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Going green in your home does not mean you have to sacrifice luxury. There are plenty of green home products on the market that provide the same extravagance as their less green relatives. In the bathroom: There are hundreds of different kinds of environmental friendly bathroom products on the market, include a wide variety of candles. Some of them are made of beeswax or soy, and some are made of odd materials like vegetable wax. A lot of these candles provide relaxation and stress relief through the use of essential oils and extracts. Also for the bathroom are organic towels and cotton exfoliating gloves. All of these items offer just as much, if not more of the comfort that similar, traditional, non-green items would. Health and beauty: Among the green bathroom items commonly offered, there are also many different health and beauty products on the market. There are natural body washes, body butters, lip balms, salves, and foot cream. Ingredients in these products range from peppermint to aloe vera to lavender, and almost all of these products come in biodegradable containers. A majority of these items are just as luxurious as comparable environmentally harmful health and beauty products. For the bedroom: There are a variety of different green materials used for pieces in the bedroom. Some of the most popular examples are pillowcases and shams made out of bamboo, blankets made out of wool, and throws made out of fair-trade organic cotton. Among these items, there are also dressers and bed frames made out of sustainable resources such as maple. Energy: Many sources of renewable energy are available for purchase for the green home. Some of these products include LED lights, solar powered lights, and eco friendly solar powered holiday lights. There are also sun tunnel skylights that add natural light to your home and also provide heat. Crank lanterns and flashlights that charge by being shaken are examples of products that require no battery but work just as well as ones powered by battery. image credit: WB Homes Outside: A lot of the most useful products that are offered for green homes are for the outdoors. There are things like rain conserving barrels in a variety of materials and shapes, water filters for hoses that utilize the filtering powering of sand, and hoses made out of 50% recycled plastic. These sorts of items allow you to get the most out of natural resources and live a healthier and greener lifestyle. For the Kitchen: There are lots of green products available for the purpose of storing and transporting foods. Some examples of these items are compostable bamboo trays, soup containers, sandwich bags, and cling wrap. Many of these will work just as well as like, less-green products, but will not create all of the harmful waste. There are also plenty of kitchen cleaners that are non-toxic and environmentally friendly. Having a green home doesn’t mean you have to live any differently. There are alternatives for nearly every product you already use everyday that are much more environmentally friendly and sometimes, even better than the original. In most cases, going green will not even force you to change your lifestyle. There are actually many benefits, including better health and lower energy bills.

The current environmental pollution is a growing disaster all over the world. Green homes are a perfect choice to curb the pollution of our surroundings. Green certified homes have the ability to remodel energy assessment, improve home energy performance and upgrades, water and resource conservation as well as improving indoor air quality. Buying a green home in Australia will highly improve your environment as a country and the whole world at large. This greatly helps home owners in waste management, which in turn enable them to conserve Mother Nature. Factors to consider when buying a green home in Australia Its size: it is obvious that the bigger the house, the higher amounts of energy it consumes. The Australian council for green homes prefers neutral homes, which most people need. The need for excessive and unnecessary space leads to wastage of energy. Location area: An excellent green home is one located in areas that provide access to road networks, shopping malls, supper markets, schools, parks, restaurant and even stores. This enables one to save on transport cost as well as reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced in the air by motor vehicles. Is it well constructed? - It is important to check if the home is well constructed. Consider if it is well oriented, well-insulated, doors and windows should be sealed to avoid air leaks. The efficiency of water usage should also be checked to ensure energy efficiency. Since most people do not have the ability to test all this qualifications, it is advisable to consult a third-party, trained professional inspector to confirm the above standards. How to finance your first home Buying your first home is one of the most rewarding feelings in the world. Unfortunately, many have made serious blunders when it comes to buying homes. This is as result of misunderstanding the settling process, which most of the time can be very confusing. Decide on how much to spend and the exact mortgage rates that works best for you. For a person to complete this process effectively, intensive research is required. There are various sources such as the internet, mortgage professional consultants and also real estate agents who are known to provide reliable technical advice, before you visit a sales office to get your first home owner grant. It is very important to chose green home as your first home. This is because they are environmental friendly. It is this environmental factor that has enabled it to undergo a series of serious structural test making it more strong and durable than normal houses. It also utilizes energy and water conservation methods, which enable you to save cash by saving bills from unnecessary use of resources. There is only a very slight difference between the green home cost and the normal ones with the green home being slightly higher. But this difference cannot be compared to the endless benefits you will enjoy after buying a green home. Buying green home is beneficial because it contains all the information highlighted above.

Ideal homes are a matter of choice and personal taste. But for the average new Australian mom, an ideal home is one that is more spacious than the current home and still not unaffordably so. It has to be modern in all its fixtures and conveniences so that chores are easier with a baby to care for. It should have a sunny north facing daytime living area – as all homes should really - for the best use of natural light and lower utility bills. And it should be close enough to facilities like hospitals, daycare and other emergency services that living with a baby can often require. Image credits: APG Homes The Size of Your Ideal Home Most families in Australia today are of the average size of 2.6 (2006 figures). The size you want your family to be in the future is important in helping you choose your home. If you intend on having a family of two children, a 2-4 bedroom home with a living space will be suitable. But in the nursing years it is always a blessing to have room for the helpful relative or the sleep-deprived parent while the other parent is on the night-watch shift. Also note that while it's tempting to buy a larger home for your money, sometimes larger is not better. It will leave you with less garden space and more space to clean, light, heat, cool and furnish. This will add to your chores and costs for as long as you own the home. So, think about size carefully before buying a home before buying a home. What Your Ideal Home Should Look Like As a new mom, what you want your home to look like will depend on a number of things. Whether you want a condo apartment with its own modern conveniences or a detached or semi-detached townhouse is a matter of choice, cost and location. Whether you want a modern flat-roof home or a traditional pitched roof is again a matter of tastes and lifestyles. Gabled homes have a certain charm while flat roof homes are cheaper. On the flip side, flat roofs can be harder to maintain because water drainage is not as effective as in pitched roofs. On the inside, the walls should be baby-proof with washable paint so that growing toddlers and pre-teens can bring out their inner artists without causing a panic. The furniture should be as free of pointed corners and fragile glass as possible. Babies are bundles of energy, and you can't expect them to hold back for the sake of your furniture. Utilities and Conveniences of An Ideal Home If your home is built smartly with passive heating and cooling solutions, then you probably won't need a heating or cooling system in some areas. But in others, you can consider alternative power sources for your energy solution. Wind powered units or the areas that have access to geothermal energy such as Victoria are great places to locate your family home. Alternative energy sources will cut costs and make sure your home remains sustainable for you and your children for a long time into the future. Most mothers would want some basic appliances for convenience in their kitchens and bathrooms; a dishwasher, refrigerator, microwave, washer and dryer are essentials. Safe induction or electric cooktops that are easier to clean are also a great modern option as opposed to gas-fueled cooktops that can create safety hazards for the family with toxic gases such as carbon monoxide. Also, don't forget that coffee machine for the desperate cup of morning coffee after a sleepless night of tending to colic pains! Other conveniences can include a toaster; a juicer for the healthy family, and surely most mothers would not pass up on a neat Jacuzzi in the bathroom to relax in at the end of an exhausting day.