Today we celebrate the 44th Anniversary of Earth Day. This annual event was established on April 22, 1970 to educate and inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment.
(Image courtesy of healthybuildings.com)
Did you know that, by the year 2015, it is estimated that we will spend approximately $121.7 Billion dollars annually to refurbish our homes with new furniture.
Think about that for a minute. The last time you bought a new piece of furniture, how much shipping and packaging material was there? If you agree with the above estimate, throwing away used furniture and the packaging from the replacements will add over 10 MILLION TONS of waste into our landfills annually.
The importance of environmentally conscious choices, which includes how we decorate our homes, takes on a greater urgency considering these statistics. If you’ve never really thought about the full impact of what consumerism is doing to our planet, here’s a link to one of my favorite videos explaining it in terms anyone can understand.
(Image courtesy of lansingcollective.com)
As a decorator, I know I have a part to play. I’m proud to promote a decorating concept called REDESIGN which focuses on the reUsing, rePurposing and reStyling of as many current household items as possible when re-decorating. Not only does it save money, but Redesign gives homeowners a “new-to-you” designer look while keeping things out of the waste stream. I think you’d agree that keeping even one sofa, one picture or one lamp out of a landfill is a step in the right direction. Multiply that by the millions of homes around the world, and you see just what a difference we all can make.
Thank you for being mindful that the choices you make in your own home have an effect on the “home” we all share!
Happy Earth Day 2014 from Decor Designs, Inc.!
From Decor Designs Owner & Chief Creative,