We’ve had a lot of great feedback over the years and in an effort to provide better customer service, we’ve heeded that advice and updated our online store. It’s now easier to navigate and to find our great products.
Come check our our new look, http://www.greenwayhp.com/online_store/
Want to make your backyard a little more beautiful this spring? Why not start with a clothesline or a water fountain. If you don’t already use a clothesline, this spring is a great time to start!
Many people like to see humming birds in addition to other amazing birds in their yard during the spring and summer. in addition to food sources, convenient perching opportunities will make your yard more hospitable to them. Hummingbirds in particular spend roughly 80% of their time sitting on stems and clotheslines.
Photo courtesy of newviewartglass.com
Solar water fountains are another great Eco addition to your backyard that will welcome in nature. A water fountain is a stunning addition to any garden and will draw in both butterflies and birds alike.
So plant a garden (and stay tuned to the blog later in the spring for garden entries), hang your clothes to dry on a clothesline or rack, and invite natures beauty into your backyard while resting assured you are doing your part to keep it that way!
Saturday March 23, 2013 at 8:30pm marks Earth Hour. The simple idea to switch off your lights for an hour has become the world’s fastest growing global environmental movement. From 8:30pm-9:30pm people all over the world will be switching off their lights to support sustainable environmental practices.
“Earth Hour now inspires a global community of millions of people in 7,001 cities and towns across 152 countries and territories to switch off their lights for one hour as a demonstration of concern for the greater environment.” For more information on Earth Hour 2013 and how you can take part please visit http://earthhour.org/ and don’t forget to hit the lights tomorrow night!
Here at Greenway we love the colour green, even our offices are painted what we call “The Greenway Green”. In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day this weekend, we have found some amazing green decor ideas that will take your home interior from St.Patrick’s Day to spring, and even into next winter.
Here are some inspiring options where the rooms have been completely transformed into a green oasis.
Apartment Therapy
http://www.elementsofstyleblog.com
Better Homes and Gardens
http://theglamlamb.blogspot.ca
Don’t want to paint or tile your walls? That’s understandable and will not get in the way of making your room a little more green. By adding green accessories or furniture, you can get the same look with only a little bit of work.
Better Homes and Gardens
52 Mantels
Martha Stewart
Better Homes and Gardens
Country Living
With the Pantone colour of the year being Emerald, it is easy to see why these spring inspired rooms can be fashionable year round. Happy St.Patrick’s Day and happy decorating!
Whether you live alone or have a large family, creating a healthy environment is an important step to well being and living a longer, happier life. Making a healthy home does not mean you need to change your whole lifestyle but starting with a few small steps can lead to bigger ones in the long run.
The Center for Disease Control provides a comprehensive list on their website of things you can do around the house to make it a healthier place for everyone. It gives you tips by each individual room such as things you can do in the kitchen, garage etc. http://www.cdc.gov/healthyhomes/byroom/index.html
Better Homes and Gardens offers over 20 suggestions to create a healthy home including using low VOC paint and replacing carpet with easy to care for wood. They also suggest saving electricity and water through changing not only fixtures but also the way in which you use them. You can read all of their helpful ideas at http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/advice/expert-advice/25-tips-for-a-healthier-home/
Some easy first steps include adding more energy efficient products to your household, using natural cleaners, drying your clothes on the clothesline, and installing a whole home water purification system.
Cabinets and doors are things we open and close every day. But what lurks behind those closed doors that are not visible to the eye? Storage! Think of all of the potential space that could be utilized to make your home a cleaner and more organized place. I have hunted down some of the most creative and accessible options to help create your hidden storage areas from around the web (and Pinterest of course).
Better Homes & Gardens suggests using none other than a shoe organizer, which in this case has been labelled and re-purposed to hold anything from pencils to kitchen utensils. Shoe organizers are also a great option in children’s closets to hold dolls, toy cars, or stuffed animals.
This super crafty option from Infarrantly Creative saves you the drawer space and hassle of searching for measuring cups while attempting to remember measurement conversions.
The Story of Home Blog has provided a door storage option for wrapping items.
The insides of cabinets and doors can be painted and crafted to match any decor. Chalkboard paint can be used inside of cabinets to add a hidden family calendar or message board.
Things that can be stored behind doors are endless and range from hiding messy office papers to storing cleaning products under the sink so they are easy to find. If you are looking for more ways to utilize door space, Infarrantly Creative offers 4 other equally crafty options on their blog http://www.infarrantlycreative.net/2011/08/5-ways-to-organize-with-cabinet-doors.html and The Story of Home also offers other ways to secretly store items behind cabinets at http://www.thestoryofhome.com/2012/02/use-door.html.
The next time you are rummaging through the kitchen cupboards or closets, ask yourself if these creative storage options would work for you.
I recently stumbled upon this article from House Beautiful titled “Unexpected Color Combos That Actually Work” and while browsing through them realized that many people do not dive into the world of colour and instead opt for beige and white rooms out of apprehension or unawareness. After reading the article I looked for some great inspiring colourful rooms with the hopes of changing the minds of the masses through yellows and oranges…
http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/outrageous-color-combinations-for-rooms#slide-1
http://www.trendey.com/colourful-rooms-are-happy-rooms
http://houseandhome.com/design/photo-gallery-colourful-spring-rooms?page=22
Want to know what paint colours will provoke different emotions? This article from Freshome explains colour psychology and how to use it to your benefit in your home http://freshome.com/2010/09/08/20-ways-to-use-color-psychology-in-your-home/
Here at Greenway we like to stick to our signature forest green and earthy tones when decorating the office.
What colour rooms most inspire you?
Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!
Clotheslines are an amazing way to save money and energy for laundry purposes and contribute to a greener lifestyle. If you have your clothesline at home and use it to dry laundry, why not use it and the accompanying accessories for other creative purposes? Now you can incorporate your old clotheslines and clothespins into your Valentine’s Day Festivities and present ideas.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day by using your clothesline and clothespins to decorate the house. When your kids bring home all of their valentines from school or you collect Valentine’s cards from friends and family, they can be showcased by hanging them on a clothesline. If its nice outside, you can even use a clothesline as the center of the party and hang Valentines or cut out hearts from the lines.
These adorable Valentine’s Day cards with clothespin candy holders can be made in any colour or for any holiday http://simplykierste.com/2010/01/clothespin-valentines.html
Decorate clothespins with hearts to close treat bags with this Martha Stewart tutorial http://www.marthastewart.com/271608/clothespin-valentine
Using clotheslines and clothespins for holiday crafts can help introduce family and friends to the idea of clotheslines while saving money through crafting.
Today is National Sweater Day. If you don’t know what that is, it is a day created by the WWF to help gain awareness on climate change and help conserve energy. For more information on today visit http://www.sweaterday.ca/ to see how you can help or take part.
Just because today is national sweater day does not mean that you can’t conserve energy this winter by dialing down the thermostat and putting on a sweater. A great way to help save energy and heat only the room you spend the most time in is an electric fireplace or stove.
Electric fireplaces and stoves are very fashionable and compliment any room of the house, while providing up to 400 sq feet of heat. Electric fireplace media stands provide the same warmth of a fireplace while holding your TV, which is perfect since most people spend their time at home in the living room.
http://www.greenwayhp.com/electric_fireplaces/#.URQWg_H_wmU
So turn down your thermostat, put on a sweater, and switch on your electric fireplace to save money and energy!
Turn green this Valentines Day, and not with jealousy. Saving money and the environment by choosing homemade and Eco-friendly gifts will leave you feeling and having more green in a holiday dominated by red. The following websites have provided some amazing ideas to make or recycle gifts for anyone in your family.
The Daily Green offers an extensive list of green and Eco Valentines Day ideas such as Fair Trade items (with proceeds going to charities around the globe) and where to find organic flowers.
http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/fair-trade-valentines-day-gift-ideas#slide-1
Casa Diseno provides DIY Valentines Day gift ideas on a budget. Some of the ideas and tutorials include homemade tea bags, sharpie mugs and themed pillows.
http://www.casa-diseno.com/budget-styles-diy-valentines-day-gift-ideas/
Martha Stewart seems to always come up with current Valentines Day crafts and this year is no different. Browse the 33 suggestions she gives for homemade gifts including felt coffee cup sleeves, heart shaped pot holders, and homemade candy wrappers.
http://www.marthastewart.com/274866/valentines-day-crafts/@center/276967/valentines-day
If you are looking for ideas that help the community and others, why not adopt an animal? Name a tree in an arboretum, or donate to a community cause. Next week at Greenway Home Products we will be having a bake sale with proceeds going to local charity organizations..stay tuned for pictures.
The Green Way 