Quick staggering fact I heard today

I went to a presentation today on the topic of consumption and waste...and heard this fact:

In 1950, the average US home was 983 square feet and housed 3.8 people. In 2008, the average US home was 2500 square feet and housed 2.6 people. If we do the math, in the fifties the square footage allotted per person was approximately 257 versus 4 years ago, a staggering 962 square feet per person!

Wow. When looking at these numbers, it is easy to see where we can begin to cut down on energy, materials and overall costs.

We need to build smaller, more thoughtful spaces.

Small Housing Approaching the New Normal | Living Future

This video is so INSPIRING! A 16 year old built this small house. We could all live within a much smaller footprint. He is living within 130 square feet.


Small Housing Approaching the New Normal | Living Future

Getting the credit you deserve! A tip for sellers.

I am pleased to announce that soon you will be able to market your home as a green retrofit, remodel or new build through the NWMLS. Wahoo! It's about time.

You deserve the credit for putting the time, energy and money into all of those sustainable choices. Let's say you invested in energy saving appliances or lighting fixtures, water saving fixtures, no or low voc paints, used reclaimed timbers or more. Well then, you deserve to brag about it!

Here's something else to think about....some buyers are opting to use energy audits in place of home inspections! As a seller, you may want to get an energy audit done before you put your house on the market. You can then decide whether to make the upgrades before you list it. And now a days, energy, or let's say the lack of using it, SELLS!

Someday all houses on the market may have stickers on them (showing energy usage, water usage, etc.) Yes, transparency in the residential market is in the near future. And if your house fails miserably, you may have a tough time moving it on the market.

Deconstruction

Free building materials, why not?

By Brett Marlo DeSantis

Published in Cities Unite, August 2012

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if you already have the materials for your next project right in front of you? Did I mention they are already bought and paid for?

Imagine removing an entire wall and transporting it to be reused as an entire wall. That’s just what is beginning to happen!

Imagine the piles of waste diverted from the landfill, the transportation, labor and dump fees you will save.

There are over 300,000 buildings a year that get demolished and approximately twenty percent of all solid waste comes from the construction industry.

There are alternatives to demolition such as deconstructing a building using a systematic approach and salvaging the materials. Deconstruction allows for the materials within a building to have a new life when the building can no longer be used as a whole.

There are deconstruction professionals that can assist you to ascertain the cost, time commitment and what is worth salvaging.

If you are employing deconstruction techniques in your project, you may be able to fast track your permit process.  As it stands now, to do this you will need to divert approximately 70 percent from the landfill and 20 percent of that amount has to be in a reusable form.  

Get a head start on your permit process. In some counties, such as King County, you can go straight to the top of the pile for permitting. Wow, talk about moving to the head of the class! There are tax incentives as well.

So you have now rescued your materials, what will you do with your treasure? You can reuse your finds, or donate the materials to a non-profit, sell or auction the items, or you can even give them away.

Are we currently throwing building materials, money and therefore jobs in the landfill? Deconstruction is done on a local level. We can support our communities by creating local jobs and keeping our materials to be reused and resold locally. Let’s keep our money in our communities.

You can even set up a mill onsite to reclaim the lumber…now that’s keeping it local.

Maybe you are already recycling some of your demolished materials. Great! What if we reuse before recycling?

Reusing materials is the best way to utilize the embodied energy that went into making that material, such as the energy it took to extract the natural resources, manufacture and transport that material. You can still recycle the materials after they no longer have a useful life.

So what will make deconstruction even easier to tackle? We design buildings with deconstruction in mind.

We can work towards not designing waste into a structure because when we design waste into a structure, that’s exactly what we get out of it.

Consider adaptable spaces, demountable panels, modules that form complete units, floating floors and using fasteners.

Imagine a society where deconstruction is the mainstream choice for building removal. Consider the history you might incorporate into your next space, memories to save and reinterpret.

What might you salvage from your built environment?

SMART gadgets = SMARTer consumers

June column, published in "Cities Unite."

By Brett Marlo DeSantis, Accredited Building Construction and Design Professional. Contact her at bmd@brettmarlodesigns.com.

Gadgets, gadgets, gadgets, oh my! And smarter than ever, at least that’s what they have named them – SMART gadgets.

You may ask (and I hope you do) if electronics are really smart. Do they show a quick-witted intelligence?

In the tech world, SMART often refers to self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technology. SMART is also known to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. Now that’s an acronym that defines today’s gadgets.

Whether it’s a plug, an outlet, a strip, a switch, a thermostat, a meter or an appliance, they are all smarter these days.

Want to know what appliance is costing you the most each month? Is that compact fluorescent bulb really saving you energy and money? How much does it cost to charge your phone? These gadgets tell all and are geared for both residential and commercial use.

See your environmental impact in real time. Make energy saving decisions in real time. Save money in real time.

Smart Plugs literally plug into your existing wall outlet and measure the exact amount of energy consumed by a specific appliance or device on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. This information is available on your computer or wireless device.

You now can adjust your thermostat from your phone! It is amazing that you can see what is happening in your home from anywhere, modify your thermostat, set a vacation schedule, change your preferences and view reports online.

These smart thermostats account for elements such as the weather, square footage of a home or building, the number of occupants in the space and the type of HVAC system.

Your utility companies can even communicate with you via your energy display and notify you about price changes, critical conservation periods and more.

When a simple thermostat won’t do the trick, you can opt for an energy management system.

Commercial spaces will benefit from the use of energy management systems. You can see what is happening in your building from anywhere, manage multiple thermostats and locations, modify programs and view reports on performance. Remote sensor modules allow for refrigerator and freezer monitoring.

SMART appliances are hitting the market. You can connect to your refrigerator while away to see if you need eggs while at the grocery store.

You can wirelessly connect to your washer to start or pause cycles or just find out the status of your latest load of laundry. Why not have your dryer alert you via phone when the clothes are ready to fold so you don’t have to run it an extra cycle to get the wrinkles out?

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if your heater alerted you that maintenance was required before it broke, or the filter needed to be changed?

Next-generation appliances are smart enough to know to run high-demand cycles during low-cost times of day.

Well, it often takes seeing something to believe in it. Electricity use is no different.

So what’s so smart about these gadgets? They make us smarter by using them.

Thank you for voting us Best of South Sound 2012

Thank you for your vote! Because of you, Brett Marlo Designs won Best of South Sound 2012 for Best Kitchen and Bath Designer. We cannot thank you enough for letting us know how much you appreciate us. Now it is our turn to let you know how much we appreciate you!

We have thought of ways to thank you... you'll have to call us to find out!

The new workspace redefines the workplace.

The new workspace redefines the workplace.

By Brett Marlo DeSantis
Published in: the May edition of Cities Unite

So you are now working from home, or perhaps considering it. You may call it homeshoring or homesourcing. The truth is more of us are working from home every day. We are pursuing our own passions in business by choice or necessity.

You may be a financial advisor, a sales consultant, an architect or a writer. There are simply too many careers to mention that may be home based in this day and age.
Brick and mortar businesses are realizing that independent or self-employed agents offer a host of benefits.

Forward thinking executives see homesourcing as a double win. It is a cost-saving alternative without sacrificing quality and performance while also gaining a greater degree of flexibility.

These independent agents are educated and experienced. They are looking to have more control over the hours they work, whom they work for or with, and from where they work.

While working from home may be an ideal situation for some, others may find it to be too close to home. Really, you can't beat the commute, but I can understand the need or want to go out to work as well.

What does the workplace of tomorrow look like? A space, and it is closer than you think.

The new workspaces offer flexibility, connectivity, cooperation, and pooling of resources. They combine the values of independence with the benefits of interdependence. This design concept is known as a shared space.

This concept is not new.  However it has evolved into something fresh with new twists. Imagine a space with low capital investment, low overhead, a professional and prestigious mailing address, a receptionist, a conference room, even an event space and a shower if you choose to bike or walk to work...oh and a lounge.

Chats around the water cooler are now taking place in front of the espresso machine. You can breathe easily knowing the use of healthy building materials created these inspirational workspaces.

Well there's more to discuss and if it sounds like work might be fun after all, then you are getting the idea. The new workspace is not your old workplace.

Perhaps you are lucky enough to already have one of these shared spaces in your city.  If these workspaces are the right fit for you or your independent agents, fantastic! If you do not have one in your neck of the woods, please ask for one.

Acting collectively we have the ability to be part of a bigger conversation. We can: revitalize our downtowns, cut down the commute, create community connectivity, share in costs and personnel, consolidate back-offices, co-sponsor staff training, refer clients and contract labor in-house, locally and regionally, organize and host workshops, invite civic, business and thought leaders into our communities.

If you are looking for a workspace that promotes and embraces diversity, equity and a healthy work-life balance then you have found the place to hang your hat (just remember to bring it home.)

Are you ready to embrace this innovative workspace?

Building trends, on what resale depends

Published in Cities Unite, Gig Harbor, April Edition
Building trends on what resale depends

By Brett Marlo DeSantis

I love to keep you in the know so this month let’s talkabout trends. I aim to enlighten in 650 words or less!

The design build industry is taking hold of sustainabilitytrends and employing them in a various ways. Let’s begin with the low-hangingfruit and work our way up.

The trend of Eco-Appeal—aesthetically pleasing +environmentally friendly—this is the place to be. As this trend enters themainstream population the availability of environmentally-friendly buildingsupplies and materials is on the rise as the costs continue to decrease.

Not long ago, if you wanted green building materials you hadonly a handful of choices. In the recent years, manufacturers have been steadilyworking to satisfy this new consumer base and growing trend. You can now find aplethora of products in many colors and finishes to satisfy just about anybuilding style, design and décor.

The latest trend is greening existing buildings and it pays backin terms of higher rents and property values, greater comfort levels andhealthier spaces. Believe it or not, there are even certified residential greenappraisers now!

Next on the trend list are energy use trends. You may beperfectly happy in your current space, ready to sell, ready to remodel or readyto buy or build—either way, I bet you have thought about lowering your utilitybills.

You may already know that when the time comes to look at newappliances to check out the Energy Star program. The primary goal of EnergyStar is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This lofty goal means that their qualifiedproducts will not only be environmentally friendly, but will save you a ton onyour electric bill. What you may not have realized is that Energy Star’sprogram includes: air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, windows, andlighting.

While you are considering all of these state-of-the-artoptions, you may want to consider the next trend on our list—switching fuels. Currentlynatural gas is much less expensive than other forms of electricity. Here isanother example of where you can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and savemoney.

As trendsetters go, there are the early adopters and thereare the ones blazing the trail. You may be the type to dip your toes in the wateror just jump right in. If you fall into the latter category, you may want tocheck out alternative energy, such as geothermal and new solar technologies.

Even in the great northwest, solar is a great renewableresource. Did you know that we get more than enough sun to make solar panels aviable option? In fact, solar panels are said to work more efficiently incooler climates.

What not “off the grid” yet?  With these technologies in place, you can gocutting edge—net zero baby—with zero net energy consumption and zero carbonemissions annually.

Who would have thought being a complete zero would be soappealing? These newly designed and built structures are called “energy-plus”buildings and they produce more energy than they use at different times of theyear.

So what if you do decide to build rather than to green anexisting structure? Well then you may want to check this out. Building codes, currentlystating only minimum acceptable levels for safety, may soon change assustainability trends become the norm.

The International Green Construction Code is expected to bepublished at any moment and while it relies upon our jurisdictions to reviewand elect to accept it, it is clear that codes in the near future will be rampingup to conserve energy and water and just plain make our structures healthierplaces as well as safer ones.

Last trend—the art of being green—you can build the greenestbuilding on the planet and it will fail if the inhabitants do not participate.

So, how trendy will you be?

Becoming an agent of change

It was not long ago (in fact just December) when I decided to make great change. It's not that the thought had not occurred to me before. As a matter of fact upon graduation from my undergraduate degree, I had joined AmeriCorps to make change as well. I wanted to teach environmental education to young children and create neighborhood beautification projects and that is just what I did.

Now many years have passed. In those years I have devoted myself to gaining more specific knowledge in the field of architecture and design, gotten many pairs of shoes dirty on-site(s), my masters...oh yeah...got married and had kids as well!

And although life keeps getting busier, I still have this overwhelming pull towards bettering people's lives, and sustaining our culture. This may be by designing spaces that compliment the lives of the occupants and make life easier and just plain more enjoyable. Or by educating the public through the written word. Or by volunteering to become a public servant.

I want to thank my Tacoma/Olympia Cascadia Green Building Council Steering Committee for believing in me so much. The committee elected to use funds to support my leadership goals. And it was the Emerge Workshop the sent me to in December that helped me emerge as an agent of change.

No longer will I (just) think about change when I can make it happen.

If you are thinking of ways you would like to make a difference no matter what your cause, I urge you to sketch your goals down (even on a napkin) as once they are written, spoken or become real to you--they will become real to everyone else as well.

Thank you to my family, friends, clients and a huge thanks to my mentors (I think you know who you are) for supporting and guiding me. I have been so fortunate to make some really great strides this year already. Now the real work must begin.

I will work on the next step in my journey and of course I am here to support you in yours.

First Place Winner!!!!!

Please check this link out...we won!
First Place Baby!

Kitchen Remodel - before + afters

I promised I would try to post more before + afters...so here I am trying to fulfill my promise. Unfortunately these are not professionally done...I was aiming for speed on my goal. None the less, I think you will get the idea.

This kitchen was a basic builder kitchen as you will see. While it did have one view window...that's all it had! They designed it so that it butt up to a butler's pantry and the pantry was on the view wall. Crazy right?! Why would anyone design a house with a pantry on a wall with the best view on the property?

There were other design dilemmas as well. For a substantial sized home, this kitchen did not fit the scale of the home or it's inhabitants. The island was meek and the lighting was awful. Their idea of task lighting was incandescent rope lights hanging off the bottom of the cabinets. They kept falling off and it looked like Christmas all year long (that's not a good thing!)

Now comes the fun part. I took the pantry off the view wall (the north wall) and relocated to another section of the house by the laundry area (which was south east of the kitchen.) This enabled an expansion of the previously too small dining room into a dining room that scaled very well with the new kitchen size. We bumped the north kitchen wall out to meet the north wall of the previous eating area to the east of the kitchen. I designed the cabinetry to run the perimeter of this new north wall with the sink front and center. All new windows were installed to take advantage of the views. The windows to the northeast and northwest were installed to be serving windows for what would become the outdoor kitchen/dining/living areas. (just thinking ahead:)

The island was expanded to include a five-person eating bar made from local urban hardwoods we picked out from the mill...that was a fun trip! The tile was made locally and is incredible. The cabinet woods were derived from the US and assembled in Canada. These cabinets are not only beautiful but also incredibly well made.

On the south side of the kitchen, I elongated the wall along the hall and wrapped the ends in on both sides to encompass the area with the bulk of the appliances as well as a prep sink.

The ceiling was dropped around the perimeter to allow for ease of installing lights, for the south bank of cabinets to have an ending point and to add drama and perceived height to the interior of the kitchen.

The window coverings are not up yet....they will be interior mount soft valances to bring in the red palette from the dining room and family room.

Please let us know what you think of this remodel!
The BEFORE'S:

NOW for the AFTER's:

You can peek at the new outdoor kitchen as well.....BUT don't you worry...I'll work on taking pics of that as well soon!

Sliding doors--a great solution for a family + a room

I must admit...I get so wrapped up in projects I often forget to concentrate on taking the after pics. I think this is because I am so often referred to my next clients by my currents clients that I do not rely on the pictures to get drum up business. I must admit it is fun to share these spaces with you!

I so appreciate the great word of mouth! So thank you to all of my past, current + future clients for sharing my endeavors. That being said, I will be better about pictures in the future.

I was asked to submit pictures of these sliding doors for a competition. Here are the before pictures, concept pictures and after pictures.

This family room was actually too big! I decided to take some space from this room and create several smaller spaces. The area you see pictured here is a desk niche designed to seat 3 across (as they have 3 girls). As the girls get older and work on their homework and laptops, the parents will be able to help and oversee their Internet activities. When this area is not in use, it may be closed off + their "stuff" may be tucked away.

Before- display niches

Before- family room (display niches right)

Behind these new walls, to the east and west of the desk niche, is a mudroom + laundry bin room. Unfortunately I do not have pics of these areas taken yet...but I promise to get on that! This was a rather large remodel and I look forward to showing you the whole thing eventually.

Above, are some BEFORE pictures with the concept pictures just below them. Are you ready? You are almost to the AFTERS:

concept-niche hidden

concept- desk niche exposed

After

After

After

After- inside niche shot

After- niche hidden

After-niche exposed

After

the WHOLE design process

Published in Cities Unite, The Edge
written by Brett Marlo DeSantis
March 2012

The WHOLE design process

The building industry has many buzz words and phrases that you may recognize like “green design” and “sustainability.” You may have also heard “Integrated Design” or “Integrated Project Delivery.” If these phrases are unfamiliar, let me assure you they won’t be for long.

Green design is the practice of designing, constructing and operating buildings that support and improve the health of their occupants and the environment.

Integrated design is a collaborative method for designing a building. This holistic process involves a “whole building design” approach. A building, much like an organism, requires all systems to work together in harmony.

Conventional building design, residential and commercial, involves a hand-off method, a linear process. This hand-off may take place between owner to architect/designer and builder to occupant. This conventional method does not allow for the expertise of all system designers and their input early on in the decision making process.

Unlike the traditional design process where engineers and contractors enter at the end, integrated design welcomes these key players from the beginning. The result is a high performance building completed with a seamless construction process.

While I can imagine this subject might not rock your world. If you don’t know about it…you lose the opportunity to use it. Integrated design requires forethought. Designs need more time in the early stages to save time and money in the later stages.

Here’s what to expect. Use these guidelines to understand how an integrated design team would work on your next project.

First, define the project scope. What would you like your integrated design team to achieve?  What obstacles will they need to keep in mind? Research and prepare a primer of ideas and priorities.

Assemble the right team. Who will you invite to your team? Will it be engineers, architects, designers, contractors, builders, end-users, facility managers, community members—are all parties engaged?

Next, define project roles with realistic expectations and clear responsibilities. Communicate tasks so that work is divided, conquered and then brought back to the table for a timely design process. Commit to measurable goals. Align team around core goals or purpose.

Mark your calendars. Phase your project and schedule meetings for the beginning and/or end of these phases. Great communication is a must. This is a web of relationships that requires coordination, efficient management and a high level of organization.

Follow through in construction process. Maintain and monitor the systems in place to keep them running optimally.

You are getting the idea, so let’s take this opportunity to flesh out another buzz phrase to enter our conversation—first costs.

In the building industry, “first costs” refer to the once, up-front cost. The remaining costs of owning a home or a building through its lifecycle are: operating costs-continuous; maintenance costs- continuous; refurbishment costs-periodic; disposal costs or deconstruction- once and at the end.

First costs are currently the biggest excuse for not building green. So how much does it really cost? Some say ten percent more. Some say the costs in the end are the same. What is your basis of comparison?

First costs are comprised mostly of land and construction costs and are said to be 1/6^th of the life cycle costs. While operating and maintenance are twice that amount and never end as long as the building is in operation.

This integrated approach to the process of design allows for systems integration. It is a non-linear process which supports an understanding of relationships between systems such as: site selection, water, energy, materials, resources and indoor air quality.

One of my mentors often quotes Masanobu Fukuoka, “An object seen in isolation from the whole is not the real thing.” The basic elements of a whole system approach are based on the fact that life is whole and not fragmented, unique in every place and that we are inhabitants and not occupants.

Would you settle for anything less than a whole design?

Video--Before pics of Lakewood residential remodel

Before video for Lakewood residential remodel

Please check out our before video for this Lakewood residence! You will see how we have already taken it down to the studs....stay tuned for the next phase!

Video--Before pics of condo remodel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fnk-8SgA1g

Please check out our before video for this Gig Harbor Waterfront condo! Our in-house videographer, Brittany, worked soooo hard on this for us!

Will you LABEL me please?

Will you LABEL me please?
By Brett Marlo DeSantis

So by now you may have gathered that I am a bit “green.”

I am actually OK with being labeled. I have an identity and defining characteristics. My label might read: sourced in the U.S.A…. re-use organs before recycling.

While labeling a person is an extreme example, we recognize this system and apply it with ease.

Sometimes, labels are a good thing. We find this to be true with food. So, why has it taken us so long to apply the same system to our building materials?

Simply stated, a label is a tool.

A battle is raging in the building industry. We call the subject “material transparency.” It is the fight for disclosure of the defining characteristics of a building product. Currently there are no regulations that require this disclosure.

If it confuses, or even aggravates you that there is no basis for comparison of building products, you are not alone.

As a professional in the industry, I know how difficult it is to specify products in an informed matter. I hear the rumblings from fellow professionals as we try our best to select products that are in the best interest of our client.

We all seek the answers that a mere label may provide.

The subject of material transparency has been simmering for years. This year will be the year it will come to a head. Yes, this hot topic is about to bust out into the general population. And why shouldn’t it?

Our population does initiate and makes great change. In fact, the “buy local” movement worked because of you, so THANK YOU! Let’s combine our consumer power by buying informed and locally.

Transparency, plain and simple, is awareness. This awareness allows us to assert our rights to information accessibility, usability and accountability.

OK…decision made: bring on the labels!

Will these labels be consistent? What information will they provide? Where should I look for them?

Currently, manufacturers make claims in terms of their human and/or environmental impact. These labels, sometimes called eco-labels, may say they are less damaging to you and the earth. Fantastic! Oh wait, what is their basis of comparison?

Other products are being touted as PVC or BPA free. Wonderful, what is really in them?

According to international design firm Perkins+Will, the new on-product label will contain the following elements:

It will begin with general product information, such as product name, manufacturer’s contact information, product warranty and websites on that product.

The second section of the label is product content. This section will look the most familiar as the content is listed in order from highest quantity to least. The label will contain a health summary with suspected health impacts listed AND will let you know if any of the contents are on a governmental watch list.

You will clearly see what all the components are, where they are sourced and final location of manufacturing. They will receive a check mark if they are rapidly renewable, FSC-certified or meet Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) requirements.

Ecological benchmarks are assessed such as water, energy and carbon use. Packaging content, whether the product was designed for reutilization, and its recyclability is included.

Last but not least is the best care and maintenance for this specific product (as well as availability of replacement components) to ensure and extend the lifecycle of the product. This information is key to protecting your monetary investment.

You may be wondering why I am explaining a label that does not exist yet. No worries, it will, and you will be prepared!

In the meanwhile, use the new label system as your guideline to ask these questions at your local hardware store, to your contractor, designer or architect as you specify materials for your indoor environment.

Now that you are in “The Know”…did you want to know? Asking the right questions WILL ignite change.

In the interest of transparency

I am asking for your opinion.

I am presently amassing information on the subject of material transparency. What's that? Basically our need as a community, nation, world to account for what is in our products and their origin (oh, and a lot more.)

What I need from you are your thoughts... on why you would like to see products labeled. Yes, food is labeled, clothes are labeled but not building materials. Why should they be?

I know I have a looooong list of reasons and I can't be the only one. Please share!

Oh, alright, OK, I'll start:

1.  I want to buy local.

If only I could see where the product's resources originate and where they are eventually manufactured. I will then be able to compare products and make an educated decision.

Your turn.

Check out Brett Marlo Design Build's new brand:

A huge THANK YOU to Kristy Ewing of Ewing Creative for her graphic design talents!!!

As seen in The Edge, January 2012 Column

You are what you breathe
Did you know that most of us are indoors 90 percent of our day?

While we are inside we (or at least I) imagine what our world would be like without the repercussions of the industrial age – a world where humans live their lives aligned with nature. All the while, we sit indoors breathing air that is even worse than outside!

I feel comforted by the protection of my walls. I enjoy the comforts of the desk I am sitting at, the firm counter I lean on, my adjustable chair and temperature.

Yet I am breathing in every built material in my environment.

It’s not as bad as it sounds ... there lies a real opportunity here. While we may not be able to entirely control our exterior environment, we can control our indoor air quality.

As you can imagine, there are many variables in our indoor environments.

Some of the first sources that come to mind are: oil, wood, foams, adhesives, etc. In addition, thanks to where we live and how damp our spaces may become – wet or damp carpet – yuck!

When the time comes to replace these elements, an easy solution is choosing a material that does not off-gas hazardous pollutants — look for products with no or low volatile organic compounds (VOCs). According to the EPA, concentrations of many VOCs may be up to ten times higher indoors than outdoors. You can often identify these environmentally friendly products as their labels, with terms like eco, green, or future friendly, are much like bragging rights.

Another option is making your own nontoxic cleaners, as most of the time it is less expensive and works just as well. For example, mix ½ cup vinegar and a ½ cup baking soda (or borax) with ½ gallon of water and you have an all-purpose cleaner. You may use it immediately and store it for future use.

Second, how air moves factors into the equation. While we are familiar with the need to “weatherize” our homes and commercial spaces, we also need to be aware of the air quality we are sealing into these spaces. First we may want to clean the air up and then seal it in. And always remember, there is a lot to be said for natural ventilation — open windows and doors when weather permits.

I was amazed to learn that plants actually scrub the air clean. Crazy, right? I know. If you are interested, there are sources out there that tell you which plants are best at eradicating specific pollutants.

For example, you can run/walk/bike to the store and buy run-of-the-mill house plants such as spider plants, Boston ferns, snake plants, rubber plants and even English ivy. They are inexpensive and absorb formaldehyde lickety-split. Who knew you could clean the air in a room quickly and under twenty dollars?

Last but not least is US. We are most likely the biggest offender! What is our lifestyle and what do we bring into our indoor spaces? I don’t have to say this out loud (or do I?) Don’t smoke! OK … that was easy. Opt for natural cleaners, preferably with a neutral PH. Past the obvious culprits – paints, pesticides and cleaning products – watch out for office equipment such as inks, carbonless copy paper and correction fluids.

You get the idea. It’s just like making wise choices when you sit down at a restaurant or while food shopping. When doing these activities, you innately realize that what you buy, you ingest. Guess what? Same rule applies.

What will you do with this powerful knowledge that you can breathe healthy air 90 percent of your day?

A taste for writing...

OK...so I think I'm hooked.

I know I started this blog last year. And by my count, and I'm sure yours, there are few to posts to read!

Well, that is about to change. I have fallen in love with the idea....finally!

It took writing my first column to do so. I'm not sure why. I actually starting writing a book around seven years ago on remodeling. Unfortunately it remains in it's outline form tucked in a manila folder. (That alone could explain why the love did not develop!)

Perhaps a book was too lofty a goal as a novice writer. So until the day I set time aside to pull the book together, I will relish in writing a column + this blog.

I have been reading much on writers, their inspiration, and writing ethics. It was great to see them say not to be afraid to write something bad.

This may seem like an obvious statement. And it is. BUT fear has stopped many in their tracks.

If I started my career as a designer with fears of designing something bad, I would have never designed. Therefore, I will write and apologize for my skills now. They will develop. Please enjoy + share in my journey.

My new column is published in Gig Harbor EDGE, an earth-friendly soy ink & recycled stock publication, about 17,450 mailed copies are going out next Thursday throughout the Peninsula.

I look forward to your feedback.

Brett Marlo DeSantis presents for Gig Harbor UNITE, November 2011.