Home & Garden Blog

Snuggle Up with Fleece Throws this Winter

colleen — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:57:16 +0000

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.

Eco-Friendly Dishwashers

colleen — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:01:28 +0000

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.

dishwashers, eco friendly appliances

Going Green: Organic Comforters

colleen — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:04:36 +0000

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.

organic comforters, organic duvet covers, reversible duvet covers, wool conforters

Organic Carpet Cleaner

colleen — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:04:48 +0000

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.

carpet cleaner, Simple Green

Use Organic Pots

colleen — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:37:04 +0000

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

organic pots

Go Green: Paint with the Environment in Mind

colleen — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:19:18 +0000

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.

paint

Organic Plant Care

colleen — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:57:30 +0000

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

organic soil, plants

Green Living: Eco-Friendly Gifts

colleen — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:04:53 +0000

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

Black and Decker, BPA free water bottles, Lawn Mowers, water bottles, wool shawls

Going Green: Subliminal Nature

colleen — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:16:01 +0000

When you fall asleep at night, what is the last thing you think about? Do you think about all the stresses of the past day, maybe the movie you just watched with your spouse, or the garbage that you forgot to take out? No matter what you’re thinking about, probably the last thing on your list is environmental consciousness. Yes, you turn off the lights and turn down the fans when you’re going to sleep, but you do this for comfort as much as energy-saving. Maybe, when you wake up in the morning, there is a little thing you can do for yourself to make you think about the environment and appreciate all that it has to offer: and in an ironic twist of fate, I am going to suggest the nature sounds alarm clock.

The world is divided into two parts: those that rely on standard beeps of electronics, phones, or alarm clocks to welcome them to the morning, or those that rely on more natural methods, like sunrise, cocks crowing, or maybe even the dog jumping on the bed, all excited for it’s morning walk. Maybe you don’t have a rooster or a dog and are not reliable enough to wake up from the sun–think about getting a nature sounds alarm clock.

Top nature sounds alarm clock on the market:

Nature Sounds Alarm clock from Target.com: $29.99

Timex Nature Sounds Alarm clock with .9″ digital display at Radioshack.com: $14.99

iLive iC308B Dual Alarm Projection Clock Radio with Nature Sounds and Dock for iPod (Black): $56.64

Shop for more alarm clocks at Smarter.com.

Alarm Clocks, clocks

Eco-Friendly Designs: Cyber-Plants?

colleen — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:28:48 +0000

Remember back in the day when you could customize your desktop to have a cyber friend? Sometimes it was a dog, sometimes a cat, sometimes a paperclip, but either way you had a little friend that told you about updates, software, and gave advice and assistance for the programs you were working on. The cyberfriends have been replaced by stark white search boxes, tool bars, and help menus, and the tasks and tools that these cyberfriends provided have been thoroughly covered and replaced. But what about the need to have a little cyber friend? One that you could care for, feed, water and play with, even for a short time (and even if the cyberfriend didn’t necessarily need it. Let’s face it…does a paperclip really need to have a facelift?)

New on the market: Cyberplants! A real, living plant can be attached to your monitor by the flowerpot and cared for at your leisure. The hardy plants come in patented, artificial soil, and need only 1 tablespoon of water every 2-3 months. But think of all the useful and positive agents of a plant accompanying you on cyber surfing journeys. You can choose from a variety of plants for your pot, from a bamboo plant to a mini palm plant. One catch: this plant item is part of a promotional company and can only be purchased in bulk, the minimum being 125 plants, pots and installation materials. So think of this as a clean, low-maintenance way to make your office space into a greener environment, or maybe a present you can give to your friends for years (and years) to come!

Promotional Cyberplant from Iaspromotes.com: $6.80/each for bulk of 125.

Shop for real plants and seeds at Smarter.com.

plants