Sustainable Living Colorado Style
Sustainable living in Colorado.
Green earth sustainable lifestyle
Land for sale in Parker, Franktown, Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch, Littleton, Sedalia and Larkspur, Colorado.
This is the definition of Sustainable living when I Google it.
Sustainable Living is a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual’s or society’s use of the earth’s natural resources and personal resources. Practitioners of sustainable living often attempt to reduce their carbon footprint by altering methods of transportation, energy consumption, and diet.
“I want LAND and I want it in an area that doesn’t have an HOA. I want to be able to have a garden, goats, a cow and chickens if I so desire.”
The sustainable lifestyle?
The new (to me) Lifestyle in Real Estate is “Sustainable Living.” I hear it weekly and it is usually coming from a client looking to get out of their current situation in a neighborhood or urban area. They are looking to move to LAND or at least have a home where the HOA does not restrict larger scale gardening or owning chickens or other animals. No, this is not just a Gen Y lifestyle. I hear it from all ages. To be clear…most of the people I have this conversation with started their journey of a sustainable lifestyle years prior but are now looking to go deeper. Sustainable living is a lot more than just living on a piece of property where you have animals and grow your own food…
Homes Without HOA or Home Owners Associations
Land is not needed to live the sustainable lifestyle.
It’s true that you do not need to live on land to practice the sustainable lifestyle but let’s be honest and agree that owning land is cool. Land is cool and having property that is not located within an HOA covenant controlled neighborhood is even better.
What is sustainable living?
In the past 2 years I have just begun to learn about this new lifestyle and the more I read about the more I realize I really don’t know a lot about the topic. I thought Sustainable Living was owning a Prius, having solar panels on your house and recycling once every two weeks. I was completely wrong. Complete Sustainable Living is far more than just growing your own food, having chickens and a few goats. A lot of it has to do with your daily choices inside and outside your home. Everything from power, gas and water usage to how and what items you chose to use in and around your home and in your daily life.
Some people that are well into their journey to sustainable living are migrating towards buying land or a home with land. The baby steps began years ago inside their home and now they are looking for more. Let’s face it a lot of suburban and urban neighborhoods are not ideal locations for sustainable living if you are wanting to start growing your own food on a larger scale.
Gardening
Did you know you can attend Sustainable Living workshops right here in Colorado? Check out The Sustainable Living Association . They have workshops available that teach you the lifestyle and how to be more efficient when trying to live a sustainable lifestyle. Their website has a lot of cool information about how to create a sustainable lifestyle.
Solar Power in Colorado.
Solar Power is something I’ve been looking into over the last few years. Remember that a few years ago a home with solar panels was sometimes regarded as being the eyesore in the neighborhood. With the new solar panels and technology available the panels are looking less bulky and more appealing to the eye. Did you know that most home builders now offer solar options for new homes? It’s true.
Speaking of solar…Have you seen this? Tesla offers solar roof tiles with a 100% lifetime guarantee from damage. Personally, I would love to have this installed on my house. Tesla’s technology and design are spot on for the future but it’s still a little pricey for most of us. I think I will wait a little longer before I jump into a full Tesla Solar roof…
Solar panels on house
Be careful when you decide to go solar!
I’ve seen several homes for sale that have recently had solar panels installed on their homes or property. The problem is that the homeowner took out additional loans and signed long term contracts with the solar company to pay for the solar panels and the installation. Beware that these long term contracts would need to be transferred to the new buyer or the homeowner will have to pay them off in full before the sale of the property. Many buyers are skeptical about inheriting a long term payment for solar on top of their brand new mortgage payment. In some cases the extra costs could be enough that an interested buyer may not qualify for the mortgage and the solar payment. Do your homework before installing solar.
Farming and larger scale gardening for sustainable living.
Over the past few years I’ve begun to sell more and more land. Obviously when I sell property like this I get to tour small family farms all around our region. I’m fascinated by what I have seen.
I thought a chicken coop was basically a small pen to house chickens to get eggs. Not even close. I’ve seen some pretty elaborate chicken coops that with only a few chickens can produce more than enough eggs for a family of 4. Most of the people I’ve met with coops have extra eggs that they sell to neighbors or trade with neighbors. They trade eggs for things like milk or fresh honey or vegetables. Sounds cool huh?
Personally I was fortunate enough to grow up with depression era grandparents in the southeast so I was raised on fresh vegetables grown in our garden. Gardening has taken on many different forms since I was a kid. I’ve seen intricate box gardens and greenhouses that were said to produce enough vegetables to feed a family. I find it fascinating that they can grow that much food in small areas.
The sustainable lifestyle is going to gain even more traction over the coming years. It makes sense and it’s smart living. Reducing carbon, growing your own food or whatever it is you choose to do will get you started on your own sustainable lifestyle movement.
Douglas County Land 2+ acres for sale.