Green Products

By Susan Seliger

Do we need more stuff? No. But we all need to eat. And there’s no lovelier gift for friends and family than gathering everybody together – and NOT cooking. Dining out is definitely a splurge, but the beauty of this gift is that the giver gets to enjoy it, too. Naughty, but nice. And if that isn’t the holiday spirit, then you can just put a lump of coal under my Chanukah tree.

So pick an eco-friendly restaurant in your neighborhood, and tell everybody, this is our gift: Friendship, fun, family spirit – and FOOD. There’s no reason not to make it fine food, while you’re at it. So here are the Top 10 Eco-friendly Restaurants that Bon Appéti magazine picked for 2008, where the fish is line–caught, the meat grass–fed, birds are cage–free and the rest is local, sustainable, organic and all-around mouth-watering (and oh yes, healthy).

THE TOP 10 ECO-FRIENDLY RESTAURANTS
1. Primo – Rockland, Maine
2. Firefly Grill – Effingham, Illinois
3. Hook – Washington, D.C.
4. Ubuntu – Napa Valley, California
5. Café Cenizo – Marathon, Texas
6. The Kitchen – Boulder, Colorado
7. La Provence – Lacombe, Louisiana
8. Spoonriver – Minneapolis, Minnesota
9. Blue Velvet – Los Angeles, California
10. Local Burger – Lawrence, Kansas

If none of these are in your neighborhood, go to the Certified Green Restaurant Association and find places that have been certified as green – or are working towards those estimable goals.

For more always delicious food ideas, go to Bon Appetit.

(Photo Credit: Local Burger restaurant)

By Susan Seliger

1. Buy a live tree – the smell beats plastic — and plant it in your backyard come the New Year. If you’ve given up your car in pursuit of the greener life, you clever soul, here’s a good list of sources for live trees online, delivered to your door.

2. Decorate with solar powered LED Christmas lights – They save power and money and are a step beyond plain old LED lights, which are a step beyond the traditional strings. They can range from $20-60, but here’s a source for $19.99 from Solar Illuminations.

3. Use one present to wrap another present — like a napkin or tea towel or scarf around a ceramic mug or box of organic dark chocolate.

4. Choose 100% recycled wrapping paper – or a decorative bag that you close only with a ribbon so the recipient can then easily recycle the bag for their gift to someone else.

5. Unwrap presents SLOWLY – it helps to savor the delicious moment of anticipation AND you can carefully fold the pretty paper and use it again next year.

6. Buy gifts that use no batteries or rechargeable batteries.

7. If you must go the mall, carpool with friends and family – make it into a little party as you travel there and back.

8. Stock the house and the refrigerator with food that is local and organic – it’s fresher and healthier.

9. Tired of STUFF? Give food and local/organic wine as presents. Who doesn’t like home-baked cookies?! No time for that? A bottle of wine from a local vineyard is always welcome. A good olive oil comes in handy, too – and the mono-unsaturated fatty acids are great for health-conscious friends. Whatever the yummy food, if the label says organic and local, it’ll show you really care.

10. Save money decorating the house with holiday cards – hang a string from one corner to another and hang all the beautiful cards you’ve received from the line – like a laundry line. It’s colorful and festive and a reminder of what the season is really about – nurturing ties to friends and family.

(Photo credit:

By Susan Seliger

What better holiday present for yourself – or a friend you like to drive around with – than a cute, fuel-efficient, smart fortwo car? (This gift will be appreciated by four-legged friends as well. ) Even better — you may be able to get it free. You could be one of the 12 lucky winners in the QVC 12 Days of Christmas Sweepstakes who will drive one away.

And if you don’t win the green car, you still have over 1000 chances to win another form of green — free shopper dollars worth anywhere from $50 to $250. The deadline is 12-12-08.

(Photo credit: Smart Car Blog)

By Susan Seliger

With the housing market in the toilet, and the EPA saying that water-saving appliances may help sell your house faster (see last post) , we thought you should know about this unusual hybrid.

Take two essential household appliances and stick them together, and what do you get? This entry to the Greener Gadgets Design competition: the Washup washing machine-toilet by Sevin Coskun.

OK, it’s a little scary – especially if you find yourself waking in the middle of the night to pee. But it’s intriguing, right? I mean, would you have thought of saving water by plopping your washing machine on top of your toilet so that the gray water from the washing machine can be used to flush the toilet? No, you wouldn’t. But Sevin Coskum did and entered the concept into the Greener Gadget Design competition. Check out the other clever gadgets. And thanks to the blog, Home Appliances Rule! for pointing out this unusual plumbing marriage.

One good feature: it will certainly teach the gentlemen in the house to close that toilet seat lid — at least before they take the clean clothes out of the washer. Or oooops, you may have to do that load of wash over again.

(Photo credit: Home Appliances Rule!)

By Susan Seliger

Yes, those are my happy feet, propped up, enjoying all the time and energy I have saved (OK, I didn’t really have a maid to fire — you’re looking at her feet right there) by following two simple tips.

Tip 1: Take off your shoes as you enter your house.

Tip 2: Slip on these goofy slippers. And, as Nancy SInatra said (in a different context, which is why she has boots AND a bank account and I have these slippers) Start Walking!

As I learned from an excellent post by Ellen Honigstock, a green architect in New York City, the single best way to improve the quality of air in your house and keep germs out, too, is simply to take off your shoes so you don’t track in all the filth from the outside world. And Ellen knows about green cleaning — she’s a LEED Advocate for the NYC chapter of the US Green Building Council. Sounds so obvious and simple — but do you do it? No and neither did I, until now. (Thank you, Ellen, I’ll spread the word.)

Now once you’ve slipped off your shoes, get really smart — slip on these microfiber mop slippers. Forget about hauling out the mop, bending over, and scrubbing. Just grab a green floor cleaner, spray occasionally as you move, and do what you usually do — like walking straight to the refrigerator to pour yourself a glass of organic wine. Presto, you’re cleaning. (You may even be able to chew gum at the same time, which would qualify you to run for vice president.)

Bonus Tip 3: Here’s the real key to effortless cleaning: get a pair of these slippers for everybody in the family, your roommates — and an extra for guests. Put up a discreet sign that tells everybody to take off their shoes upon entering, and leave the slippers by the door. You’ll get everybody in on the green-cleaning act faster than you can say “Tom Sawyer does not really want you to whitewash the fence.” Now that’s my idea of energy-efficient cleaning.

Mop slippers: Green Product Details

So Good: These slippers have removable. microfiber mop soles that you can wash — and keep wearing. My only complaint is that some of the slippers seem to come in women’s sizes, not men’s. But they’ll fit most people — definitely kids. And I suspect, the companies will see the error of their ways and bring out men’s sizes any day now (especially if we let them know how we feel about sharing the chores).

So Green: Use, re-use, save money and energy. What could be bad?

So Here: You can find them at a number of places, in different colors: Plaid and Blue slippers: Only $5.95/pair at Colonial Medcial: and about $5 at Taylor Gifts and As Seen On TV. Green slippers: At Sur La Table (in pink, too) for just under $10. Pink Slippers: At Amazon.com, for under $10 per pair:

Let me know if they work for you.

FIND OUT MORE ON GREEN CLEANING AND SAVING $$:

Clean, Green Freebie: Win an Energy-Efficient, Water-Saving Washer and Dryer

By Susan Seliger

Get off to a fresh, clean-green start this fall – you might win a free Duet steam washer and dryer from Whirlpool. Using steam, the washer eats up 77% less energy than traditional machines and 73% less water. It comes in cool colors and with accessories that organize the whole laundry room. Clean up your act – and enter to win.

By Susan Seliger

The average college student spends an average of $500 per semester — $1,000 per year for those who couldn’t afford the math textbook — on college textbooks. And according to green math, that adds up to about a tree per year per student lost in creating those texts.

Why buy when you can rent???

Go to Chegg.com to see how you can rent new textbooks at half the cost. They pay for the shipping. Or you can download saving even more. Bonus– they plant a tree for every text you rent.

To find out more on this topic, go to a great post by Julia Pergolini at RiverWired:

Photo credit: Blog : Rarely Coherent –Where Sentences Are Done Good

By Susan Seliger

Scientists have found that one of the biggest sources of nasty and dangerous bacteria in streams and seawater — from Florida to Maine and clear out to California — is from dog waste. No fellow dog lovers, all that poo is not great fertilizer for the grass. It is disease-carrying waste that washes into the streets after a rain and works its way through the storm drains and into your local waterways.

Green-up cleanup tip:
It’s simple: just pick up after your pet. What a good dog, what a good dog. Pat Pat.

Green Products:

1. Here’s a new product to take care oF your dog’s business: A Pooper Scooper box –made out of a 100% recycled material that biodegrades in a landfill in about 20 days, according to the manufacturer: Skooperbox.

2. For a variety of pooper scooper devices you can buy, from a few bucks on up, check out this pet supplies site: Pet Food Direct.

3. And for biodegradable plastic bags you can use for the task, check out BiobagsUSA or Ecoanimal.

Photo credit:http://www.flickr.com/photos/danagraves/54026470/.

By Susan Seliger

Time to get the kids — and yourself — ready for Fall. Tired of that heavy old backpack? Here’s one from Progressive Kid – a web store with some of the best eco-friendly stuff for your favorite small fries — that will work for you, too.

It’s Good: It’s smaller than the average pack (1300 cubic inches/22 liters capacity; 1 pound 9 ounces/.71 kilograms weight). Plus it’s got these features:

• Single zip front panel access with mesh and fabric utility pockets
• Pass-through access to internal pocket
• Two recycled PET mesh side pockets
• Recycled spacer mesh harness and back panel
• Recycled removable web waist strap
• Recycled PET stretch woven cell phone/electronics harness pocket
• Recycled PET main body fabric
• Recycled Regrind buckles
• Internal front panel organization
• Internal laptop sleeve
• Smart key clip that works with electronic keys

It’s Green: Made by Osprey, known for their earth-friendly ReSource series from 70 percent recycled materials. Also the color names alone are worth it: Rainforest green or glacier blue.

It’s Here: Progressive Kids Store

It’s: $59

Photo credit: ProgressiveKid.com