Frugality = Green

………Frugal, Thrifty, Meager…… call it what you will. I will call it 2009. It seems the running theme for this year, is stretching your dollar for all the elasticity it possibly has. When I start hearing news reports comparing today's financial percentages to those from the 1930's, I know it can't be a good thing. But here is some good news, all this doom and gloom may actually blossom some pretty positive things.

Save your gas….exit fuel guzzling hummers…enter fuel efficient, vegetable eating, hybrid, electric wonders that have been waiting years for their moment in the sun (for solar cars, I mean literally). Thanks to the demand from high fuel costs last year, car companies are manufacturing more fuel efficient and hybrid vehicles. If you have to drive, hybrids are the lesser of two evils when it comes to air pollution. For those who can't afford a new hybrid, use mass transit- it s even more green.

If it's broken, fix it… In this year of frugality we will now be more aware of the value an object has. For so long, our country has seen leaps and bounds in technology, and with it, affordable new gadgets and computers. The backlash to it all has been the exuberant amount of waste, which has been exponentially growing over the years. Although we have become more aware of recycling those items which formally held such value to us, the stockpile of toxin-emitting trash continues to grow. My advice is to see if you can fix it. I did it when my 10 year old vacuum began blowing dirt instead of sucking it. After a lengthy investigation I found the culprit, a nail, which had lodged itself into the fan and created a hole in the belt and, over time, destroyed both. Without leaving my house, I went online and ordered a new $15 part for my vacuum instead of wasting money on a new vacuum and further adding to the previously mentioned trash problem. Not only did I save money but my self reliance felt pretty satisfying.

Consumer power….. In our present global economy, we can easily lose sight of where our every day goods come from, what they are made of and what impact they have on our bodies and our planet. Now that demand is down, we as consumers have the power to pressure manufactures to produce products made with non toxic material in a closed looped system (aka products are returned to nature or created into another useful product at the end of its life cycle). We can also demand LONG LASTING products; goods that don't purposefully die out because they were designed to do exactly that. It s high time manufactures get back to making goods that have a longevity to them like they used make years ago.

At OOCK, we have a wide assortment of green, high quality, long lasting products. Come check out our boutique located at the Arcade Building in Bedford, NY. We also offer full design services with everything from reupholstering old furniture with low emitting fabrics to redesigning your home to be more energy efficient and healthier for you and your family.