Green Omaha Coalition/ Green Home Tour: September 19, 2009

Mark your calendars for the 2nd Annual Green Home Tour put on by the Green Omaha Coalition

Shuttles will run from Village Pointe, so shop the Farmer's Market, hop on a shuttle to view cutting edge homes incorporating eco-friendly building and design as well as lifestyle. The homes will feature tips, tricks, and products that you can incorporate easily into your own life. Going green is much easier than people imagine it to be.

Held 9am -1pm from Village Pointe shopping center. The tour will showcase four west Omaha homes, three of which have undergone a series of green home improvement projects. The fourth home on the tour is a new Energy Star Home. Free shuttle service to the homes will be available at Village Pointe. Tour goers are encouraged to carpool, walk, cycle or take the bus to Village Pointe and use the tour shuttle.

New to the 2009 tour is an information fair at Village Pointe in conjunction with its weekly farmers market. Vendors will include area businesses and nonprofits interested in green living. In addition, Goodwill Industries will be accepting donations on site at Village Pointe throughout the tour, and tax receipts will be available.

It's an intimidating process to start going green, but as soon as you start you realize it was really so much easier and lifestyle changes are easy to make. Recycling that I had regrettably put off for years is shocking to me. I have so little trash after all the recyclables are out of it! It's good for my kids to see and learn as they grow. Elkhorn Sanitation has an amazing program called Curbside Rewards. I was paying for trash removal anyway. I spend $10 more a month, but also get it back in the rewards from recycling that they offer!

I am now on the steps to going more green everyday. All my lightbulbs are changed out, recycling grocery bags are in full effect, recycling is in full effect, I am growing a garden this year, trying to use less paper towels (ugh, this one was the toughest for me) and opting for wash rags, and I have gone vegetarian which is both an ecologically friendly AND body friendly thing to do. I highly recommend the book "Skinny Bitch" : )

It's easier than you think, so why not explore some more ideas into going Green by visiting the tour. It's a fun way to spend a Saturday out at Village Pointe!

Colleen Woodward

Prudential Urban Omaha

www.ColleenWoodward.com

Selling Real Estate for the Cure