Our first phase was to make the home as non-toxic as possible. We removed toxic carpet, particleboard and gas appliances and encapsulated existing asbestos, lead, formaldehyde and other poisons. With the success of our non-toxic, painted floors we have painted more, including faux-painting old, ugly Formica countertops to look like stone and metal.

This photo illustrates the degree to which Michael is committed to non-toxic environments and sustainable building. Not content with commercial low- or no-VOC finishes for the hardwood strip flooring in the foreground, he researched and re-created an early-American finish made from beeswax (local, of course), walnut oil and vodka. And the stone tiles in the back... that's not stone. Previous damage to the strip flooring had been replaced with plywood, which Michael had painted to resemble stone.

Since last year we have upgraded our grey-water system from a messy drum system to clean, automatic drum-less and branch systems. We have also created a low-cost system for watering our vegetable garden as well as our fruit trees. Our “lasagna” gardening system has been improved, using newspaper with mulch to prevent weeds simply, inexpensively and organically.

We have opened up the back of the house by building a permeable stone and paver deck using materials salvaged from our neighbor’s remodel and from Craigslist.

Our goal is to prove that going green can be economical for the do-it-yourselfer. Creativity and time can substitute for cost, and is even greener than buying new materials. We use existing materials as often as possible and hunt for materials to reuse and keep costs down.

Michale McClure
August 18, 2008