Tips from the heart

sometimes, it doesn't require a whole lot of renovation work to make a good worthwhile home. imagination and creativity does work a longer mile looking at cost, time and interest. to some, it may not make sense but at anyway, it is also one way to bond relationship with your work partner. If you must transform living style with concern of environmental impact. here's how D.I.Y tips on home projects could work.

1)try make a few fuss by suggesting your idea of rearangment of furniture at a space, let say a living room - suggest this to your potential project work partner. entice him/her with your idea and brief idea how it may work. this may spruce up the interest to futher throwing out ideas between you both. this also burns out some calories by climbing up and down to take down proper measurement, if you know what i mean.

2)once view is kinda at the sketched out with satisfied arrangment - most importantly both has agreed, proceed to catalogue browsing or that lookout for special price discount over tv, newspaper or flyer. or better still reorientate that old shelf to something new! it could be an interesting hunting game. moreover fun and adrenaline pumping if you play it right! though may take weeks or even month to get the right selection. just make sure it doesn't bust your budget and is the right piece to be living with you. definately won't want it to be the piece that causes argument later right?

3)at midst of selection, you may make do with some repainting work to the walls by shopping for the right color. painting does make a big difference, more over the walls that exist in a space is usually a 60%-70% of visual. setting away some unwanted stuff by giving it away, this actually helps to narrow down your search to furniture. trust me! you will have no regrets! (just make sure it isn't one of those memorabilias you are throwing out)

4)feeling a little adventurous and want to make something of your own, which is fine too. have you the moment before, that pillow cover over the shelf is something you want is too costly but preferably it could be in other likeable fabric? i.e. a fancy floor cushion cover at the size of 70cm x 70cm sure cost above RM50 more over a pillow that size adds up another RM50. How about getting a meter worth of fabric of your choice. spend some time on it - ~wala! turn it into something you may use it for a long long time and not after months and looking into getting a better looking one? is not the right match?? pillow job is not for guys?? hold on to that! try out a simple rack or shelve for books, and get pampered for pouring out sweat - how about that?! i know this sounds funny but hey...enjoy what you do is the key.

-------------------------->swedish fabric + 60cm square pillow, this d.i.y pillow cost me RM30, i still have extra cloth as table runners

5) Always remember what is heavyweight in the room should be get finished first before proceeding to the next one. i.e. wall -> wall shelf -> furniture -> smaller furniture. why? one is this safe cost, just in case project gets to tired to continue - you won't end up with jumbled up furniture mixes of old and new. two is even it didn't work out exactly as planned, the sweet is the room could still feels like is has been done something and not nothing (as the wall has already been painted!). get the idea?

6)decoration can be items of ones lifestyle, from photographs to collections, even grafiti on the wall. range quite much to personal preference. it is your home afterall

question remains, do you have the will to finish the plan? with a partner, is always better than one...so what's the problem? being responsible to environment is also mean being a responsible buyer. therefore,

think.plan.and.justify

-------------------------->sometimes, less could be more

Recycle Envelopes

Front:
Love our Earth, start from saving papers!
Please reuse this envelope.

Back:
Encourage conserving, make good use of resources, if we get the same idea, all will be blessed.

I got this envelope from my mom today. It is an used envelope from Wisdom Study Centre and I was impressed with the words on the envelope. Envelopes could be reuse, share this with your friends and family.

Commonly used terms: Kyoto, Framework, IPCC & Bali

This section is dedicated to provide you some information on how to be involved in some of the many environmental activities around you.

Ever get confused on the terms that some of the people used in the field? Couldn’t understand terms like Kyoto, framework, IPCC, COP, UNEP, etc. Don’t worry and let’s start at the very beginning to understand some of the terms commonly used.

Framework

In 1992, the United Nation Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held an Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. As a result of that, the United Nation Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was created. It is an international environmental treaty to combat the global warming scenario by reducing the green house gasses but there was no legal commitment binding all the participating countries. A total of 191 countries have signed the agreement. Since 1995, the framework had annual meeting which is known as Conferences of the Parties (COP). The first COP meeting (COP 1) was in The Berlin Mandate. This year, 2008, COP 14 is scheduled to be held in Poland.

Kyoto

It is used to refer the Kyoto Protocol. It is an agreement made in COP 3 in1997 and came into force in 2005. The agreement also aims to reduce emission and stabilize climate change effect and it will end in 2012. Developed countries are to reduce its emission to an average of 5.2% of their 1990 level. However, the United States of America as the main contributor of air pollution have refused to sign the agreement.

IPCC

Use to refer the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It is established by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) with the tasked to scientifically assess the impact of climate change. It does not do research or monitor the impacts of climate change but rather creating a platform to where accurate, objective information on climate change and mitigation method could be shared. IPCC also gave prediction on the impacts of global warming.

Finally, last and simple word to remember is Bali.

Bali is an island in Indonesia where COP 13 was held in December 2007. The main topic there was to create a foundation of an action plan after the expiries of Kyoto Protocol in 2012 and methods to further reduce carbon emissions. Although this term may not be as popular as the other terms given, but it is good to know in case it is mention.

That is all for now. Next time, terms like carbon trading, carbon footprint, UNEP and greenhouse gases will be explained.