Home & Garden Blog » Green Living

We all want to save a little money while still being festive while we prepare for the holiday season, but how does “green” or “organic” living fit into either of those categories? Sometimes it’s hard in the throes of winter, to remember that greenery, though covered in snow, still survives. I like to pay a little homage to the shivering, icicle plants by dusting them with a little cheer, usually some strands or nets of lights to brighten up the night. It also has some value: the lights are small enough not to add to the light pollution of a city or suburban area, but also help to light the paths in front of your house when it gets dark early during the winter months. You’re doing a service to your neighbors and to your family by lighting their path, and hopefully it dissuades you from leaving all the lights on in your house, if you have a little ambient lighting coming in from the window!

Smarter.com’s helps you find the most festive lighting at the best price this holiday season. From net lighting to colored strands, they have you covered. Here are some of my top picks:

American NetLighting: $18.00

Solar Power LED Halloween Lights - 50 Bulb Strand: $22.95

Shop for more solar powered lighting at Smarter.com.

Walmart.com’s Clearance sale has a perfect selection of outdoor garden and lounge furniture. Think of happier days when the weather was not getting colder every minute–what would you do to be sitting outside, sipping margs with the neighbors in some beautiful teak or wood furniture? Here are some clearance specials to make your dreams come true:

Delahey 6-Piece Wood Furniture Outdoor Set from Walmart.com: $298.00, marked down from $349.00

Bravo Mesh Bench Seat from Walmart.com: $140.00, marked down from $174.00

Shop for more discount furniture at Smarter.com.

Nothing’s better than waking up in the morning and wrapping yourself in something fleece to start the day. May it be your luxurious bathrobe or your comforter, mornings need a little extra padding to get you from the bed to the shower, at least for me. I think there should be fleece mittens for when you have to reach out and turn off the alarm clock–maybe that will give me more incentive to listen to it!

Fleece blankets are one in a million, so make sure you get one that’s worth it’s salt. Here are some of the top fleece blankets to keep you warm and cozy as the weather gets a little bit frigid!

Supreme Heavyweight Fleece Blanket: This day only, $29.99

Available in so many different colors, you can outfit the whole family!

Woven Alpaca Fleece from LocalHarvest.org: $229.00

A bit of an investment, but Alpaca Fleece is worth it. It’s beautiful texture and luxurious feel will make you feel like a princess!

SuperSoft Andes Alpaca Fleece Blanket from Peru, from AlpacaWear.com: $62.99, marked down from $155!

Find discount fleece throw blankets at Smarter.com.

Dishwashers can eat up your water supply if you aren’t careful. Even some of the “economy” styled dishwashers are so monstrous that they take on more water than you’d like! While hand washing and air drying dishes is always the most thrifty and water-economical way to do the dishes, people with big families know that hand dish-washing would be an hourly affair.

Before you start blaming all the problems on the dishwasher, though, take a look at your family’s habits: do you use only reusable cutlery, or do you end up using paper plates and cutlery at the big family parties? Do you use a three different knives to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Do you drink a glass of water and immediately put it in the dishwasher? Think about how you can reuse cutlery before you start looking at the stuffed dishwasher in shame. Sometimes little steps can make all the difference. But if you want to invest in an appliance that will be water-economical and eco-friendly, here are some top products on the market:

Automatic Undercounter Dishwasher, 30 Racks/Hr, Built-In Booster, Energy Star: $3,145.80

Jackson Undercounter, Low Temp, Energy Star Dishwasher: $3,099

Shop for more eco-friendly dishwashers and other eco-friendly appliances.

The weather is getting chillier, especially at night. What can you do to protect your family, and the environment? Think about investing in some organic wool or knit blankets and comforters. Ecosleepshop.kushtush.com has a wonderful selection of organic, eco-friendly comforters and fleece items, check out some of their top selling blankets to make your family warm and snug this season!

Why organic blankets are good:

The animals that the wool is taken from are well taken care of, you are getting a natural product without the polyester or machine processed fabric which may itch or irritate your family’s skin, also a lot of the synthetic blankets are forms of plastic, which make it “meltable” and flammable when placed up against a heater. Talking from experience here, unfortunately.

Top organic comforters on the market:

Organic Merino Wool Comforter from EcoSleep.KushTush.com: $108

Organic Duvet Cover from EcoSleep.KushTush.com: $65.00

Hotel Collection Organic Reversible Duvet Covers from EcoSleep.KushTush.com: $18.00

Shop for more organic bedding at Smarter.com.

Remember all those times you came home from the beach or a muddy day out on a hot summer day? All that mud and muck and sand you tracked into the house is still living in your rugs and carpets. You certainly want to get it cleaned out before the flu season starts so you can have the freshest, cleanest air possible to start the season and protect your family from the get-go. Why not go with an organic carpet cleaner this year, which will be healthier for your family and the environment in the long run? Here are some of the top organic carpet cleaners on the market:

Rug Doctor Professional Carpet Cleaner Package from Amazon.com: $149.95

Simple Green Carpet Cleaner Concentrate: $18.43/gallon

Carpet Cleaner and Deodorizer from Bestvalsup.com: $82.50

Shop for more carpet cleaner at Smarter.com.

We’re all preparing our homes for the tough weather and rainy days ahead, but what about our plants? Think about the pots that you put your plants in, and maybe how much more eco-friendly it would be to house your herbs, flowers, etc in organic biodegradable pots! Waste not, want not. Here are some top organic pots on the market today:

1. 100% Biodegradable Organic Seed Pots from Amazon.com: $8.99

2. Haeger USA Organic Eames Pot from Ebay.com: $24.9

3. Organic Real Easy Seed Starter Kit from Arbico-Organics.com: $12.95

Personally, I am a big fan of the shamrock green color (the little Irish girl in me), and I especially love thinking about painting my newest furniture, walls and fresh exterior walls with some green-spirited, eco-friendly paints. Check out Ecospaints.com for an entire list of organic, odorless solvent products that won’t ruin your health or the health of Mother Nature. We’ve all heard the scares of lead paint and small children and animals, so before we find out the next harmful chemical that’s ruining our atmosphere and children’s health in our very homes, let’s be preemptive and use only eco-friendly paints that have less chemicals in them, in general, than the standard can of paint.

Top picks of eco-friendly paints for fall:

Eco-Friendly Feng Shui wall paint (1 liter): 15.65 pounds (Ecospaints.com is a British store)

Stone and Tile Sealer (1 liter): 15.65 pounds

Gloss Floor Paint (5 liters): 53.20 pounds

Shop through a variety of paint at Smarter.com.

I will never boast to have a green thumb, but I recently became the proud recipient of a basil plant, which brings me much joy and delicious omelet-making ingredients every morning. As the produce prices start to rise as the crops die out and farmers have to dip into previous commodity preserves to keep filling the supermarket shelves, I like to evade the supermarket glut in my own special way by having the basil plant. For just maintenance care, I can have a delicious herb free of charge ready at my disposal and always fresh, which is more than I can say for how much basil would cost me if I bought it every week (about $5 a week).

I only feed my Basil the best purified water and now I want to get into organic soil and potting techniques. Call me a basil purist, but I think every plant would enjoy a natural soil supplement.

Top organic soils on the market today:

Revive Organic Soil Treatment from Lowes.com: $19.97

Evergreen 1 cubic foot organic Humus from Lowes.com: $1.57

REVIVE organic soil treatment spray from Lowes.com: $12.47

It’s not exactly the season of giving yet, but there is never a time to not be bestowing gifts and love on friends and family. And why not take up a campaign for the environment and give everyone gifts that are eco-friendly and will help inspire healthy living? Here are some of the top gift choices and categories from EcoFriendlyGifts.com, a website that aggregates eco-friendly products and gift ideas from other websites and sources, like Amazon.com or Ebay.

Top Choices:

Eco-Friendly Water Bottles: for the active teen or yoga instructor aunt, look for a sustainable durable eco-friendly water bottle. No Nalgenes, which turn out to have a toxic chemical in their plastic. Look for stainless steel or BPA-free products.

Example:

Camelback BPA-Free Better Bottle with Bite Valve from Amazon.com: $17.00

Green Lawnmowers: This is as much a gift to your family as it is to your glutes and calves. Pushing around a basic, green-friendly lawnmower without the help of gas is exhausting! Make it a little easier on yourself with an electic mower:

Example:
Black & Decker LM175 18-Inch 6.5 Amp Electric Mower from Amazon.com: $155.21

Handmade Goods: For your mother-in-law or grandmother, this is a perfect gift: handmade clothing or accessories are gorgeous, unique, and earth-friendly.

Example: 100% Alpaca wool shawl, ‘Heaven’s Gift’ from Novica.com: $79.99