Who says the pantry has to be a catch-all black hole for prolonging that shelf life? That’s what high school lockers are for!

It’s time to take stock in our most commonly used household storage nook, and make it as inviting as a vintage general store (with a modern green twist, of course).

Open pantries offer easy access for the organic gardener and cook, but also should look tidy since they are exposed to your visitors. Mine is en route to the powder room. Yep, that’s country life.

I find it’s easy to arrange …

Tags: apartments , baskets , bins , boxes , bulk food , decor , eco , food , green , home , homes , jars , pantry , preservation , small living spaces , space planning , storage , sustainability , tea

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Everyone’s dishing about how the concept of food trucks has been overhauled. They’re not just parked at job sites to feed hungry laborers anymore, but are taking the high road and giving restaurants a run for their money.

I got a taste of the trend at the posh 50th birthday party of a friend in San Francisco where a taco mobile was stationed at the entrance to the upscale house, titillating guests who lined up to order bean burritos and cheese quesadillas while nursing lemon drop …

Tags: bio-diesel , biodegradable , brunch , commercial leases , crepes , cupcakes , eco , environment , food , green , health codes , hot dogs , Korean BBQ , Los Angeles food , mobile cafes , recession , restaurants , roadside cafes , solar , Trucks , vegan , vegetable oil

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They say it’s a buyer’s market and agents love listing those dwellings with solar panels, efficient water heaters and appliances, good insulation and nontoxic flooring and finishes.

Here are a few easy green fixes for your property to reduce your own footprint in coming winter months while hoping to land an offer you can’t refuse.

1. Upgrade to Energy Star Appliances

The Energy Star Symbol on products such as the …

Tags: appliances , buyer's market , eco , energy efficient windows , energy star rating , green , green light bulbs , home sales , insulation , lead , low toxic paint , programmable thermostats , recession , single pane windows , solar , VOC's , water heaters , windows

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Metropolitan Home is being put to bed for good.

I suffered reflux trying to digest the death of Gourmet, one of four Condé Nast publications closed recently. I didn’t sample the food bible much but felt nostalgic about it as an American institution. I only picked up Modern Bride a few times when plotting my wedding. (I had the main prop but needed flowers and a dress.)

Now, achy-breaky heartburn ensues from Hachette’s news about …

Tags: accessories , ad recession , apartments , broadcasting , Conde Nast , Crackberry , decor , design , Donna Warner , Dorothy Kalins , dwell , eco , fabrics , furniture , Gourmet , home , home magazines , journalism students , Kenny Scharf , Magazines , Metropolitan Home , Modern Bride , Northwestern University Medill School , paper , print is dead , remodel , small spaces , sustain

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Sure, you’re forced to take down the ghosts and fuzzy spiders (news flash: your neighbors are pissed if you haven’t done so), but some of the seasonal elements we put up to get in the mood  should endure until the end of the year, if not beyond.

Here is my list of favorite affordable decorative displays for the festive and frugal in all of us.

1. Lanterns

Rice paper lanterns bobbing outside (with solar lights) or in your rooms make a huge, happy statement. I love the cylinder shapes with Asian motifs like the …

Tags: beeswax , candles , cards , Christmas , coasters , Conserve , decor , decorating , dishes , fabric , fall , flowers , foliate , glassware , green , Halloween , home , house , lanterns , organic , peach glass , photo display , photo walls , photos , pinecones , pumpkins , recycle , reuse , rice paper , runners , seashells , Seasons , sew , stringing cards , table design , Thanksgiving , vintage , winter

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Kaiser Permanente is prescribing big doses of sustainability in the sixth season of its $50 million Thrive ad campaign.

Two new ads – Emerald Cities and Connected – reinforce the health care provider’s commitment to the planet by dramatically reducing paper use – no small task for an industry long married to countless charts and forms. For most of us, being ordered to “Fill this out” is as rote as, “Hop on the scale,” and just as painful.

The Emerald pitch describes how Kaiser is allowing patients …

Tags: advertising , Allison Janey , American health , care , doctor visits , doctors , e-mail , eco , electronic health records , fuel , gas , green , Health insurance , hopsitals , information , Kaiser Permanente , medicine , paper , patients , prevention , radio , reduce , sustainability , television , thrive , trees

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The casting call went out last January, not to big Hollywood agents but to animal shelters and rescue groups across the country.

Looking for four-legged crooners, black and white, who can get along with others on tour, do the old soft paw on stage, and won’t leap off into the audience when they hear the sound of applause.

Dozens of shelter dogs got the parts for the The 101 Dalmatians Musical including Rascal, a puppy with a broken leg found on the side of the road. Like the others, he has …

Tags: animal cruelty , animals , Broadway , Dalmatians , Disney , dogs , entertainment , family , musicals , pets , rescue dogs , shelters , stage , Styx , theater

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Porcelained out? Carve your niche with an alternative sink for soaking up greener materials like certified teak, bamboo, recycled metal and glass and friendly painted ceramics. You can even experiment with poured concrete with 50% recycled fly ash, as seen in the striking orange basin by Jeremy Levine Design.

Here is a handful of other options we rounded up:

From William Garvey’s Fusion Line of handmade sinks from certified teak grown in the mixed deciduous forests of South Asia….

Tags: aluminum , art , bamboo , basins , bathrooms , ceramic , clay , craft , decor , decorating , design , eco , green , home , house , interiors , luxury , metal , poured concrete , powder rooms , recycled glass , rooms , sinks , sustainable , teak

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It may have been published a couple of years ago, but Americans are now catching up to the message of Steve and Annette Economides and are eagerly plunking down their pennies for the hot home economics crash course.

The authors of America’s Cheapest Family have done remarkably well feeding their family of seven on just $350 per month, paying off their first house in nine years and purchasing a second, larger home, buying cars with cash, taking nice vacations, and yes, even socking away …

Tags: American , cars , cash , college , credit , debt , families , fresh , frugal , green , groceries , house , payments , processed foods , recession , reuse , saving , second-hand , vegan

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