It's Official!

On Tuesday, my hubby and I officially became homeowners! Woo-hoo! I am so excited to get the house ready for move-in day. And of course I'm looking forward to all of the great greening we'll be able to do that we haven't been able to do in the apartment community we're currently in. Figured I'd make a little "Green To-Do List" to help keep my eye on the ball!

1) Paint any areas that must be painted with non-VOC paint. VOCs (volatile organic compounds) are gasses emitted from paint and other household chemicals and are a major source of indoor air pollution and a contributor to asthma and other childhood respiratory problems.

2) Seal the deck with an eco-friendly, VOC-free sealant to limit Jem's exposure to the pesticide-treated wood.

3) Pick up secondhand furniture and wall-to-wall carpeting from Freecyclers. :-) Thank you, fellow Freecyclers!

4) Install HE washer and dryer (I'm thinking of a Fisher & Paykel AquaSmart washer, I hear it's a good one for cloth diapers...any thoughts? I really want to keep using a top-loader!)

5) Make a vermicomposting bin and buy some red wigglers (we had one in our previous apartment but the landlord tossed it on the curb for trash pickup...English wasn't his first language and he didn't understand our label "Compost." Bye bye worms!)

6) Put a bucket under the faucet in the shower to catch access water to use for flushing toilets and cleaning.

7) Install a rain barrel to water indoor and outdoor plants.

8) Plant some fruit trees and start a container garden (someday I might have a backyard garden, but I've never had one before and you have to start somewhere!) I'm also seriously considering planting a soap nut tree. Apparently you can grow them here! It might take a couple of decades to bear fruit, but how cool would it be to have organic laundry detergent growing in your own backyard!

Eventually we also want to install solar panels, but that might take a few years to accomplish!  Do you have any other great green suggestions we could try in our new home?