Christmas at my house usually goes something like this – kids up early, stockings, BREAKFAST, then gifts. My son is not so into sweets so it’s not like I’m worried about him binging on Christmas candy, but a fast and casual breakfast is just sort of a tradition on Christmas for my family. You get to chill and be together before gifts which is nice. If you do have a kid who will binge on candy early in the day though, breakfast is also extra useful to keep them grounded.

Following is an idea for a quick and fun organic holiday …read more

I used to write a blog called Offbeat Homes, which was awesome fun, especially at Christmas because I’d highlight kooky crazy gingerbread homes. I sort of miss that so I thought I’d post one of the coolest organic homes I featured in years past – the gorgeous organic GingerLotus by one of my old school favorite architects Michelle Kaufmann.

If you’ve got some free time today or tomorrow then this is a special and fun project made with organic goods, and beautiful lines, much like Kaufmann’s real homes were.
If you don’t have quite so much free time on your hands …read more

There are various shades of eco-friendly electronics – choose your green level the next time you need some new electronic gear.

Greenish electronic gear:

Look for electronics that carry the Energy Star label.
If you’re trading up electronics check online to see if the company who manufactured your equipment has a recycling program.
If you can’t find a manufacturing recycling program check with Earth 911 to find a place to recycle your electronics.

Greener electronic gear:

Before replacing broken gear with new gear see if you can fix it.
If you really need to upgrade and your old gear is still good, donate it to a …read more

Green goals are excellent, but there’s no need to go overboard. Starting slow means you can concentrate on making sure you follow through on the little green tasks you choose before you try to build up to bigger goals naturally. Following are four totally easy green goals you can take on for 2010 – they won’t take much time, won’t cost much (if anything), and are a great start if you’re new to green living.

Ditch common paper trails – two common paper trails include bills and notes. You can easily leave these trails behind in 2009. Get some whiteboards, leave …read more

Late last month we heard some bad news about insecticides being linked to autoimmune disorders, and now some far worse news. Insecticide exposure earlier this month resulted in the death of a 10 month old baby and both the baby’s mother, 25-year-old Elizabeth Whitfield, and her 2-year-old son, Kenneth, were hospitalized with severe respiratory distress, also due to insecticide exposure.

Investigators on the case noted that “Whitfield and her children had only lived in the home a short time and she was trying to deal with a serious insect problem.” About half a dozen used insect foggers were found in the …read more

If you’re a frequent Whole Foods shopper than listen up because a holiday baking essential has just been recalled. Whole Foods Market is recalling…

Organic raw hazelnuts, also known as filberts, that were sold in bulk in its stores in California, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
Non-organic dry roasted hazelnuts (filberts) sold in bulk through its stores in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.
Non-organic raw hazelnuts (filberts) sold in bulk through its stores in Oregon and Washington.

The above products have been recalled because they may be contaminated with salmonella, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, …read more

Eariler this year the USDA National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) passed a recommendation for “Solving the Problem of Mislabeled Organic Personal Care Products.” The recommendation urges the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) to make sure that any use of the word “organic” on a personal care product is backed up by third-party certification to USDA organic standards.

Why the fuss?
Thus far, products for your body, i.e. cosmetics, shampoo, lotion, and so on, have not been regulated in any sort of a substantial way. A body care item can claim to be organic, with no viable proof to back it up. Unless …read more

360 Cookware is a newer green cookware on the market and while I haven’t used it yet, so I can’t personally comment, it sounds interesting. According to the company, 360 saves time, water and energy, keeps your food and family away from harmful chemicals, and since there’s no added fat needed (to keep food from sticking) this cookware may even be healthier.

360 works by cooking like an oven using Vapor Technology – i.e. it creates a low but intense heat and then distributes said heat from all sides instead of bottom-up only. The result creates a surround cooking effect that …read more

Being that I like to keep it green (and thrifty) thrift stores are a huge part of my life. I like the eco-friendly reuse aspect. I love paying $5 for a great skirt or pair of jeans. I really adore 50 cent books. Yup thrift stores rock and roll all over the place. BUT how about during the holidays. Is it tacky or cheap to give a thrift store gift? I personally don’t think it’s tacky or cheap. You can find some amazing holiday gifts at thrift stores.

All that said, I don’t think that all thrift store finds make the …read more

The fact that Sony Ericsson is releasing two new greener cell phones is great news for me because I LOVE Sony Ericsson phones. When I first got a cell, hmmm, maybe 6-7 years ago (yeah, I jumped on that bandwagon late) I had no clue which phone to choose. I checked out CNET, as I always do when muddled about tech, and one of the good phone reviews in my preferred price range was the Sony Ericsson. I went with it and the darn thing lasted and lasted for years. When I got another about two years ago I went …read more