How eco-friendly are you?

[Quincy]

Hello everyone,

I hope you're all having a great week!

Today I want to talk about things that you do to be eco-friendly in your home. Perhaps you own solar panels? Or maybe you have a smart home so that you can control everything at your convenience?

I think that the first step is to turn off the lights in places that are not in use. I believe that most of us know how to save energy and why we should do that. As a host, you can also encourage your guests not to waste energy.

Usually, I use the 'eco' setting when using the washing machine and also turn off the lights, where possible, but even I sometimes forget! 

What do you do to save energy? 

I would love to hear your ideas!

[Linette7]

We try to be very eco friendly at our lake house for all of the obvious reasons anyone would be, but we are also right on the water, so it's even more important.  

We have a well and have water efficient toilets.  We also have a seperate water pump that brings water up from the lake to the hose spigots.  This allows us to conserve well water and use minimal water for landscaping.  Hopefully soon we will be installing an in line hot water heater to reduce water use and electricity.  We also have LEDs and motion sensors through out the property.  Our guests are asked to seperate their garbage by the single stream recycling (1 and 2 plastic and cardboard) offered by our town, returnable bottles and cans which get taken back to a redemption center, and then finally household trash.  Additionally, we plant a tree for every guest we host.

We are always looking for ways to be eco-friendly, but these are some of the ways we are helping.

Loon Lodge, Winslow, Maine - https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/20747780

Loon Loft , Winslow, Maine - https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/21551164

[Audrey343]

Hi Quincy,

Are there any AirBNB hosts that offer their off grid home for a stay?  Are customers interested in that type of experience?

I am in the process of building an offgrid apartment on an organic farm in Canada. Is there a way to "label" this type of location in the AirBNB directory with a "tag" or "label" for filtering?

Thanks, 

Audrey Bayens

[Julie1785]

Hello 🙂 I am a green blogger and am currently working on compiling a directory of this type of these types of lodging (fragrance-free, toxin-free, sustainable,etc). It will be on varying levels and each listing will include the areas in which they are going above and beyond. Please message me on my facebook page, gogreenmamas, if you host along these standards or have any in mind that you have stayed at. Thanks!

[Kevin1322]

I think as far as eco-friendly goes we are in the silent majority  as "mostly harmless", not evangelists, but make what we feel is a decent effort to recycle/reuse, reduce energy. 

My view is that it doesn't take a few people doing a lot to make a difference, it takes a lot of people doing a little as well.  A lot of us little people can make a difference.

We are lucky to live in a very modest home in a world heritage site, area of outstanding natural beauty, and oher designations, locally we look after it as a community.

I think it is a shame that politics gets in the way sometimes.

[Kevin1322]

Just found out eco A rated, potential A+  which was the surprising part as it was built in the 1970s.  I think they over-insulated it 😉

[Quincy]

That's a nice suprise there @Kevin1322 :-). 

[Susan319]

I automated the lights that I often forget on, as to be able to check them when am out and ensure I turn them off.  But I think what I'd like to do is install solar panels to the apartment, and make it as economical as possible.  But it's super expensive to do so.

However, I started a monthly recycle drive for the building to ensure that all glass bottles and plastic bottles are recycled rather than thrown (a new service in Jordan).

Let me know if there are ways to afford making my apartment completely solar :).

[Martin333]

Hi Susan, one way of getting your toe in the water of solar (Photovoltaic) is to look out for self-consumption kit. These are one or two panels and a micro inverter mounted on the back of one panel and the outlet is plugged into any socket nearby. Still, need to check local regulations but the install is minimal (Balcony, terrace, south facing wall or even a window - self supporting or fixed -and a socket to plug into).

Do not be mislead by the labels like 300Watt - That's under ideal or lab condions. But 50%+ is real and can power a fridge and some laptops during the day.

Hope it helps

Martin

[Brett-And-Alex0]

We make a yearly contribution to Mojave Desert Land Trust! Our property is in Joshua tree, and this organization has had a lot of success with protecting desert lands. I encourage all hidesert hosts to get involved with them. 

[Michelle53]

I think being "Eco Friendly" as a host can be pretty difficult. 

I have solar panels for hot water. One thing I've never had a guest complain about is enough hot water!!

I have a garden planted with native perennials and fruit trees, to encourage pollinators, and have a thriving vegetable garden in summer.   Many native perennials can seem weedy, unless one knows one's garden plants, with the result being that the garden can look "overgrown". Not everyone likes that look. 

I do not use any chemical sprays or fertilizers in the garden, and never use chemical sprays inside the house.   That, of course, can mean there may be bugs. People get really upset when there are bugs. Spiders around a house are, actually, a very good thing because they trap flies. Try and convince a guest that spiders are a good thing, especially when they have the temerity to crawl inside !

The most recent thing someone got upset with me for was lack of a coffee maker. Since the majority of them, now, are the kind that use pods, I will never buy one. Tens of billions of single-use plastic pods go to landfills each and every day !  

Occasionally, I do have guests who will ask where to put recyclables - it's always encouraging to hear that. 

I try and keep the heat and air turned to a reasonable level, and provide space heaters and electric fans, but folks  want things  cooking hot in winter, or blasting cold in summer.

A fresh fragrance on laundry is "clean" to some, and "chemical" to others. I try and keep fragrance use to a minimum, but even non-perfumed cleaners have some scent, and folks don't always like that smell.

[Sudsrung0]

We try our best to save energy as we live on an Island but Im afraid the majority of guess dont care, My pet hate is leaving the A/C on continuous even when they go out and leave the doors and windows wide open electric here is expensive if by turning it off during the day would save a lot of waste.

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Quincy , great topic, to be sure.  As  @Marit-Anne0  mentioned, most guests unfortunately are not NRG efficient in many if any ways when they are at our place!   Were also part of the struggling middle class so I'm really not in a position to spend huge money on wind, solar or thermal solutions nor can we really afford to pay for four wheel drive High efficiency vehicles to live in the rural winter wonderland we've built our kingdom / slice of heaven in. 

We do the little things everyone should probably do like never use chemicals on our lawns or gardens (we have a well that we get our drinking water from), we use LED's in all my fixtures, turn off unneeded devices, turn heal lower and toss an extra blanket on, close doors when heating or air conditioning and open windows for natural air when possible and things like that.  We even reuse the plastic bags for garbage that come filled with wood pellets that we burn to heat a big piece of our home, they are heavy duty and I get a hundred or more every year. 

 Im a huge fan of being a conservationist and good steward of the world that surrounds me and my family but our limited resources make large effects nearly impossible so I've empowered myself with what I call my "Green Times 2" philosophy, Its good for the environment and good for me, no compromise for quality, form or function, then why wouldn't I do it? 

 I have rebuilt our 200 year old 4500 sq' home for our Airbnb suites Bearpath Lodging over the last 15 years room by room and it would have bankrupted me if I did it the prescribed method and I always kick it up a notch and save big money when I reuse materials from job site dumpsters and craigslist bargains.  A few reuse repurpose materials heavy projects were rebuilding our kitchen out of 100 year old reclaimed  white oak (2 pickup truck full of shattered and broken boards ) that just needed some de-nailing,  remilling, sanding and gluing or our new staircase out of flawless 1.5" Red Poplar rare book shelves from a local library renovation, an addition using rafters and floor joists that were once our football stadiums visitors stands treated 2 X 12's and I have literally brought home the most beautiful craigslist finds of hardwoods and such that otherwise I couldn't or wouldn't afford. 

There is a price and cost for this that is usually much more work than using stuff that is new and delivered to your doorstep but it is great for the environment, very easy on my wallet and the outcomes are uncompromising and  spectacular.   I feel like this has made a real difference for our environment and my ability to afford it and hope others can find value in that for themselves.  Hope everyone has a great new year, Safe Travels and Stays, John

[Sam3555]

Great idea, but it's not easy if house is big, personal solar not so cheap, or expensive I will say, but idea is great as I said.

[Kathleen645]

I have a compost bin for my guests, as well as a spot for recycling.  I posted a listed from our cities recycling facility that shows what stuff we can recycle in our city, and how to sort it.   It has been working out great, and our guests seem happy about it too