Eco-Friendly Homes

Madison Hopkins
Eco-Friendly Homes Podcast

Eco-Friendly Homes is for sustainably minded folk who want to reduce their carbon foot print on a large scale. In each episode, I share tangible steps to reduce your home's emissions, live healthier, save money and build community!

  1. 13/04/2022

    Meet thought leader, Science by Ashley!

    "Science by Ashley" is an amazing TikTok and IG account with 159K followers! And today I got to meet with the woman of the brand, the brains behind the scene, and the beauty in front of the camera, Ashley Diedenhofen! Ashley loves science, food, and our natural world and is really good at communicating how these three things work together. I first found her accounts organically - because I have similar interests to her content - and have been double clicking her posts ever since. Ashley provides science infused food preservation tips that is both impressive and leave me understanding more of why that food preservation method does work and why it makes sense. She also describes to viewers how natural phenomena happen, introduces us to great eco-friendly brands, and influences us to adopt more sustainable behaviors. Hence why I was so excited to speak with her and get to know this very impactful person. To follow Ashley's content you can go to TikTok or Instagram using the handle @sciencebyashley. She's also on YouTube as @ashleyydeeds. Social Links: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sciencebyashley Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sciencebyashley YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ashleyydeeds Science by Ashley is a science communication platform for Ashley's growing Science Communication business. Feel free to reach out to her via email to discuss ways tyou too can enhance your helpful and meaningful science based message. Email: scibyash@gmail.com. To work with me as your Denver based Eco-Friendly Realtor, email me too, madison@movingwithmadison.com. I can also help you locate a Green Realtor in your area if you live elsewhere! And big thanks to our amazing podcast sponsor, PJ Vilardo, owner of his own Mortgage Brokerage, Millennium Mortgage. MM works in Florida, Colorado, and California! Email him, pj@millenniummortgage.io and let him know you heard about him on the Eco-Friendly Homes podcast! Link: https://www.millenniummortgage.io I'd also like to give a shoutout to my favorite bedding brand ever, Sheets & Giggles! These sheets are insanely soft because they're made of sustainable eucalyptus fibers. Eucalyptus is a far less thirst fabric to make than either cotton or bamboo and uses a closed loop water system in it's making. The fabric is officially called lyocell and a branded form of that is called Tencel Modal. So check out Sheets & Giggles and take 15% off your order with my discount code, ECOHOMES. Link: https://sheetsgiggles.com/

    30 min
  2. 10/03/2022

    How To Buy a House for the First Time with PJ Vilardo

    Have you ever wanted to buy a house? Do you know where to start? The answer is with your lender! PJ Vilardo, owner of his own Mortgage Brokerage in Colorado, California, and Florida, walks us through the home loan origination process so you know exactly what to expect! He gives us a great analogy, that buyers often want to eat the ice cream before they have their broccoli. Ice cream being the house shopping process that people do with me, your Realtor, and the broccoli being the loan origination process that buyers need to do with PJ. But, as any healthy child knows, you've got to eat your broccoli before you get to eat the ice cream :-) Without having your loan in place there's no reason to go house shopping. Because whatever you see that weekend will be sold by Sunday and you cannot submit an offer for that house without your loan pre-approved ready to go. But when your loan amount is known, it really opens up a cool opportunity for home buyers to feel strong in knowing what they can afford! PJ and I cover very important topics like what documents you need ready to buy a house, the national FHA program where you can give as little as 3.5% down payment, and the difference between self employed buyers and W2 buyers. He also leaves us with a really great tip, basically a mental mortgage calculator, if you will: Every $5,000 up or down on your loan amount will change your monthly mortgage payments by $20 to $25 dollars! That's really amazing and not that much money. *** If you want to contact PJ, who is also our podcast sponsor for this month, you can reach him via his email, pj@millenniummortgage.io, or his website http://www.millenniummortgage.io/ Millennium Mortgage social profiles: Zillow: https://www.zillow.com/lender-profile/millenniummortgagellc/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/millenniummortgagellc/?hl=en FB: https://www.facebook.com/millenniummortgagellc *** To contact me, Madison Hopkins, your Colorado local Green Realtor, email me at madison@movingwithmadison.com! My social profiles: Zillow: https://www.zillow.com/profile/MadisonHopkins80203 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ecofriendlyhomes And follow my YouTube to watch the full podcast! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCixRflPmGyiytxoKIqVArFQ

    41 min
  3. 11/02/2022

    Composting with SCRAPS

    What is composting? What are the benefits of  composing? What are the different types of composting? How to compost? And how to compost in an apartment? All of your questions will be answered in this podcast by our amazing guest speaker, Alexa Rosenstein, Director of Operations for Scraps Mile High Composting! Scraps is a compost collection service that does weekly compost pickups for residential homes and businesses! They deliver you a pail and compostable bags, you fill the bags with your food waste, put the baggies in the pail, then once a week a Scraps compost collector comes to your house, takes the bags, and brings your food waste to an industrial compost site to be turned into compost! URL  to Scraps: https://scrapsmilehigh.com/ Scraps' service is amazing for so many reasons; but my favorite, and the reason I started composting with them, is their ability to service our vast geographic area. As of February 2022, Scraps collects compost from residents and businesses in the Denver Metro cities  of Denver, Edgewater, Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, Broomfield, Arvada, and Westminster. I really appreciate their strong efforts to service so many areas! Use this link to see  if your city is in their service area! https://scrapsmilehigh.com/signup#servicemap If not, not to worry because there are other compost collection services in our city! In fact, if you live in the City of Denver and are a resident in a house or apartment with 7 units or less, you can compost with the city! Just request the City of Denver bring you a compost bin and they will take your compost to a facility every week, just like your trash and recycling! URL to City composting https://www.denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Recycle-Compost-Trash/Compost Contact me to be your Green Realtor in Denver, CO! madison@movingwithmadison.com Contact EFH's sponsor, PJ Vilardo for your home loan originations in both CO and FL! pj@millenniummortage.io During the episode, Alexa dives into the scientific details of how industrial composting works. Scraps uses A1 Organics as our local industrial compost site. This turns all of our food scraps into a healthy, vibrant, amendment to add to your house plants and personal or community garden. By taking food waste out of our trash and landfills, we are diverting 40% of waste! Food waste in the landfill doesn't break down for decades and releases toxic methane gas into the atmosphere - which significantly contributes to green house gas emissions. But when we place our food waste into a compost, it create a life providing substance! Two totally different end products from the same origination product. Here are great resources that Alexa provided during our podcast: Documentary "Wasted" about food waste science. URL https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6207096/ Documentary "Kiss the Ground" about Regenerative Agriculture. URL https://kisstheground.com/support-the-film/ Ridwell, a hard to recycle collection service. URL https://www.ridwell.com/ Continue your listening with my Eco-Friendly Homes podcast episode, "The Ingredient Insider, Elizabeth Boulos" from Feb. 24, 2021. URL https://ecofriendlyhomes.buzzsprout.co

    51 min
  4. 26/01/2022

    Sustainable Yoga Leggings and More!

    Does your eco-friendly closest contain sustainable yoga leggings? Well, if it doesn't, it's about to! I'm here to give your eco-friendly closet an upgrade based on 2 really amazing textiles I have been learning about. Plus, a deep dive into the textile industry with Sheets & Giggles CEO and Founder, Colin McIntosh (more about him from Eco-Friendly Homes episode six). Contact me, Madison Hopkins, madison@movingwithmadison.com Major Textile #1 is Tencel™ Lyocell, which is a cellulose fiber. Major Textile #2 is Econyl® regenerated nylon, by Aquafil, made from ocean and waste. My Sheets & Giggles discount code is ECOHOMES for 15% off! Top Rated Brands (by me) that provide sustainable yoga leggings: None of these are affiliate links. #1 Allbirds Women's Natural Legging because it contains 43% Tencel™ Lyocell, 30% Recycled Nylon, 18% ZQ Merino Wool, 9% Elastane. The wool is anti-itch approved by me as well! #2 Girlfriend Collective because their entire collection uses recycled polyester, they promote sustainability, and have their own clothing recycling program through their website called ReGirlfriend. Additionally, their sizes range from XXS to 6XL, which is amazing! #3 TomBoyX entire line of undergarments made of TENCEL™ Modal! They are super soft (I own a few pairs) and they whole company is gender neutral! So their underwear fits a variety of body types! Shoutout Brands: None of these are affiliate links. Prana as their site heavily promotes sustainability and I was able to search for leggings then filter on the left hand side by recycled materials. LA Relaxed for their Eco Rib Legging made of 88% Tencel™ Lyocell 12% Spandex.MPG Sport for their Recycled Polyester and having an easy website to find sustainable products which helps consumers make informed decisions. Ortovox which has base layer pants made of Tencel and wool!Well Know Brands: These are not in my top brand winners because I see them as "keeping up with the times" and not being true textile industry leaders. None of these are affiliate links.  Vuori's Eco-Happier collection (only!), as these items contain Recycled Polyester.New Balance has a Green Leaf Standard page where everything with the Leaf is made of 50% or more environmentally friendly materials. Athleta, you must type "recycled" into the search bar to find leggings with Recycled Polyester. I have verified that the 9 collection styles of leggings do contai

    43 min
  5. 12/01/2022

    Health, Wellness, and Environmental Exposures with The Mold Medic

    Michael Rubino, an innovative expert in mold contamination and remediation! While only in his 30s, he is already turning the mold remediation world on its ear with his unique approach of focusing on his customer's health and wellness through their home environment. Michael values education and in order to educate those who are struggling with mold in their homes, he wrote his own book, Mold Medic. He advises readers on how to choose a mold remediation company, the processes that company should be following, and how to be proactive by performing a routine home maintenance. Michael also explains how to recover from mold-related illnesses, mold exposure, and mold toxicity. His message is perfect for those interested in achieving and maintaining robust health. Michael and his company All American Restoration have been featured in USA Today, NJ Biz, Reader’s Digest, New Jersey Monthly, and Digital Trends. He was also selected as a speaker for the Spring 2020 Indoor Air Quality Association Meeting and Expo.  He received a Bachelor of Science degree in 2008 and is a council-certified microbial remediator from the American Council for Accredited Certification, and a New York State Department of Labor Remediation Contractor. He has spent the past seven years involved in construction and remediating mold contamination.   Links: Mold Medic Book, https://www.themoldmedic.com/ All American Restoration Company, https://www.allamericanrestoration.com/about/ His podcast, Mold Talks Podcast, https://www.themoldmedic.com/mold-talks-podcast/ Contact: Guest speaker Michael Rubino, michael@themoldmedic.com Your Host Madison Hopkins, madison@movingwithmadison.com.  I am located in Denver, CO!

    37 min
  6. 08/12/2021

    Passive House with Johnny Rezvani

    The Passive House (Haus) movement is a design standard that challenges builders and architects to create a house that uses as little energy as it can! There is no right or wrong way to go about achieving this standard but in order to achieve a Passive House Certification the build team does have to implement a plan and prove that the performance of the building does meet the passive house energy standard. The Passive House Standard was invented by  Dr. Wolfgang Feist as a means to regenerate Earth's health by reducing the amount of energy a home uses. While solar panels may change the source of energy for a house or building, a Passive House uses less energy. Way less! We're talking 10% of what a "normal" building uses. To avoid using so much energy, the best place to reduce consumption is in the heating and cooling of a building. In fact, 40% or more of our household energy consumption is used for heating and cooling! Johnny Rezvani, our excellent guest speaker today, is the Communications Director for 475 High Performance Building Supply. 475 supplies various products for these passive buildings to be built. Such as moisture evaporating weather wrap, which in such an air tight house, is very important for reducing moisture levels and avoiding mold buildup. Johnny says the buildings that do not entirely reach the Passive House Standard are classified as "high performances homes" because they still perform to better energy efficiency than a standard building. Johnny also explains how and why these buildings feel different. The building design is focused on temperature regulating through the extremes of summer and winter. Thus, the whole home stays 72 degrees Fahrenheit all year round. Which means the heating and cooling bill are $0. If any additional heat in the home is needed in the winter, a simple towel heating rack in the bathroom is enough to heat the whole house! How is this possible? The building is sealed so tightly, the walls are so thick, and the windows are all triple pane that it is difficult for heat to transfer from the inside to the outside of the building. This also creates a sound proof home that blocks noise from the outside. There is also a lot of thought that goes into meeting a Passive House Standard. This includes where the sun will be in the summer vs winter and how can the building be built to intake more sunlight in the winter and less in the summer. Window coverings and angles also play a large factor so that the house can be naturally heated. How cool is this?!? (no pun intended). For more information check out these links! 475 has a great YouTube channel so there is one link for that! Johnny Rezvani on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnnyrezvani/). Passive House Institute (https://passivehouse.com/). Passive House United States site (https://www.phius.org/phius-certification-for-buildings-products). 475 High Performance Building Supply (https://foursevenfive.com/). 475's YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/475HighPerformanceBuildingSupply). Passive House Accelerator which has some super in-depth information and virtual meetings every week (https://passivehouseaccelerator.com/)! The first certified Passive House in Colorado (https://www.5280.com/2020/08/this-colorado-getaway-is-the-states-first-certified-passive-house/). Architect Andrew Michler'

    1h 3m

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Eco-Friendly Homes is for sustainably minded folk who want to reduce their carbon foot print on a large scale. In each episode, I share tangible steps to reduce your home's emissions, live healthier, save money and build community!

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