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.

As Blu-ray, and digital downloads replace the video tapes of yesteryear, you’re probably wondering what to do with all that old media bulging out of your home entertainment center, or media cabinet.  Before you give up and toss it all in the trash, read below for some recycling tips for old electronics, cassette tapes, CDs, and video tapes.  Isn’t it time to give up those old “Mork & Mindy” Betamax tapes anyway?

GreenDisk:  For $6.95, this electronics recycling center will take up to 20 pounds of electronics or related media.  If you have more than 20 lbs, its 30 cents extra per pound.  Pack everything up in a box, estimate the weight, and visit the site to purchase a mailing label.

ACT:  Alternative Community training is a non-profit agency that provides jobs for people with disabilities.  They’ll erase your old tapes and repackage them to be used again.

Craigslist:  You know someone wants your stuff, but you just have to find them.  Post for free on Craigslist and watch your stuff disappear.

Our Earth: This site offers a nationwide search directory for recycling programs.

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.

Are there vampires sucking the energy right out of your home?  There probably are, and the problem is not one that can be fixed with a handful of garlic.  Vampire power refers to the energy your home appliances, computers, and other gadgets consume when you aren’t even using them.  According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 75% of the power consumed in the U.S. is used when electronics and appliances are turned off.

Here are some likely spots to look for wasted, ‘vampire’ power:

• Televisions
• Rechargeable power tools
• Coffee pots
• Rechargeable vacuum cleaners
• Cordless phones
• Baby monitors
• Stereo systems

If you want to rid your home of vampires, conserve energy, and save a buck, simply unplug anything you aren’t actively using.  If this seems like an inconvenience, plug as many of your home electronics as possible into power strips.  Then you can cut the power to multiple items with just one switch.  Source:  What’s Wasting Energy in Your Home Right Now.

If all this talk about vampires has you thinking about Halloween costumes, the vampire costume above is available at Webhats.

You know, the evidence against buying bottled water certainly seems to be adding up lately.  I read this article over the weekend about a recent California study of bottled water that showed bottled water to be just as contaminated as tap water in many cases.  In fact, upon examining the “purity” levels of  10 different brands of bottled water, the study turned up crazy stuff like acetaminophen, fertilizer, and plastic chemicals.  Yuck!  One major retailer’s store brand water had more than 3 times the California limit for chlorine byproducts.

When you consider this information, on top of all the environmental problems caused by bottled water, has there ever been a better time to purchase  a water filtration pitcher and some stainless steel water bottles? Can you really trust anyone but yourself to filter the drinking water your family consumes?

The Brita water pitcher above filters out 95-98 percent of lead, reduces chlorine, and has a bacteriostatic system for preventing the regrowth of bacteria.  I like the sleek, modern design of this thing (proof that going green doesn’t make you a nerd), and the fact that it will fit in the door of your refrigerator.  The Brita 42632 drinking water pitcher is available at d! Mart.

Here’s another reason to go green when it comes to drinking water– bottled water is 1,900 times more expensive that tap water.  At a dollar for a 20 ounce bottle, that equates to over $6 a gallon.  Suddenly the price of gasoline seems like a bargain! Can you believe we pay so much for something with so many disadvantages?

I think it’s important to remember that don’t have to do an entire green remodel to bring a little green into your life- especially in the bathroom. Organic bath towels are a cozy and earth-friendly addition to any green lifestyle.

The towels above are made from 100% combed organic cotton, which is Skal-certified.  According to Brookstone, organic bath towels maintain their fluffiness and absorbency longer than non-organic towels, because the fibers are subjected to the harshness of pesticides and chemicals. More info on these organic bath towels.

Don’t forget a new towel rack for air-drying your bath towels.  This bamboo towel ladder is a great way to save energy and conserve water because it will help you get more than one use from each bath towel in between washings.  And, it’s made from my favorite sustainable resource!

Pumpkins are probably the best of all green Halloween decorations:  they’re 100% organic, they’re the perfect color for Halloween, and they are nutritious too.  Our favorite pumpkin decorations are Jack-O-Lanterns.  Every year we set aside an evening for making them.  Here are a few tips for carving your Halloween pumpkins:

1) Line your work area with old newspapers.  This makes cleanup easy, and allows you to reuse any old newspaper you have laying around.

2) For help with making the faces on your Halloween pumpkins, go through your kitchen cabinets to find just the right shapes.  Sometimes the bottom of a drinking glass, pepper grinder, or spice container is the perfect shape for an eye, or a mouth.  Just trace the bottom of the container right onto the pumpkin, and carve.

3) For more complicated designs, draw them on paper first, and cut out the designs.  Attach to your pumpkin with toothpicks or tape, and rub on a little cornstarch or baby powder.  When you remove the paper pattern, the powder remains, giving you a guide for cutting.

4) No-carve pumpkins:  Let small children use up scraps of old fabric, buttons, or shapes cut from colorful cardboard packaging by gluing on their own pumpkin designs.

5) What to do with your pumpkins after the carving is done?  For a nutritious snack, you can make roasted pumpkin seeds, or for a sweet treat, make pumpkin pie squares.  Also, used up Jack-O-Lanterns make great composting material.

A study mentioned on the U.K.’s Money News website this week provides evidence that some folks are turning to green living measures purely for financial reasons.  According to the British study by Norwich and Peterborough, 69% of people are more likely to install energy-efficient devices such as kitchen appliances and turn to alternative energy sources than they were one year ago.

What about you?  Are the constant pressures of high gas prices, and soaring energy bills causing you to adopt greener habits and look for energy-saving home products? Whether it’s for economic reasons or otherwise, going green is always a good idea.

Here are a few quick energy saving tips for saving money and living green:

• Set your washing machine to cold water wash.
• Buy an insulated blanket for your water heater.
• Avoid running your dishwasher until it’s full.
• Change your furnace filter monthly.
• Buy a reduced-flow shower head.
• Shut the water off when you brush your teeth.
• Stick to weekly or bi-weekly shopping trips to avoid wasting fuel on multiple trips to the store.

As you search for green Halloween ideas, don’t forget about solar powered Halloween decorations to help create some ghastly fun and a spooky atmosphere for your Halloween party.  With these solar powered decorations, you won’t have to worry about wasting energy, running up your power bill, or adding disposable batteries to landfills.

The solar powered corpse above is 16 inches tall, and holds a solar lantern.  Place the corpse at  ground level to create the look the it is emerging from the ground.  A built-in solar panel charges the included rechargeable batteries during the day, and the lantern automatically turns on at night.  There is an on/off switch if you don’t want to use the automatic feature. The solar corpse is available at Oriental Trading Company.

Here’s more green Halloween décor.  This string of of solar powered LED lights will operate for up to 8 hours from one day of charging in the sun.  The strand of Halloween lights is 26 feet long, and is comprised of 60 individual LED light bulbs that are rated to last 100,000 hours.  I found the solar powered Halloween lights at Improvements for $24.97.