The Incredibles: Mini Manor Blog

Ashli of Maillardville Manor has some of the most beautifully organized spaces I've ever seen!  Maybe it's just me, but when I see a bright beautiful photo of something like a gorgeously organized cabinet, I just sit and stare at it, soaking every bit of it up. Maybe I'm hoping I'll acquire via osmosis.

  

Besides her mouth-wateringly gorgeous spaces, Ashli shares a lot of really great relevant information on her blog, very personable posts, and beautiful pictures to go with it. I promise to show you a few of those spaces throughout the interview. You know what else really impressed me at the Mini Manor Blog? How earth friendly everything is! Today I've invited Ashli to come share the how-to's of greener living. I think it is important to evaluate our contribution to taking care of the earth we live in. We each have responsibility to do our part!

Interviewing the Incredibles Part 5:

Living Green

Ursula: Your posts are both beautiful and practical! I am especially impressed that everything you share with us centers around green living. What  prompted you to go green?

Ashli: First, thank you so much!!! I think what first prompted us to go green was my crazy sensitive sense of smell. I’m not kidding I know if the neighbor four doors down lights a cigarette. Haha Most chemical cleaners bothered my senses so badly I was forced to find alternatives. While researching greener cleaners I was introduced into a whole new world of green living one that expanded from wall paint to food, from textiles to toys. Once we starting implementing the changes around the house, I started feeling better and it kind of snowballed from there.

Ursula: Oh, well that will do it! I once purchased a bottle of vinegar (which I used one time in a load of laundry), and patted myself on the back because I was now “green”. *chuckle*. Besides chemical free cleaners, what does green living really entail, and how does it translate into daily life?

Ashli: I think Living Green can mean a bunch of different things to a bunch of different people it depends on who you ask but for us living green translates into making healthy choices for us and conscious choices for the earth. We make choices like only using natural lawn fertilizers (corn gluten), using our rain barrel instead of the sprinkler, buying locally grown produce, choosing green beauty products, and if possible buying secondhand furniture and appliances. There are a million ways to ‘go green’ but I think that living green is simply the act of making the greenest choice available to you at the time. We don’t all have the money to run out and buy high efficiency laundry machines, or install solar panels on our roof, but simple acts like buy a used dresser instead of a new one and making your own green cleaners are great ways to bring green living into your daily life.

Ursula: Right, we can all do our part in a personalized manner. I like that! I think many of us like the idea of green living, but we’re afraid it means breaking the bank, living with ugly reused/recycled materials, and requiring more time and effort for green methods. Are some of these hang-ups viable fears? Can we love going green?

Ashli: I think that in the beginning “going green” was more restrictive it meant either spending a lot more money, or like you said buying old furniture from the 80’s. But now there are so many green options at every price point and for every style. If old chippy dressers aren’t your style, you can definitely find a new more modern dresser made from recycled materials, or sustainably grown materials.

I think we can definitely LOVE going green. When you make a choice that’s not only good esthetically, but also good for your health, and good for the environment how can that feel anything but amazing!??

Ursula: I love that your home and your blog show us that cleanliness, order, and going green can be beautiful as well as practical. Where do you gain your inspiration and insight? (please don’t tell us you just have to be born with it! Keep hope alive! *grin*)

Ashli: Again, you are far too nice to me. It is no longer difficult to go green and beautiful. There are so many options out there right now. The world is your green oyster! ;).

I find my inspiration from all of the people who do it better than we do. I think to stay inspired you always have to be looking ahead, always wanting to do something a little better than you’ve been doing it! I found one book in particular that inspires me every time I read it (I’ve read it 3 times now), The Healthy Home by Dr. Myron and Dave Wentz. They inspire me to do better.

Lastly, I think it’s so important to let yourself off the hook sometimes. Not everything you find in my house is GREEN. We have billy bookcases and a Tassimo coffee machine. Haha ;)  Living life happy and green is about trade-offs and compromise. 

Wow! Ashli, thanks for giving us the awesome approach to living green! It's nice to know we can be responsible, practical, and still have droolicious homes! 
If you haven't, you must pop over and visit Ashli's Mini Manor for more beautiful photo's, organized spaces, and green living. I for one will be popping over there for a little inspiration, then getting my "green" on and doing my responsible part. I can't wait to share my green-ovations on Thursday's link challenge! See you then!

(Pssst, click the  Mini Manor heading to visit Ashli's blog. Golly, don't you just adore her header?   *Yep, I have my anime "adoring" face on* )