, it is sited and landscaped to take maximum advantage of the suns light and warmth in all the seasons of the year. It relies less on nonrenewable energy sources (such as coal) by making the best use of low-impact, renewable energy sources (such as sun and wind). The green house is a low-polluting one, not only in terms of the energy sources it uses, but also in the products that are used within its walls. Because it is also a healthy house, the green householder chooses organic cleaning products in preference to harsh and polluting chemicals. Water is conserved and reused when possible.

Recycling is a vital component of the green philosophy. From water and organic waste to recyclable building materials and packaging, the green house minimizes the production of garbage and landfill. The options available to householders for reducing the impact of their homes on the environment are growing daily and range from actions as simple as choosing reusable cloth bags over plastic at the supermarket to solar water heaters, signing on to green power sources, and even selling solar-produced electricity back to the local grid.

When you run an efficient house, the money you save can go to other expenses such as vacations or music lessons or in a bigger house. It can ensure that you are able to make ends meet. There are numerous ways to save money here and therefrom choosing energy-efficient appliances and fixing a leaking tap to growing a few vegetables (even a pot of herbs on a windowsill) or shopping in bulk.

But being efficient does not just mean being energy efficient. The efficient house ideally has a place for everything and (on a good day) everything in its place. Clutter is reduced to a minimum. In an efficient house, there is a list of emergency numbers near the phone, you can always find your umbrella, and that bill that needs to be paid today is right at handnot buried somewhere in the middle of a mountain of papers on the dining room table!

A safe house is not only a healthy one, it also provides a physically safe environment where inhabitants of all ages can feel secure. Safety measures are often a matter of common sense and very little financial outlay. The safe house has fire alarms, circuit breakers, child-proof safety devices for toddlers, security rails in the bathroom for the elderly or infirm, outdoor lighting, a readily accessible first-aid kit, and a lockable storage space for medicines and other potentially dangerous substances.