31 Days of Green Living day 3: Zero-VOC paint

Here is another important area to consider…anything that has a smell when you bring it into your home if giving off VOCs. VOCs if you are not familiar with the term, are volatile organic compounds. They off-gas into the air you breathe in your home. Here is a full description/information from the EPA:http://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html.

I have been using Sherwin-Williams’ Harmony zero VOC paint since we moved into this house and have been very pleased with the results(not that the 30% trade discount hurts, either) . Nowadays, there are several brands that will fit any budget. Here are some options to choose from:

Paint is not the only product that can have VOCs which off-gas-but you have far more options if you are going to paint something to choose one without VOCs. Ideally, we would only bring into our home products that do not off-gas, but at this point in time it’s frankly not feasible due to lack of choices and budgets. But I know in the not so distant future we will have far more reasonable options for having zero VOC products for our home. So, if something you purchase, does have a smell-try to air it out in the garage for a couple days or so to try to limit the VOCs you are bringing into your home and it never hurts to open up the windows as much as possible to air out your home to keep it fresh and bring in cleaner air. 
* I just read this...you can give anything washable a "safe wash" which is a combination of baking soda & white vinegar in your machine's soap dispenser to remove some of the VOC's that laundry detergent cannot necessarily remove.