As a business, we consume more than the average family, so we believe we have an even greater opportunity to make a difference. It’s not always easy. Some choices may mean a higher cost initially but in the long run there’s a payoff, whether it’s in actual dollars through savings or in a better quality of life down the road. Sharing what we’re doing gives us incentive to keep making changes and improving our choices one step at a time. We can also share what’s worked for us or products we’re impressed with. And we’d enjoy hearing your ideas.
Solar Power
Our heat is provided by circulating hot water heated with oil or wood. In the early summer of 2007 we installed an Apricus Solar Hot Water system. Solar thermal collectors convert sunlight into heat, which is used to produce hot water. The solar collectors are connected to a water storage tank. Because the Apricus tubes are round in shape, they passively track the sun throughout the day. 2007 and 2008 were very wet sunless summers, though we had a hot summer last year. We’re using about ½ the oil we were previous to installing the solar panels and that translates into $ saved. The total system was costly as we needed to bring 2 people from Solarcrest in Victoria to install it but even so, in an estimated 6 years it will have paid for itself.
Infrastructure, Appliances and Utilities
Paint
We did a lot of repainting this winter using the new no emission, latex Aura line of Benjamin Moore paints, certified to be reduced pollution, water based paint. Great coverage, deep, rich colours, without priming. Mike finds the paint dries much quicker than he’s used to so he had to change his painting technique. Advertised as washable we don’t know yet how well it’ll stand up to wear.
Water and power conservation.
We’ve installed low flush toilets and whenever we replace an existing toilet it’ll be low flush.
We’ve replaced 2 washer and dryers with front loading energy star appliances. The clothes come out of the washer much drier which means a shorter drying time.
We’ve replaced old fridges/freezers with energy star appliances.
We use LED, solar or florescent lighting.
Cork Flooring
As flooring needs replacing we’ve installed natural cork. It’s made from the bark of the cork tree. The bark regrows and is harvested every 9 years. The tree lives on and provides new bark for up to 250 years. Hypoallergenic it doesn’t retain allergy triggering dust and pollen. Resistant to moisture, mildew and mould. Cleaning requires only a damp mop. Because it’s warm and soft on the feet, area rugs aren’t necessary.
Linens
Cotton uses the most pesticides and fertilizers of any crop we grow. Supporting organic growers can make a big difference. As we replace our linens we’re looking for organic cotton or bamboo.
Organic cotton towels
I’ve been very impressed with these long wearing, soft and absorbent towels. Quilts Etc. had a good selection but unfortunately they have discontinued the line. I haven’t found the bamboo towels able to withstand as many washings.
Organic cotton sheets
Soft and hard wearing.
Bamboo sheets
Long wearing and naturally soft, bamboo sheets don’t need a very high thread count to feel good next to the skin but they do take longer to dry.
Cleaning supplies
We’ve tried many different cleaning products over the years, searching for something organic or non-toxic that works and is easy to use. Many have come and gone. Right now we’re impressed by Method found at London Drugs and with Norwex products.
So far we’ve liked every Method product we’ve tried. All their products smell wonderful, are biodegradable, use natural ingredients, aren’t tested on animals and make cleaning a pleasure. The only thing we don’t like about Method is not being able to buy refills. We go through a lot so buying a small bottle of cleaner with a spray nozzle every time is wasteful.
Here’s what we’re using:
- Dish detergent – concentrated, doesn’t take much. We especially like the lavender or cucumber.
- Liquid Hand soap – gentle on the hands. We like the Green Tea and Aloe.
- Tub and Tile cleaner – we love the fresh smell of mint and eucalyptus. It works well and sometime we want to clean just to smell it. Really!
- Grapefruit All Purpose cleaner – smells great, works well.
- Wood conditioner – again the smell is lovely.
- Biodegradable dryer sheets
Norwex products are ordered through a consultant/agent. Their products are good but on the expensive side. Here’s what we’re using:
- Microfibre cloths – replaces paper towels, Windex or any glass cleaners.
- Antibac Enviro Cloths – removes dust, dirt and grease from all washable surfaces. Eliminates the use of many cleaners or paper towels. They’re wonderfully versatile.
- Sanira Toilet Brush System – lasts a year, refillable. The natural biodegradable cleaning solution is vegetable-based with coconut oil and a naturally-occuring sugar surfactant.
Laundry detergent
We use highly concentrated, biodegradable detergent with no fillers. Saves on packaging.
It doesn’t matter what’s in your garbage, the plastic bag will never biodegrade. Biodegradable plastic garbage bags are becoming easier to find in more convenient sizes.
Landscaping
- The grounds are indigenous plants mixed with other perennials well suited to the environment. I call them the survivors as we do very little watering and if they’re still around that means the deer don’t find them tasty. I grow annuals in containers from local growers or stores to add colour and variety.
- No planted grass means no watering or fertilizing. We still need to weedwack the volunteer grasses along the edges.
Recycling and composting
We recycle
- Paper, cardboard , tins, bottles and cans
- Recycling boxes are kept under each sink
Everything that goes to recycling on island has to be shipped off again.
We use
- Yesterdays News for cat litter. It’s made from recycled newspaper, is very absorbent, keeps odor down and is dust free.
We compost
- Food waste
We try to support local producers whenever we can.
- We’ve used locally harvested and milled cedar and pine in the main house and in the cottages.
- You’ll enjoy many of the photographs, paintings, fabric art and pottery of local artists.
- The yellow cedar and alder cupboards in the Sunflower and Sageflower suites were built by Sylvia Doll from Sandspit who salvages and mills her own wood.
- Every Saturday the farmers market sells fresh locally grown vegetables, preserves, baking and fish, oysters, scallops and sausage.