Category — Eco-friedly Products

I don’t know about you, but when my home gets to be a disorganized mess, I don’t care a whole lot if it is a green home or any other color.  So, whenever I get the time to add environmentally friendly home organizers like bamboo baskets, recycled plastic bins, or reusable wooden crates to any room in my home,  I do.  In short, I crave a life that is free from the distractions of clutter.

When I saw this bamboo mail sorter, I thought this would be the perfect addition to an out of the way kitchen corner or back entry way.  Stash the mail for sorting later, hang up keys (keeps them off the counter), and there’s even room for a few magazines. The mail sorter is available at Plow and Hearth.

Here’s a round shelf basket made from rattan and recycled paper.  This could be used as a waste paper basket, or placed on a bookcase for holding just about anything.  The recycled basket measure 14″ x 10.25″, and it is available at World Market.

So, you’re headed out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday, but not sure if you should completely shut down all your appliances and electronics while you’re gone?  Leaving everything on for the duration of your trip would be a real waste of energy, but on the other hand,  a dark home can be an easy target for thieves or vandals. Appliance timers are handy and affordable little gadgets that can help you conserve energy and play it safe when you are not home, and even when you are.

Here’s how it works.  Begin by plugging an appliance timer into any standard outlet.  Then plug your table lamps, television, or any other appliance into the timer, and set the times you want the appliance to turn on and off.  Now the appliance will come on and shut off on it’s own.

Even if when you’re home, appliance timers can help you avoid wasting energy by shutting things off when you leave for work, or right around bedtime. I found the appliance timer above at Westside Wholesale.  Gotta love an $8 green living upgrade.

A lot of the heating and cooling energy you are paying for each month could be going right out the window.  Whether you live in a warm climate or a cool climate, insulated drapes, curtains, or window blinds can help you save energy and reduce power bills by providing a barrier that reduces drafts, and blocks hot sunlight in the summer months.

And, no, insulated drapes don’t have to look like the ones your grandma bought in 1972!  Insulated window treatments are widely-accepted as a green living necessity, and are available in lots of modern styles.

These tab-top drapes come in several shades, and are insulated on the back side with a 100% acrylic lining.  They come in several sizes, up to 160″ x 84″.  Matching valances are optional.  I found the insulated curtains at Plow and Hearth.

Energy-efficient washing machines are a good investment to conserve power and save water.  However, the products you put into your washing machine can have just as big of impact on the environment.  Most run of the mill laundry soaps contain surfactants and chemicals, many of which are derived from petroleum.  Here are a few green living tips for cleaning up your act in the laundry room.

When You Need Bleach: Let’s face it, green laundry isn’t worth it if your clothes don’t come out clean. Sometimes you need some serious cleaning to get out grass stains or foods like tomato sauce.  Ever had a kid in soccer?  Here’s the tip:  avoid chlorine bleach.  There are many bleach alternatives available like oxygen boosting products.  Here’s  a large selection of “oxy” cleaners.  I use one scoop of an oxy booster with almost every load of laundry.  The trick is to put the oxy powder in the washing machine first, let the water fill, and then add clothes.

Fabric Softener Alternative: A scoop (1/4 to 1/2 cup) of baking soda added to the rinse cycle is a natural way to soften clothes.  Here’s another chemical free fabric softener.

Stubborn Stains: Soak resistant stains overnight in a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water.  (8 parts cold water, 1 part peroxide)

The front loading washing machine above is an LG Energy Star washer, and it is available at HomeClick.

Side chairs and tables that double as unique and interesting art always make such bold statements in home decor.  If you’re trying to add environmentally friendly and artistic pieces to your home, reclaimed wood furniture is a great option.

Wood furniture crafted from reclaimed timber can include everything from old barn wood, root wood, and even driftwood.  The reclaimed wood stool above, called a twist stool, has a cool rotating design.  A pair of these used as bar stools would make an eye-catching lounge area, or add some creative flair to a breakfast bar.

Here’s another wooden stool in the shape of a “Z”.  This one is just over 20 inches tall and is made from reclaimed enterolobium wood.  Both reclaimed wood stools are available at Clipper Trading Company.

If you’ve been using CFL bulbs in your ceiling lights and table lamps for awhile, you’ve may have actually had a few burn out by now, or even had one break. While they’re great for saving energy, these environmentally-friendly light bulbs do contain small amounts of mercury, so it is important to recycle them or clean up breaks properly.

Recycling CFL Bulbs

Some stores, including Home Depot and Ikea will take back your used CFL bulbs for free, and then recycle them. Light Bulb Recycling offers a paid by-mail service that will send you a recycling kit for CFL bulbs.  Also,  Earth 911 offers a free recycling search engine that will direct you to CFL recycling resources in your area.

How to Clean Up a Broken CFL Bulb

So, let’s just suppose you’re up on a step stool changing a light bulb in your ceiling fan, and before you know it, you drop a CFL bulb and it shatters on the floor.  What should you do? Here are some steps for safe CFL disposal from the EPA:

• Air out the room by opening windows and doors. Turn off your furnace or air conditioner if they are running, and have everyone leave the room for 15 minutes.
• Using stiff cardboard, carefully scoop up any broken glass.
• Use duct tape to pick up any remaining glass shards or powder.
• Avoid using a vacuum cleaner or broom if at all possible.  If use of a vacuum cleaner is unavoidable, dispose of the vacuum bag or clean out the canister immediately after cleaning the break area.
• Use a sealed glass jar, or a plastic zipper bag to contain all broken components.

Visit the EPA for complete information on cleaning up a broken CFL light bulb.  Don’t be discouraged by the small amount of mercury in CFL bulbs.  The environmental benefits of CFL light bulbs far outweigh any mercury risk.

Did you know that using your microwave oven to cook a meal or a side dish uses 2/3 less energy than a traditional kitchen stove?  And, here’s the weird thing…minute by minute, microwaves actually use MORE power than your kitchen stove, but because microwaves cook so much faster, the overall energy use is less.

I know you must be thinking that microwave ovens turn out rubbery, gloppy food that no one wants to eat, right?  Although microwaves certainly aren’t the best choice for every meal, these appliances have come a long way, especially when it comes to quality results.

Some new microwave ovens use convection cooking, and even halogen lights to improve food quality.  The Sharp microwave/convection oven above combines microwaves with the circulating heat of a convection oven.  It has two racks for baking, and gives you the option to turn off the turntable when you don’t need it.

Here’s another energy saving tip:  Clean your microwave oven regularly, and it will use even less energy!

With Old Man Winter within striking distance in many parts of the country, a few area rugs scattered around the house can certainly help to warm up cold floors.  I particularly like wool area rugs for two reasons:  they will last for years, and they’re made from a renewable resource. My husband’s grandmother has had the same wool are rugs for 40 years, and they still look great! Wool rugs are more expensive than some other materials, but since you should only have to buy them once, maybe that’s a savings in the long run.

The area rug above is a Fair Isle hooked wool rug from Garnet Hill.  It is available in 3 sizes:  3 feet, 5 feet, and 7 feet. They range in price from $98-$258.

If you’re worried about area rugs sliding around on hardwood or ceramic tile floors, you should check into purchasing organic rug pads. Rug pads will also protect your area rugs from signs of heavy wear, and help them last longer. The rug pad above is made from plant-based materials rather than petroleum-based plastics.

In my last post about Halloween pumpkins, I forgot to offer some tips on how to light them.  If you want to steer clear of paraffin-based waxes that emit toxins into the air, here are some green living tips for you.

Candles:   Soy and beeswax candles are both environmentally-friendly options for lighting your jack-o-lanterns.  They both burn cleaner, and are made from sustainable, resources.

LED Lights:  If you don’t want to use candles for safety reasons, you might want to check into some battery-powered LED pumpkin lights.  They’re designed to last for thousands of hours, so you could reuse them year after year.  Some even flash and turn colors for extra special effects.

Dont Forget!:  Use up as many parts of your pumpkins as possible to prevent landfill waste.  Make pumpkin cookies, or a pie with with any leftovers, and roast the seeds for a nutritious snack high in omega-3 fatty acids.

The beeswax votive candles shown above are homemade from 100% natural beeswax by Hive Harvest.

As the largest piece of furniture in your home, your sofa is a big decorating choice.  Home decorating experts say to buy quality, neutral pieces that can be used for years, and can be easily adapted from one style to the next.  But, when you’re looking for an environmentally friendly sofa, there are additional considerations, including:

Frame material:  If the sofa frame is made of wood, check to see if it is sustainable wood, and ask about any finishing products used on the wood to avoid VOCs.

Upholstery:  If you’re looking for an environmentally friendly sofa, your choice of upholstery fabric makes a difference.  Organic fabrics such as hemp and cotton are good choices, and are becoming more widely available.

Cushioning:  The filling of your sofa is also an important choice.  Avoid petroleum-based urethane foams in favor of natural rubber or latex cushioning and batting.

The sofa above is from the Bean Organic line at Bean Products, Inc.  Its wood frame is certified sustainable by the Forestry Stewardship Council, and the upholstery is an organic hemp fabric.  The sofa’s cushions are made from natural foam rubber harvested from rain forest rubber trees, and it’s also available in a sleeper sofa design.