Green Tips

This St. Patrick’s Day, why not go beyond the traditional Guinness and corned beef festivities and truly soak up the green spirit?

We have compiled some of our best going green tips, so that you can bring green into your home – whether it means looking for green Newport Beach real estate, buying green furniture or making simple eco-friendly adjustments throughout the house.

Green Home Buying
• Get Green Guidance: The best way to begin a real estate search, whether you’re in the market for a green property or not, is to seek assistance from a professional. You can enlist an EcoBroker - like Surterre Properties® - to pair you with a REALTOR® who understands energy efficiency and can show you Newport Beach homes for sale that meet your eco-needs.
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The United States may as well have added green to the patriotic red, white and blue palette this year for the significant amount of eco-friendly initiatives and programs introduced.

The Daily Green has put together a compilation of the top green feats of 2010, and if it is any indication, it looks like 2011 will only build upon this impressive green foundation.

Cashing in on “Cash for Appliances”: After the Obama Administration allotted $300 million to the “Cash for Appliances” program, customers flocked to claim their rebates, swapping old, inefficient home appliances for new Energy Star-rated models. The program, in addition to a federal tax credit of up to $1,500 for green home projects, proved to establish energy conservation as a very lucrative…

Many of us wish the holiday season would last longer, and between the vacation time, the delicious eats and the generous spirit of giving and doing good, who wouldn’t want a few more weeks of this infectious cheer?

Well, we may not have control over how long the holidays last, but we can control how long our Christmas trees last by giving them some quality TLC. The Daily Green offers some tips to keep your Christmas tree thriving in your Newport Beach home well into the New Year.

Look for Local: Not only will you be getting a more fresh and beautiful Christmas tree when you go to a local tree farm, you will be contributing to the community by helping to preserve local jobs and open space, and supporting the environment by cutting down on carbon emissions…

For as much joy as the holidays bring to us during this season of celebrations, the energy used by our decorative lights, the scraps of wrapping paper left from our presents, not to mention the carbon consumption emitted from our holiday travels, also bring a significant amount of waste.

While decking the halls in your Newport Beach or Newport Coast home this year, you can incorporate some of these eco-friendly alternatives to make the holiday season as green as it is gleeful.

Greetings: Spreading the joy of the season in green fashion can be as easy as sending a thoughtful, festive e-mail to all of your loved ones. You can also print your greeting cards on recyclable paper or get creative by mailing a greetings ornament.

Wrapping: Start an eco-chic…

As much as going green is about ameliorating and improving the environment, adopting an eco-friendly lifestyle can also yield a wealth of benefits to help improve the quality of your life.

Whether it means saving a few bucks on utilities or avoiding the use of harmful environmental contaminants in your home, you may want to ask yourself not only what you can do to go green, but what going green can do for you.

FrontDoor has compiled some of the top reasons to green your Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Corona del Mar or Newport Coast home.

A boost in home value: Because eco-friendly home upgrades include the use of sustainable materials, which are better for the environment and result in lower utility bills and improved air quality, you will see a…

With National Energy Awareness Month upon us, environmental experts and eco-amateurs alike can go green and save green by improving energy efficiency at home.

For residents of Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Corona del Mar, Newport Coast and surrounding Orange County areas, adopting energy saving practices and investing in efficient appliances will help to reduce your overall energy use and household utility expenses to boot.

Green Your Routine:
• Close up cracks around doors and windows with caulk or foam
• Adjust your water heater to 120 degrees
• Paint your roof white
• Use permanent furnace and AC filters
• Check that all electric devices are turned off before you go to bed
• Review your utility bills to confirm that you are only charged for the electricity…

As the Surterre Properties’ Tustin eWaste event approaches, now is an opportune time to take a look around your house and gather up any confounding household waste you’ve been holding onto.

When it comes to leftover paint, medications, appliances and electronics, many homeowners aren’t aware of the proper ways to recycle these potential environmental contaminants. Fortunately, Yahoo! Green provides general guidelines for disposing of your household waste.

Electronics: In addition to attending Saturday’s eWaste event, which gives residents of Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Laguna Beach, Corona del Mar, Tustin and surrounding Orange County areas the opportunity to drop off their unused electronics, you can turn in your old computers, televisions and mobile…

Why not introduce a bit of eco-friendliness into your routine tomorrow by eating a “green” lunch during Earth Lunch Hour— a 24-hour global effort organized by the Panasonic Corporation.

Panasonic plants worldwide will be connecting with fellow employees and other Earth Lunch Hour participants through Ustream video and Twitter to give the environment a “lunch break” by greening their food selection, food preparation and clean-up.

To make your eco-altered lunch:

-Select seasonal ingredients, local produce and meat or fish that has been grown, raised or caught with low impact on the environment. Also, incorporate organically grown, pesticide free items into your meal. You can find organic fare at Mother’s Market located in Irvine, Huntington Beach or Costa…