Green Gab Podcast – Green Homes, Green Living And Green Companies

The approach of fall presents a wonderful opportunity for us to speak about the outdoors!  I really appreciate the cooler weather and love being able to spend time outside without getting too hot! Also, when August rolls around each year, I cannot help thinking about the harvests that will soon be coming in from the farmer’s markets- and even from my garden!  I am Marla, the Green Home Coach, and today I am excited to bring you another Everyday Green Home Podcast Teach Talk! In this episode, I will be talking about the harvest, the garden and outdoors, maintenance, and what you need to do to get ready for the cooler weather. I will also share some fun ways to get outside and enjoy the milder weather.  Our garden We have the craziest garden, and it is producing right now.  My first harvest Although we are, at best, experimental gardeners, our very first harvest for this year was a massive Armenian cucumber!   Sustainable and chemical-free experimental gardeners Being experimental gardeners, we have been trying

I have seen some crazy things happening lately in the homebuilding industry! There is turmoil with both new and existing homes as a result of shortages and supply-chain disruptions in many different areas.  In this episode, we will look at the problems we are facing and discuss why they are happening. We will break everything down into the three parts of a house: the land, the materials, and the labor. They are all connected, and we are having challenges with all of them.  Welcome to another episode of the Everyday Green Home Podcast! I’m Marla, the Green Home Coach, and I am happy to have my ever-popular co-host, Tony Pratte, joining me face-to-face in the studio today! Huge impacts The markets for real estate, new builds, and remodeling of existing homes are connected, and they are all having problems now. The impacts of that are huge. They are affecting building costs, timing, and even how people are moving around. The rising cost of lumber Houses are now being sold, sight unseen, to the highest bidder, an

The idea of 3-D printing is exploding right now in almost every sector! Today, I am happy to introduce you, the listeners, to my son, Trent Esser. Trent and his friend are starting a 3-D printing company in St Louis, called Printerior. The company is currently in the beta testing phase, and they are getting ready to have their first product launch within the next two to four weeks. Trent is joining me on the show today to talk about his exciting new venture and explain how 3-D printing works. For this episode, I get the chance to do something cool that I have never done before! I will be working with my son for the very first time!  I’m Marla, the Green Home Coach, and I have my dedicated co-host, Tony Pratte, joining me in the studio today. Be sure to stay tuned to hear what 3-D printing is all about and find out how Trent aims to use 3-D printers to solve the world’s plastic waste problem. Production facility Trent and his team moved into their production facility about a month ago. They are done with the c

Is your home a part of the solution to what is going on with climate change? Or is it a part of the problem? Did you know that every choice you make for how you live in your home and everything you bring into your home impacts your health and the planet as a whole? The climate crisis has shown us that building a life for ourselves and creating modern conveniences have made a big footprint on the earth and our fellow human beings. So, a while back, my co-host and I started a series on climate change as an opportunity for us to discuss what climate change means. We wanted to create a space to talk in-depth about the climate crisis and let people know why we care.  I’m Marla, the Green Home Coach. Today my occasional co-host, Tony Pratte from the Soundroom, is joining me in the studio for a face-to-face conversation about how to make your home a part of the solution to the problem of climate change.   Buildings Buildings, including commercial properties and our homes, are about forty percent of the current load.

Have you ever wondered how to go about finding a home that has everything you value? It is vital to have a home that supports your lifestyle, and finding the right one can be pretty hard. Now, more than ever, after spending a year indoors, we have learned to value having a comfortable home with all the features we need.  My husband and I wanted an energy-efficient home, and we wanted it to have a back porch for us to sit on. We also wanted a home that would help us support the family health issues we were dealing with at the time. Even though I am in the industry, I had no clue how to find that home.  I am Marla, the Green Home Coach, and in today’s podcast, I will introduce you to my friend, Kari Klaus, who is doing some great work in the area of green real estate. Listen in to learn more about how to find a home that has everything you want, and need. Real estate is fluctuating The real estate market is hot for sellers right now because there are still some very interesting potential fluctuations coming out

Climate change is becoming part of many everyday conversations and many of our children may have questions – spoken or unspoken – about climate change and how it may impact them. How do you talk with them about climate change? Both my kids are grown and work in an industry that focuses on sustainability, so we have some pretty interesting conversations. Tony does not have any kids, so the conversations he has are geared more towards an adult point of view and tend to be more on the academic side. Even though Tony and I live in very different worlds and do not always see eye to eye, we feel our different outlooks bring a balanced perspective to our conversations. Today, we will be talking about our kids collectively as a society. Not an easy decision Many people are having a tough time deciding whether or not it is a good idea to start a family today, with all the political strife, the climate crisis, and everything else that is going on in the world. Yet, many generations of people have most likely been havin

Taking the time to do regular home maintenance adds up to a greener lifestyle. By doing a little more research every time you need to replace, repair, redecorate, remodel, or renovate, you can make a difference. All of that is a part of maintenance, which is super important around our homes. Maintaining your home is one of the greenest things that you can do. Maintenance preserves the life of things, so the more routine maintenance you do around the home, the longer things will last. And the longer things last, the fewer things end up in the trash or the recycling bin.  I’m Marla, the Green Home Coach, and today, I would like to talk to you about spring maintenance.  My friend, Tina Gleisner, from Home Tips for Women, is my maintenance go-to. She collaborated with me on the chapter about maintenance in my book, Living Green Effortlessly- Simple Choices for a Better Home. For today, I pulled an episode out of the archives where Tina and I talk about spring maintenance.  Tina knows how to rock out maintenance w

Climate change is a big topic! We hear a lot about it lately in the news, in newspapers, and in people’s conversations. Climate change is something that we all need to talk about, and many questions are surrounding it.  People often get lectured about the things they are doing wrong in the world today. So, we would like to use this series to open people up to the idea of having conversations so that we can all work together to find solutions.   I’m Marla, the Green Home Coach, and my favorite co-host, Tony Pratte, is joining me today for another episode in our series on climate change.  In this episode, we talk about human-made climate change. We will talk specifically about the choices that we can make, as humans, to fight the whole people-driven part of climate change.  Tony and I want to help you, the listeners, climb into the details of climate change. We want to encourage you to think about things differently, and we would like to help you dive deeper into the issues that matter and consider a perspectiv

Here, in the United States, we use more toilet paper per capita than in any other country on the face of the earth. Although things are different in other parts of the world, in our society, we view toilet paper as a necessity because that is how we were trained in our culture, in our economy, and in our lives. Toilet paper was the first thing everyone stocked up on at the start of the pandemic. It is something that we know we need to use, but we think we have no replacement for it. I’m Marla, the Green Home Coach! Today, Tony Pratte, my occasional co-host, joins me on the show once again for another conversation in our series about climate change. Today, Tony and I are talking toilet paper! In this episode, we explain what goes into the toilet paper that we are literally flushing down the toilet. We also discuss what you can use as alternatives and why that matters.   Looking at our country as a whole When we look at our country as a whole, we are the most prosperous country with the largest economy. Yet, we

The climate is changing. Yet, the term “global warming” often gets misunderstood. It all seems to be happening much more visibly and much more intensely lately, which indicates that something is actually going on. In today’s episode, Tony and I discuss how to speak to others about controversial subjects, why we need to see the bigger picture, and we also talk about the importance of coexisting in the best way possible in this beautiful world of ours. I’m Marla, the Green Home Coach! I am back today with another conversation in our series on climate change. Tony Pratte, my sometimes guest, sometimes co-host, is joining me on the show today.  In the last podcast that Tony and I did together, we started a conversation about the emotions that arise in people when climate change, or what I more accurately refer to as “the climate crisis”, comes up. Ground rules In our last conversation, Tony and I set the ground rules for how we, as human beings, can talk about the issue of the current climate crisis. We spoke a

Today, I am doing something a little different. Laryssa Kwoczak, my guest, is also a podcaster, so today, I am her guest, too. We will be releasing this podcast on her platform as well as on mine.  Listen in to our fascinating conversation to learn more about Laryssa, why bees are such an important part of our world, what you need to know before attracting bees to your garden, and so much more. Did I mention resources? We’ll have plenty of those for you, too. About Laryssa Laryssa lives in Hawaii. She has been keeping bees for about ten years. She used to work for a commercial apiary where she was teaching people about bees.  The Buzz About Bees When she stopped doing that, she started doing her podcast called The Buzz About Bees. Laryssa created her podcast to dive a bit deeper into the hive and what bees do, and what the beekeeper does. She tries to make her podcast as friendly to non-beekeepers as possible.  Why bees are so important Bees are important because they make honey, plus they pollinate foods lik

Our homes have now become everything for us! That means that we have been a lot harder on them now than we were before, pre-pandemic. But we have also learned a lot more about our homes because we are spending so much more time in them lately. I have worked from home for years, so I have made sure that my home serves me well. As a result, I have a slightly different perspective, and I’ve learned many different things over the years.  My goal is to share what I have learned with you through my Facebook group, Love Your Everyday Green Home, through teachings from my book, Living Green Effortlessly, and also through the people I meet. 2020 was the year of the grand experiment for many of us! Now that we know that we are free to experiment, we can become more intentional with whatever we decide to do in our homes. You don’t have to do it all. Just pick a few of the things I suggest, and go try them out.  Today, I will focus on the interior of our homes. It is important to have a comfortable home with beautiful sp

We are talking about landscaping today! Many of us are trying to figure out ways to make our homes look more appealing and feel more comfortable. The pandemic gave us the ideal opportunity to experiment with different ways to improve things in and around our houses. Some of what I will be sharing with you today is about how to take those experiments a little bit further. I, for one, have been having a whole lot of fun discovering what I can do in my yard. And what I can grow there! One of the things that I have come to recognize from the green living space is that a set of actions can give you all kinds of unintended benefits. Landscaping is one of those. You may be landscaping for beauty to create a colorful garden space outside of your home. Many of us are trying to figure out ways to create edible gardens, but we have not always thought about the idea of landscaping for comfort. Stay tuned to find out more! Using plants in strategic areas  You can use plants in specific areas around your house to form insu

I’m Marla, on the Everyday Green Home Podcast. I am excited to have Tony Pratte joining me on the show today! Tony and I are good friends. We have known each other and worked together for many years. He used to be a regular co-host on this podcast back when it was called The Green Gab.   Today, we will be talking about a big, hot topic. We will be discussing the climate crisis, also called climate change or global warming.  Our intention for this podcast is to set up some basics around that topic and to look at some of the key points to follow. We hope to give you a baseline for having this conversation in your life and generate some thinking that might be different from the way you used to think. Tony and I are not in full agreement on all aspects of this topic. However, we both feel that it is important for us, as a society, to learn how to agree to disagree about certain things, to allow us to have these conversations. We will base our conversation primarily on three things: emotions, transparency and trus

I’m Marla, the Green Home Coach. Right now, health and wellness are everything, so I’m excited to have the opportunity to help you explore some things around your home that you may be able to do a little differently.   We are all spending much more time at home lately. That means that we are putting a lot more wear and tear on our homes than we did before, so you may be cleaning things up, changing things around in your house, or even redecorating.  Today, I will be focusing on the health and wellness aspect of cleaning your home. I will be walking you through the process of how you can clean because how you clean matters. Cleaning impacts various aspects of your home The way we think about our homes is changing. Today, I heard that healthy is the new green, and that resonated with me because cleaning your home is one of the ways you can impact the health and wellness of everyone living in it. Cleaning also helps with the maintenance side of your home.  The way you clean matters The way that you clean makes a

I’m Marla, the Green Home Coach, and I’m back today with Chapter 7, the final chapter of my book, Living Green Effortlessly: Simple Choices for a Better Home. On today’s episode, you’re going to learn what a Certified Green Home is and the various reasons why you might want to consider one. Whether you dream big or dream small, there’s something out there for everyone, as you’ll soon find out. Listen in - I think you will hear about some things you can put into action.  I thank you for joining in and learning about how to make simple choices for your better home! Turning your dreams into goals   Many people have never thought about the possibility of turning their dreams into goals and creating a certified green home for themselves. Money, time, and effort   Most of us spend a large amount of money, time, and effort on our homes because they mean a lot to us.  An ideal green home Ideally, a dream green home would be off the grid, with no mortgage or electric bill. The water would come from a well, but it woul

I’m Marla, the Green Home Coach, and I’m back to discuss Chapter 6 of my book, Living Green Effortlessly- Simple Choices for a Better Home. I hope you will find some helpful information to help you make simple choices for your better home because that is what this podcast is all about.  Today, we'll dig into understanding the components and the systems in our homes and how to get information about how to take care of them, repair them, and replace them. I want to help you to learn how to take the power of living healthier and more comfortably in your home. A home that serves us There are so many things that we all need to do to serve our homes. What we want is a home that serves us, and works to supports us. One of the main premises behind green and greener homes is having a home that supports us and makes our lives easier and better.  A better home Everything about green, sustainability, eco-friendly, and high performance boils down to a better home for you to live in with your family, friends, and anyone e

I’m Marla, The Green Home Coach. Thank you for joining me on the journey of learning about your home, and discovering how you can make some simple choices to make it an even better, greener home.  Today, we will be covering Chapter 5 of my book, Living Green Effortlessly: Simple Choices for a Better Home. Chapter 5 is about landscaping. Your home sits on the land, it interacts with that land, the land supports your home, and the landscaping is the crux of that.  Your enjoyment, recreation, and even food might be a part of the land that surrounds your home. Often, when we think of landscape, we think of curb appeal. There are many different things that can come into play with that, and that is what we will be covering today. Health, wellness, safety, and comfort     For most of the people I talk to, their health, wellness, safety, and comfort are of utmost importance. Often, our homes are not providing that. I would like to help you find how you can do that in your own home. I’d like to help you find the thing

Today, I’m sharing a podcast that I recorded with Madison Hopkins for her podcast, the Modern Ways Eco-Friendly Homes Podcast. Madison is quite the go-getter! She is also a real estate agent with Moving With Madison in the Denver area. In this episode, Madison and I talk about the 5 Myths of Green Homes. It is a guide that I put out, and it is available on my website.  We dive into the five myths of green homes. We talk about green means in the home environment, when it comes to living in an environmentally friendly way and living healthier, safer, and more comfortably, with more durability and less maintenance. Living in a green home is vital for having a healthier and more comfortable living experience. And the term “green” describes the products and the practices necessary for making our homes both healthier and more comfortable.  Be sure to listen in to hear my conversation with Madison about the 5 Myths of Green Homes. The people to who the guide is aimed The 5 Myths of Green Homes guide are aimed at tho

I’m Marla, The Green Home Coach. I’m back today with another chapter from my book, Living Green Effortlessly: Simple Choices for a Better Home.  I wrote the book to help you and share some of my experiences so that you won’t have to make the same mistakes that I was making.  Our homes have a secret life that we may not even know about as a result of all the complexities of our modern lifestyle. You could unknowingly be living in a home that is not in your best interest, and it could be making you sick. We will be covering chapter four of my book today. It talks about some actions that we can take to change some small stuff in our homes. We will be looking at what goes in your home, what you need to think about, what you need to look for, and what you need to choose.  Choices Many of the choices you need to make are inside your home. They are the more decorative elements and the fixtures and fittings that you choose. What the things in your house are made up of The things in your house are made out of wood, me