More from The Realist Idealist: Sustainable living and home improvement

After experimenting with solar panels, gray-water systems and chickens for two years, a budget-minded consumer takes stock of what worked and what didn’t.

We put them to the lab test to get the real dirt on dirt.

Usage is affected by the thousands of gallons it takes to manufacture clothing and bring food to the table.

Setting up a home rain-catching system is easier than you might think.

Turning her front and backyards into farmland.

Lugging gallon after gallon of the murky water to the garden was a feat until Enviro Water Boy stepped in.

Rainwater is free. It’s just the catching that costs money.

After grappling with the gross factor, the system itself turns out to be fairly unobtrusive. And with water rationing possibly ahead, now’s the time for a backup plan.

Armed with four simple, environmentally friendly ingredients -- white distilled vinegar, baking soda, castile soap and water -- you can clean windows, bathrooms and floors.

They’re found at shelters, pet shops and feed stores. You can create a home for them yourself or go online for a pricier shortcut.

The move to a photovoltaic system is a smart strategy unless you’re already highly energy efficient. If so, it might not be worth the cost.

With help from the Greywater Guerrillas, our new sustainable home improvement columnist sets out to recycle, recycle, recycle.