The Bedroom Furniture Nightmare That Changed How I Think About Sleep
Three months back I got sucked into helping my sister Sarah redo her master bedroom, and man… I learned way more about toxic off-gassing than any specs writer should have…
Why I Barely Pay for Water Anymore (And How Cities Could Stop Being Water-Dependent)
My water bill last month was twelve bucks. Not a typo – twelve dollars. My neighbor Sandra cornered me at the mailbox yesterday, waving her $340 bill around like evidence…
Habitat for humanity restore design center: A Complete Guide
# Discovering the Hidden World of Habitat for Humanity ReStore Design Centers NEW_TITLE: How My Random Thrift Store Visit Changed How I Think About Sustainable Design You know how sometimes…
Why Some Spaces Make You Feel Human (And How to Create Them When You’re Broke and Live in a Box)
Okay, so there’s this thing that happens when you walk into certain spaces where your body just goes “oh, thank god” and relaxes in a way you didn’t even realize…
Why I Switched to Bamboo Furniture After Analyzing Its Real Environmental Impact
A colleague brought a bamboo cutting board to our lab meeting last month – thing had been through fifteen years of daily kitchen abuse and still looked decent. “If bamboo…
Why My Latest Off-Grid House Project Changed Everything I Thought I Knew About Energy Independence
Three weeks ago, I’m standing in Maria Santos’ kitchen at 7 AM, watching her make coffee using electricity generated by her own solar panels, with water she collected from last…
What I Learned About Healing Spaces from a Medical Waiting Room That Didn’t Feel Like Torture
Last month I had to take my wife to a new specialist about an hour from home. I was dreading it – you know how those medical office visits go.…
Why My Latest Off-Grid House Project Changed Everything I Thought I Knew About Energy Independence
Three weeks ago, I’m standing in Maria Santos’ kitchen at 7 AM, watching her make coffee using electricity generated by her own solar panels, with water she collected from last…
How a Desert Farm Taught Me Everything About Real Self-Sufficiency
Last April, I drove out to this farm near Tucson after getting an invitation from a woman named Maria who claimed she’d built what she called a “closed loop paradise.”…
Ashley Furniture’s Green Claims: A Specs Writer’s Reality Check
My neighbor knocked on my door last Tuesday night – right during dinner, actually – asking if I’d seen Ashley Furniture’s sustainability commercial during the game. “Are they actually green…
How a Desert Farm Taught Me Everything About Real Self-Sufficiency
Last April, I drove out to this farm near Tucson after getting an invitation from a woman named Maria who claimed she’d built what she called a “closed loop paradise.”…
The Real Story Behind “Eco-Friendly” Home Office Furniture (From Someone Who Actually Tests This Stuff)
You know, I never thought I’d become the person contractors call when they need advice on office furniture, but here we are. Last month I got this frantic call from…
Budget Biophilic Workspace Optimization: My $200 Productivity Experiments
Honestly, some of my best productivity improvements have come from workspace experiments where I spent maybe $200 total. I’m not kidding. While people obsess over thousand-dollar ergonomic setups and smart…
Why Your House is Fighting Against Nature (And Losing)
I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately – you know when something clicks in your head and suddenly you can’t unsee it everywhere? That happened to me about three…
Why My Kids’ School Finally Gets It Right (And How Your District Can Too)
I never thought I’d be the parent who gets excited about classroom lighting, but here we are. Last month, I found myself sitting in my daughter’s third-grade classroom in Portland,…