Recycled Denim Insulation

I have been becoming increasingly interested in green architecture. I could write a long blog about all the things that fascinate me, but this time I just wanted to concentrate on the recycled denim insulation for buildings.
You can google it and find tons of articles, but here is what I've summed it up as..

Benefits

-You are using scraps of leftover denim that would otherwise be sent to the landfills.
-It has a better ability to preserve your air temperature than fiberglass - this is due mainly to the fact that the less dense a material is, the better ability for atoms to move around, thus harder for them to transfer the energy. The more dense a material, the easier it will transfer energy because the atoms are so close together.. this is partly why the denim insulator will help the life of your dollar for heating and cooling -denim is a fairly loose weave.
-It uses much less energy to produce than standard fiber glass
-It has impressive acoustic abilities, and is known to block out much more sound than other methods
-It's not made with formaldehyde, is anti mold growing, and doesn't cause itching when installing.

Disadvantages

-So far the only downside I've discovered is the cost. It's 30% more than fiberglass. However, in 2006 it was 50% more, so with increasing demand, hopefully we will continue to see a lower cost trend!

Now if all else fails in reasoning for why to use recycled denim as insulation, with an endorser like Adrian Grenier...need I say more? ; )

By Tracy Kinnaman

www.athomeonmainstreet.com

Sustainable Singapore

I have been in Singapore the past week. Since arriving I have noticed many things that impress me, simple simple things that mean so much in terms of sustainability.

Some things I have noted:

Every store, restaurant, or place you can purchase something, has little tiny plastic bags for your purchase if your item is small. I have seen that in... I don't know one or two stores around in the states. Instead of putting your to- go food or shampoo & soap in a huge bag, allowing it to swim in the surrounding unnecessary plastic, it cuts the plastic down 75% by using a bag relevant to the size of your purchase. This is not rocket science, why don't more of our stores have this system? I wonder how many people actually recycle their plastic bags? I have read that an estimated less than 1% get recycled. Sometimes I re-use mine for trash bags, but I feel bad doing that even because I know the plastic will take so long to decompose in the land fill.

How long you ask? Well the word on the street is 500 years for a plastic bag in a landfill to decompose. This is debatable, but here is a good unbiased source for your reading pleasure:


http://www.slate.com/id/2169287/

On the same note: How many times in the past have you ever stepped in the trash can to squash the trash down and make room for more? I know I've done it many times in my life, and seen my dad do it while I was growing up. Well I've noticed here, guys go around with this squashing device and push the trash in deeper, allowing a longer life span to the trash bag, and using less plastic in the long run. Simple enough. It's funny that we do so much saving in our own homes, but out in public, in our work places, and on the streets, we don't seem to care as much about the processes going on.

I love how there are recycle cans next to trash cans, not only for bottles and aluminum, but for paper as well.

They have wonderful mass transit, but for obvious reasons that is not quite as simple to implement in our home city...

Oh and my favorite move towards sustainable living I've noted? Some restaurants offer a discount if you bring your own Tupperware for to-go orders. Marvelous. I can't tell you how many times we are looked at like we are crazy for asking our food be put in a tupper ware instead of Styrofoam. The worst thing that happens is they use the Styrofoam to measure the food, transfer it into our containter, and then toss the used Styrofoam in the trash. I've heard it takes 50 years for that Styrofoam to break down in a landfill.

So my question is, Why not these easy changes? When will we make the shift to thinking it's not dorky to bring a Tupperware in to a restaurant? When will enough people start using the train so that it adds more times and becomes more affordable? I suppose it starts with me, and you. And I know it's easier said than done.

By: Tracy Kinnaman
http://www.athomeonmainstreet.com/

Happy New Year

And what a year it has been...

We truly hope you and yours are doing well and surviving the economic "crisis" as best as can be. We hope you have your home, your health, your job, a warm coat, and food on the table.

At Home on Main Street is looking forward to 2009, with lots of worried anticipation, curious what may become of the retail landscape in our country and in our own town. Like many, we had a very dismal 2008 holiday season - our worst since being open (our 6th holiday in downtown Fallbrook). We'd like to be around for Holiday 2009, but honestly, it will take some doing. That is why your feedback is so important to us right now.

So much news in the last couple of months has revolved around shopping. I just finished reading the North County Times. The headline in the business section reads: "Post-Holiday fallout begins" and goes on to say that the fallout from the "horrific holiday season for retailers has begun." Experts are predicting that we'll see many, many more store closings -the most in 35 years!

As a retailer wondering what the future will bring, here are our questions for you as we head into 2009.

Do you think a store like At Home on Main Street will be a place you will want to visit for gifts and items for yourself and your home? What needs and wants will be on your shopping list? Gifts? Clothes? Linens for bed and bath? Organic body care? Or, if it's simply too early to tell what 2009 will bring in terms of your needs, let us know down the road...we will be listening.

Also we'd like to know if you feel earth-friendly products will figure more, or less into your plans for purchasing in the years to come. Does it matter to you? We know that our changes, made over the summer and into the fall, surprised many of our customers. Some of you have mentioned that you liked the store better before the change. Many more of you have been very pleased and like it a lot more now. We appreciate all honest responses so we can gauge how we are doing.

It's difficult to know for sure what contributed the most to our low holiday sales figures- the new earth-friendly theme, or the economy. We think that it was a bit of both. The fact is that before our summer clearance sale we had too much inventory and not enough traffic in Fallbrook to sustain the purchasing habits we had developed over five years. Something had to change.

When we reopened in September, we felt really good about our decision and continued interest in knowing as much as possible about our products: Who makes the items we select for you? Where are the products manufactured? Do they pay a fair wage? Are they safe for the consumer and the environment? Stuff like that. We noticed over the years that customers began to really care about these things we had been heading in this direction for several years anyway...so we made it our full commitment. We freshened up the store and began restocking for our September reopening. Ed Begley, Jr. came down from LA to join in the fun, he was a great guest and we had a wonderful day debuting the new look and merchandise. We were off to a great new start!

Then it all began to crumble. The depressing economic news began early in the fall and we could tell something serious was brewing and we had to be cautious with purchasing. We poured over the catalogs we had collected on our summer buying trips, trying to decide what we wanted to purchase for the holiday's. Sales were slumping ... and each day as we looked at the catalogs again and again -- the news just kept on getting worse. Regardless of the countless new products we had found, we decided to play it safe and did not overstock the store. This was upsetting for many of you since we did not have the same selection of gifts that we've had in previous holiday seasons. One good outcome is we are not overstocked with merchandise that didn't sell for the holiday.

Into the future - Did we ever think we'd be selling clothing when we opened At Home on Main Street? Not at all! It happened gradually and soon became our best selling category. So, we have given it more space and built a proper dressing room (a big hit and must see!). We need to stock what sells, so clothing is staying, but don't worry, we're not planning on becoming a clothing only store.

We LOVE to go on buying trips to seek out the beautiful, useful and functional items that you want and expect from us. As the winter buying season begins, we'll be looking at the products with the same eye we are know for and making plans for what we can order when we can spend again. With the economic climate as it stands now we do have to be more careful. We hope that makes sense to you. We are in survival mode now. We will restock your favorite candles and some new bamboo clothing in January, and when we can, we will slowly start restocking with other great merchandise.

So be sure to tell us what you would like to see in the store!

Everyone knows that good customer service is one of the only things a small store can do to compete with the big boxes. Hours of operation are important. We'd really like to be open 7 days a week (as we were for many years) but after giving it a lot of serious consideration (we hope you'll understand) one of our cost cutting measures will be reducing the hours we are open. At Home on Main Street will be closed on Sunday & Monday. We will also close one hour earlier. Our new hours will be from 10 - 5 Tues. - Sat. We hope that it's only temporary. We will make it up to you with great customer service in other areas!

We want to get the workshop area going again for the winter. No better time to learn something new! If you want to take a class let us know your interests and if you've always wanted to teach something, let us know.

And now for the winter blahs...When the holiday decorations come down and the tree is gone, it is a good time to rearrange the furniture for the winter. Create cozy groupings closer to the fireplace if you have one. Pull the furniture away from the walls and into the room. Use throws liberally to create warmth for every seat in the room. If you like curling up with a cup of tea and a good book, be sure you have a table, a reading light and a warm throw! Three lamps in a room should be the minimum -- and don't forget to change out the bulbs with energy saving bulbs when they burn out!

Stop in and say "Hi" no pressure to purchase. Let's just keep in touch!Have a very safe and happy New Year.

Marie, Tracy, Brian & Paz

By Marie Kinnaman