Going Green takes Gr$$n

Okay.  So, we're moving our house, and we are having to make WAY more decisions about materials and processes than I thought we would have to make.  To me, it was just a quick "unhook", pick up the house, drive it 7 miles to the other farm, put it down, and rehook it, right? 


Silly me :-)


We are having to decide whether to stick with a propane heater/furnace, thermal heat (big investment) or use the electrical one from the other house, changing out the duct work under the house for something sturdier, and complete basement construction. (We have had an old basement that flooded each spring, so this will be a new experience for us- to actually be able to USE our basement.  What ever shall I do with all that storage space.......?)


Decisions, decisions.  And with every question we get from a contractor, I can her a "Ka-Ching" sound in my head.


Being the Mother Earth News reading hippy that I am, of course, I would love to plant solar panels on the roof, dig a cold cellar in the basement, slap a greenhouse on the south side of the house (which we really ARE considering) and put up an unsightly turbine to provide for all our electrical needs.


I would also love to do any reconstruction with recycled lumber/windows/materials, but those types of resources are hard to find in the rural midwest. We do have a Habitat for Humanity outlet, but the materials there are limited, and mostly include appliances and hardware, items that we don't need.  By the way, Loren said a big NO to compostable toilets.


So much for all of my Green talk.  Every carbon-footprint-reducing step that I have tried to take the past 10 years almost always get put on our Wish list because of the price or the availability of the know-how.  With this move, I'm not doing a whole lot better.

I guess I'm going to have to be proud of the fact that we are actually recycling our whole house by taking it with us!  We also managed to salvage alot of beautiful wood trim, hardwood flooring, doors, windows, sinks, and other items from the older house before it was torn down.  We hope to incorporate them into the basement and mudroom. 

Before tear down

After

Meanwhile, I hope the people at Ogden Publications where Mother Earth News is published aren't rolling their eyes and considering taking me off of their mailing list.