Good for you, thinking green during any project you undertake is commendable. You do what you can when you can, but you shouldn't sweat the times when the green choice just isn't the right choice for you. Make choices that you love and that are durable and you will keep the stuff longer which is a green choice in itself! We are using reclaimed Douglas Fir flooring in our living room and I'm excited to see how it turns out. Now we just need to find a free weekend to start the project!!

I've focused my green efforts on appliances (everything was energy star rated with an eye toward most efficient users of energy) and use, aka daily living, more than materials. That blue granite countertop I love so much was quarried in Brazil, shipped to Italy for finishing, then to California.... However, I use washable rags rather than paper towels, washable terrycloth mop covers rather than swiffer, compost jar for food waste, recycle bin in front/trash bin behind (I consistently recycle more than I throw away), buy products with less packaging, etc.

Our green contributions were:

(1) adding insulation where we had to open the walls
(2) cork floor
(3) donating the still-usable appliance we were replacing (DW and MW), and other small items like sink and faucet
(4) keeping our fridge because it still works well and looks fine and is energy star.
(5) keep some of the small items like cabinet hardware for future projects

Like you, we didn't sweat it too much, but we try to think about it.

I'm thinking of reusing my old kitchen. OK, it's mostly me not wanting to go through the agony of a real remodel with a baby and a toddler, but my kitchen really is more ugly than unusable.

I think that this is a great topic for a thread, and I'm going to offer a link to a website that I frequent that does a really nice job of consolidating a lot of other links on "green" countertop options. If you're interested in that, this is a great place to start some research.

Here is a link that might be useful: green tops

I've done cotton insulation, LED recessed lights, and am looking at Richlite (waiting for a sample to ship to me) or Craft-Art reclaimed wood. Having ordered lots of wood samples I have to say Craft-Art's reclaimed wood is stunning, but unfortunately SO expensive! I am also using VOC free paint. I am eagerly anticipating my water purifier - no more plastic bottles!

I am using VOC free paint as well, don't use paper towels, and did what I could to find the greenest way to get what I wanted.

I applaud and admire you for starting this thread and for being so considerate.

Mari

Great thread. my husband would do everything green if he had his way. I really tried to like the recycled material counters but they just don't do it for me. I'm not convinced they won't end up in the land fill when I end up tiring of them, disliking them or they just don't hold up well. And I really want soapstone which is probably the real reason.

I am using reclaimed wood flooring throughout the whole house including the kitchen
Considering Neil Kelly cabinets
I keep looking on Craigs List for excellent used cabinets, actually found some but they were gone in the first couple hours.
Not getting a garbage disposal but composting
Purchased Energy Star appliances including a trash compactor (there were no appliances when we purchased the cabin)
Going to use recycled glass tiles for backsplash
Plan on using VOC paint
Trying to give up paper towels and plates
Think about buying cabinets made closer to where I live
Considering 'green' butcher block for the peninsula

The bathroom is where we did the ultimate, at least for me. My husband put in a composting toilet. I'm getting used to it, though not thrilled. The compromise is that we also put in a bidet and he HAS to keep the toilet clean.
We are going to install 'on demand' hot water heater for the bathroom shower. I had this when I lived in SE Asia and loved it. I had it in the kitchen too.

I feel like I've come full circle, I lived like this in my early years until we moved away. We are now moving back to where I grew up and I am shocked at the state of Puget Sound. I was shocked to learn of the short periods we can fish or gather shellfish. When I was young we practically lived off the sea

I'm doing similar things to those mentioned above.

I am using oil based paints for the cabinets but low VOC paint elsewhere in the house. We picked out energy star appliances (I think...I'm not sure if the Liebherr fridge actually has that). I'm going to put still functioning appliances on Craig's List, donate some items to the Habitat for Humanity re-use center, donate the wood to the rebuilding center, give a set of French doors to a friend for her remodel.

Aside from that, I am also an avid recycler and composter. Like others said, we are trying to balance what we want for the long term with making greener decisions.

"I use washable rags rather than paper towels, washable terrycloth mop covers rather than swiffer."

We considered switching to washable, but with the frequency that our 1 1/2 yr old vomits and the 4 yr old artiste spills "washable paint," we decided to wait until the kids are older to take this particular green step. :)

"I'm thinking of reusing my old kitchen. OK, it's mostly me not wanting to go through the agony of a real remodel with a baby and a toddler,"

I'm there with you. Oh, that and the real estate market tanking and taking my HELOC down with it. When the remodel was downgraded to a light "for now" kitchen redo, it got a lot less fun.

We are attempting a 3 star built green certification on our kitchen remodel. Check out: http://www.builtgreen.net/checklists.html

Cabinets: FSC cherry from Pacific Crest
Countertop: NovuStone (local recycled glass product)& Paperstone Check out: http://www.novustonellc.com/introduction.php (we're going with the River Pebbles. they can custom make your countertop too.
Floor: Forbo Marmoleum sheet linoleumn
Insulation: Bio-based insulation. Check out: http://www.biobased.net/
Appliances: Energy star
Lights: dimable CFL
Paint: Low/non VOC
Usable building materials: donate to local NGO. Check out: http://www.earthwise-salvage.com/index.htm
FSC lumber/plywood - about 15% more.
Back splash: Terra Green Ceramics, a recycled content porcelain tile. Check out: http://www.terragreenceramics.com/

It's been fun to see what we can come up with that we like. If you do the research, there's quite a few green products around.

Here is a link that might be useful: built green

I'm using energy star appliances, cork floors, led undercabinet lights. I craigslisted my old appliances and sink so in theory they're being reused.

I guess I'm being "green" by using antiques in my kitchen. Refinshed 120+ year old oak floor with low VOC Waterlox, local antique marble for island top, locally made island and cabinets made with local lumber, antique butcher block, antique cast iron sink with drainboard and backspash, antique hoosier hutch, antique pie safe, antique cast iron gas stove (wall oven will be gas not sure how efficient), antique french doors, LED undercounter lighting, and we recycle and compost (have to because we have limited garbage pick up). New energy star fridge, not sure what to do with the old one, and keeping old DW which is already energy star compliant.

Wow! This is a bigger group then I expected. Nice.

I was so surprised to go appliance shopping at Abt (a huge appliance dealer in our area) and NOT ONCE hear someone ask about the appliance being Energy Star rated. And I was eavesdropping to hear it. For me, that was the #1 green aspect I was going to make sure I incorporated -- because I'm cheap. As we know, we spend more on them now, but it'll save on our electric bills later.

Did you realize the phrase "reduce, reuse, recycle" is in order of preference? I didn't. Perhaps if I had, I'd live in a tent in my backyard. :-)

Yes, I did hear that about the "reduce, reuse, recycle", and also I think the old adage of "waste not, want not" applies too.

LOL, about the tent, but if you think about it, it wouldn't be very efficient in the winter think about the energy losses :).

Sometimes getting rid of an old, energy-inefficient appliance is better for the planet than keeping it. I'm referring specifically to refrigerators, a subject near & dear to the hearts of Kitchens forum people (if I were in the bathrooms forum, I'd be making the same point about toilets and water usage, btw). The fridge is the second biggest energy consumer in the typical American household, after lightbulbs, because it runs 24/7. Fridges made before 1992 are far less energy efficient than newer ones. I used energy star ratings as both a threshold (I wouldn't even consider an appliance if it wasn't E*) and a tie-breaker (as between the LG and GE Profile fridge, I picked LG based on its better e* rating). My electricity bill went down 20% from last year's, simply because I got rid of the 1985 POS Norge fridge. This is one place where you should not reduce or reuse, but instead get that shiny new fridge that you really want (as long as it's e* rated, of course)!

Taddy, where are you finding dimmable CFLs and how do you like them?

taddy, thanks for posting about Pacific Crest cabinets. I took a look at their site. I started thinking there must be other cabinet companies that are eco friendly. Started looking around and found 3 kitchen business near me that carry eco friendly, one explained in plain english what makes them eco friendly. the link is:

ecofriendlycabinets.com

Do you have the paperstone counters yet? I've seen them in a showroom but not a real family everyday working kitchen. I would love to hear from someone who has them.

Yes, choux, our Liebherr fridges are the the most energy-efficient fridges on the American market. :) They're also manufactured without mercury, ostensbly. On the yellow Energy Star certificate that came with mine, it's rated so far to the left of 'comparable models' that it's off on its own chart.

I made my own countertops with highly-repurposable copper and low-formaldehyde recycled MDF; re-customized someone's cast-off cabinets from the Restore, ditto on the low VOC paints (Benjamin Moore's AURA) and low VOC (Waterlox) refinished original fir floors. Vintage 1949 gas stove. Low-energy, low-water non-gerberator Bosch dishwasher. Wood molding, enamel sink and doors from a local recycled building materials alliance. Light fixtures are vintage ones from eBay. Old appliances donated to Habitat for Humanity.

What kills me are the hideous cheap white vinyl windows the previous owner put in, thinking to save energy no doubt. But I'd die to have the original wooden casements to restore, and new wooden ones are far too pricy for me at this stage. Ah well.

>But I'd die to have the original wooden casements to restore

Well, if it makes you feel any better, I have a friend who is clinging to the original wooden casements in his house, and his AC bill averages $600 a month!

I'm grappling with the whole green thing: I really want marble, and I'd pay the premium for more locally quarried marble (i.e Alabama or Georgia), but I can't shake off knowing that a renewable material like green butcherblock would be a more green choice. Sigh.

Thanks, circuspeanut! I've had so much info coming and going through me brain that I wasn't certain. I think the appliance salesman said that while it would qualify it didn't have the energystar certification at the time I looked. Maybe?

I had cork floors in my last kitchen and loved them. Those wouldn't really fit for this kitchen.

We also replaced the toilet in the bathroom off of kitchen with a Toto dual flush.

we did energy star appliances and bamboo cabinets. jeanar- we are also in chicago.
LC

Bluekitobsessed, we are just starting our remodel so I haven't purchased the dimmable CFL's yet. There seem to be a lot of choices and our contractor has used them in the past with other remodels with success. So, I'm just trusting him. We considered LED's, but decided the technology was still too new. Eventually, we will probably replace the CFL's with LED's when they produce more light.

Katybuggs, I researched a lot of green cabinets (at least what was available in the Seattle area - something that you could actually see and touch). I thought Pacific Crest and Crystal - Green Core were the best. Pacific Crest were less expensive and local. Crystal cabinets are made in MN.

Here is a link that might be useful: crystal cabinets

We got a VestFrost refrigerator.

It's manufactured in Denmark and supposedly won the EU award for eco-appliances.

It uses a tiny amount of wattage yearly. It's not energy star rated only because it's not frost free! I'm trusting the reviewers who say this is not a major chore.

All our other appliances are energy star.

I believe Bamboo is being used quite a bit in the building of 'green' homes.

Shaw has a carpeting that is recycleable. If it's taken to the dump, i'm not sure which heading of 'recycleable' it would be under. If you look at the backing, it's more like paper.

I've built a home in Austin and 3/4 of it is green~makes me happy as i'm completely anal about recycling, repurposing, and even re-using aluminum foil! ;o)

Our approach was similar to mom2lilenj's. For our kitchen addition we used reclaimed flooring, antique overhead lighting, antique hardware, reused the house's old original farm sink, antique doors, and kept our old fridge (I don't think it's energy star, but is only 4 years old so trashing it felt too wasteful). We also saved all of the shelving that was in the old pantry (I believe it is all heart pine) and will re-use it in our current pantry when we build the shelves this winter. We made the choices as much for aesthetics as for conservation, but hey, it still kept all of these items out of the landfill and eliminated the need for some company to produce new ones.

I was eager to see what impact my new Bosch dishwasher had on both my water usage and my gas bill. We have a gas hot water heater and I had been handwashing dishes for four years since moving to our 100 year old house. Just got our gas bill and our monthly usage was the lowest it's been in four years! I know that I used more than Bosch's 2 gallons of water each time I did them by hand.

see my bamboo cabinets here....

http://s529.photobucket.com/albums/dd336/lacuisine/

still a lot of work to be done....

LC

I am interested in user experience with Vestfrost refridgerator. We are renovating and woudl like to downsize from very large refridgerator that dominates small galley kitchen. Also looking for info on Canadian sources for Vestfrost.