Renting can be frustrating when you want to go green. There are a lot of things you just don't have control over. You generally don't own the appliances, can't install solar panels, etc. It gets annoying sometimes.

I deal with this a lot as I do still rent. We're fortunate enough to be renting a house rather than an apartment, but there are still a lot of limitations.

A vegetable garden is a real pleasure when you get a good start to it, but sometimes the weather takes a turn you just aren't ready for. Things heat up fast and suddenly your perfect garden is wilting and dying.

It's a painful thing to see, but don't accept defeat immediately. You may still be able to save quite a bit of your garden.

The first thing is to stay very aware of your garden.

Decorating your home is fun yet challenging. You're making a personal statement, but often you want to decorate around a particular theme to really bring a room together.

You can often pick a theme based on things you already own and plan on putting into the room. If you have a lot of items that would go well with a Southwest theme, you can shop for furniture that will go with it.

The garden is one of the easiest places to start using solar energy. It not only keeps garden lighting from adding to your power bill, it's easier to install. And garden lights, even when solar powered, have improved tremendously over these past few years.

Your typical garden light uses a silicon based photovoltaic cell to collect energy during the day.

Harsh chemicals are common in household cleansers. Just look at the label and see how many have warnings or require that you wear gloves when you use them. Then think about how hard it is for the chemicals which get into your home's air to get out of your house. It is normal for indoor air to be more polluted than the air outside.

One of the most important rules parents have to follow is to keep the cleaning chemicals away from children, as young children have been known to drink harmful chemicals in all innocence.

There's a feeling I understand. I had it last year when my garden was a complete flop. But this year things have changed. My garden is flourishing. We're seeing results already. Everything is coming up, umm, maybe not roses, we have lots of other plants growing, but coming up beautifully.

We've even picked our first squash of the year. It was delicious.

There's no doubt that the way your home is decorated has a lot to do with your personality. Some to do with your budget too, but even then your personality shines through.

Of course, all this means that sometimes you will want to make changes. It may be due to your old furniture just getting old, moving to a new home, or just because you feel it's time.

Planting a vegetable garden is a real delight. You get fresh produce, fresh air and light exercise. And it doesn't require a huge back yard to do successfully. Even a small yard or deck is sufficient.

The first thing you need to do is figure out how much space you have for a vegetable garden. This will in part determine what you can grow. Some plants take more room or need more sunlight.

The trouble with home offices is that they are often a mess. In my experience it is easy to feel like it is more important to work than to straighten up my office. There are just so many more things I could be doing and they seem more profitable than handling the inevitable clutter.

But the time always comes when the job must be done. I have to clean my home office.

Solar power has been hyped for decades now as one of the best solutions to our energy problems. But in simple truth it hasn't progressed the way many have hoped it would. Has that changed yet?

Installing solar power for your home is still incredibly expensive, even with government rebates, and earning your money back takes more years than most can stand to wait.