“What is that?” I asked my housemate.

He was doing his online banking, and next to his pad of scribbled finances was a small rectangular box of bright plastic, about the size of a credit card. He opened it up and slid out a few credit cards.

“Who needs a wallet?”

Who indeed. There’s the fact that most wallets and purses use leather, and our feelings are mixed on that issue. But how about functionality? How many modern money-holders are too big to fit in our pockets – or get too big, because the larger capacity they are, the more they accumulate stuff? Opening my wallet (yes, leather), I find stubs, used train tickets, receipts, brightly-colored paperclips and a gift-card with no credit left on it. Junk.

In contrast, the Jimi Wallet – “the wallet for people who hate wallets” – holds your credit cards, a driver’s license, a few reward cards and nothing else (although you can also buy a version with an external money-clip). If you always know where your keys are, hang the Jimi on your key-ring! It’s rainproof and sturdy, solid yet light, and it’s both recycled and recylable. As a further eco-incentive, the manufacturer invests 1% of profits in environmental causes.

A wallet that actually fits in your pocket. Now that’s progress.

Images: Branch

Don’t be hating on Scrooge. There might have been some green blood flowing through that iniquitous heart of steel.

True, Ebenezer was a clueless curmudgeon, hardened by celibacy and tortured by a dysfunctional relationship with money. An abusive boss and cynical social recluse, he shunned the caroler’s tin cup and community connection, holing up in his work space and bed chamber, destined to die unloved and alone.

In short, he acted like an ass – an ass with some weird-ass dreams. That’s what you get for eating kidney pie before bed, you old meanie. Any good EcoSalon vegetarian could have told you that.

But in revisiting the new 3-D animated Disney remake of A Christmas Carol with my 10-year-old daughter, Lauren, I detected traces of green in Scrooge’s social gaffes. Once we got past the unnecessary harshness of the production, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring the agile Jim Carrey, I found a new appreciation for Scrooge’s commendable frugality.

He boasted a spare old house with no central heating and a vintage wardrobe. He steadfastly refused to associate personal happiness with material accumulation. Anyone who subscribes to Ad Busters (including my husband, Edwin) applauds these traits.

It is no coincidence the book, America’s Cheapest Family, is becoming a favorite read as the nation’s recession drags on. We yearn to learn how to be tight wads, too, and not to part so easily with our hard-earned cash.

True, Scrooge also withheld giving emotionally, but it can be challenging giving of one’s soul when its casing has been neglected for decades. A dearth of sex can make us stingy. I’d share my thoughts about this with you, but first I need some sex.

In terms of his anti-social life, I can’t say I blame him for rejecting his nephew’s festive fetes which encouraged insensitive guests to join a rousing guessing game of Charades at someone else’s expense.

There are no excuses for how the boss man treated Tiny Tim’s nice dad, Bob Cratchit, forcing him to work long hours and holidays at a poor wage, except for the fact I see this all the time in the American workforce as over-worked retail cashiers and migrant workers suffer at the hands of the profit-hungry corporate machine.

Perhaps the best argument that Scrooge was not just mean, but also rather green, was his strict no gift policy, a trend that is catching on as a rising number of celebrants choose to pass on amassing more junk they simply don’t need.

Some, like my friend’s 8-year-old son, Samuel, need more prompting than others. His mom, Susanne, convinced him to throw an “eco birthday party” last week (below) with paperless invites, no presents and a fun craft project of constructing a solar car.  In the end, she says, he got the message that sustaining is better than receiving.

Other friends of mine turning 30 or 40 or 50 are happily forgoing gifts and stating so on invitations with notations that say stuff like, “No presents: Your presence is all we need.” There was a funny Curb Your Enthusiasm addressing the issue at a party for an injured Ben Stiller, who was peeved when Larry David took him at his word and nixed the gift. At least old Scrooge withheld with conviction.

Who decided honoring one another requires spending money on new things? Here is a cashmere sweater and a diamond heart pendant to say you are special. Here is an electric razor, a Snuggie, an iPod, to make sure you know.

If you don’t agree Scrooge was a tad green, you might concede that the moral of the Dickens tale qualifies: Giving is a state of mind.

Giving from the heart, not the pocketbook, is the true message of Christmas – the message articulated by Christ and Buddha and other teachers who demonstrated how to be a kinder, gentler, carbon mass.

When Ebenezer turned the corner that fateful Christmas morning and became decidedly present, his new-found sense of positive Karmic energy was the gift that touched his community, even more than the massive goose he bought for the Cratchits or the cash donation he pledged to the needy. A re-birth is always something to celebrate, whether you’re talking about an old dog like Scrooge or the beloved planet.

This is the latest installment in Luanne Bradley’s column, Life in the Green Lane.

Images: Disney, Luanne Bradley, HBO

Welcome to The September Issue, a frockumentary chronicling the genius behind the fattest ever edition of Vogue, weighing in at over four pounds, reaching 13 million readers and boosting the sinking morale of the $300-billion global fashion industry.

I don’t know about you but I don’t like my documentaries contrived any more than my fashion. Albeit entertaining, this one by R.J. Cutler smacks of high level spin and pretense.

Adding to the “entertainment value” was an art-versus-bottom dollar subplot pitting the painfully bored Vogue chief Anna Wintour against brilliant, model-turned-photo stylist Grace Coddington, both British veterans who have been with the magazine for more than 20 years.

Coddington makes a statement with her unkempt orange mane and naked, aging face, an appearance which defies everything that lets Vogue survive, namely stick-figured, cover-girl celebs with flawless airbrushed faces who are posed like Barbies in lay-outs specifically engineered to sell fashion.

True, it’s always been about the sales, but four pounds of retail pitching might be overkill.

Coddington cringes throughout the film as she battles her nemesis Wintour. We the audience tend to root for the vulnerable underdog in the power struggle as the boss eliminates various elements of Coddington’s romantic fashion spreads at her whim – images labored over with great attention to lighting and detail to add depth to the 2007 September book.

One comes away with little empathy for the emaciated Wintour, who, so taken with herself as a removed icon, keeps her trademark goggles on while observing the indoor runway shows. Guess she figures she has seen it all so missing a few nuances of color and texture shouldn’t be a big deal. Her vacant expression dares the wizards behind the curtain to try and impress her.

If Coddington is the magazine’s soul, Wintour emerges the cold-blooded business brain going through the tedious motions but never really responding to her vibrant environment. Never mind that hundreds of talented, unemployed journalists are waiting in the wings for that chance-of-a-lifetime job monopolized by Wintour for two decades.

Appearing even more bored that the overblown caricature portrayed brilliantly by Meryl Streep in Prada, Wintour seems desperate to pad Vogue and her paycheck at any cost – even resurrecting fur on the cover in the 90s to save the dying trade.

A longtime Peta target for her Cruella Deville attraction to pelts, Wintour is pompous in her disregard for the mission of animal rights groups who have fought hard to sensitize humans to animal cruelty and the absurdity of slaughtering  for fashion’s sake alone. Recently, she told Sixty Minutes she needed to get security to protect her from anti-fur militants. She insisted she likes fur and that is the only reason she wears it. Right.

I find the most staged scene in the film is Vogue’s annual meeting in Paris with the movers and shakers of the retail world, such as the head of Neiman Marcus, who nudges Wintour to wield her influence to get couture houses to speed up delivery of gowns to an ever-increasing and demanding clientele. Hogwash! There was no increasing demand for $15,000 gowns even prior to the recession, and the only demanding clientele is the celebrity stylist crowd that manipulates its clout to borrow treasures for a day.

The only message I came away with is that it might be time for Wintour to hang up her Warhol wig, glasses and venti Starbucks paper cup and give someone else a shot at salvaging her doomed fashion rag. Perhaps it should be someone like Grace, who embodies her name while clinging to what matters most to fashion visionaries and fans – the process of creating and wearing desirable, three-dimensional art.

Aluminum Cans
I’m a soda addict, and I can go through a 12-pack faster than a roll of toilet paper. Even if you only drink a couple throughout the week, add your significant other or roommates into the equation, and the cans can pile up pretty quickly. Instead of tossing them in your recycling bin, bag up your plethora of cans and bring them to your local recycling center for some extra cash. You can also take them to a reverse vending machine, as long as they’re not crushed.

Plastic Bottles

The same goes for plastic bottles. Keep in mind that the majority of recycling centers pay by the pound, so save gas by accumulating as many as possible before taking a trip.

Glass Bottles

In addition to aluminum cans and plastic bottles, you can also bring glass bottles to a nearby recycling center or reverse vending machine to get money back.

Printer Cartridges

Hang on to your empty printer cartridges and send them in to be recycled by eCycle Group or similar programs. While you’re at it, get your office in on the action, too. You can also bring them to a nearby Staples, but you’ll receive store credit instead of cash.

PCs and Laptops

Computers become obsolete quickly, and that means more outdated electronics in the landfill. But, it doesn’t have to be. Send in your old laptop or personal computer to Gazelle or search online for similar sites to get money back.

Cell Phones

My puppy recently mistook my cell phone for a chew toy. When I told a friend, she told me that I could send it in to Buy My Tronics for cash – even if it’s mangled beyond recognition.

iPods or MP3 Players

So, you upgraded to the iPod Touch, and you’re wondering what to do with your old MP3 player. That’s an easy one; there are a number of web sites that pay you to send it in, including You Renew.

Car Batteries

If your car battery goes dead, call the company you bought it from to determine their policy. Since dead batteries can be reused to manufacture new ones, many companies will pay you to bring your it back.

Digital Cameras

Get cash for your old digital camera by sending it to Gazelle or other similar programs.

Game Consoles

Have you outgrown your game console? Even if it’s broken, you can still send it in to Buy My Tronics or similar sites for cash.

Calculators

Sure, that heavy graphing calculator got you through accounting classes in college, but it hasn’t seen the light of day since. Get money back by sending it in to You Renew or similar programs.

CDs and DVDs

Trade them in at a local music store or send them in to sites like Second Spin to receive cash in return.

Books

Sell your old textbooks and novels to Cash 4 Books or similar programs.

Feeling really resourceful? You can also recycle…

Copper
Salvage copper from singed electric cords, leaky pipes and other sources, and bring it to a scrap metal center for cash. Chances are, what you manage to recover is worth more than a bag full of cans and bottles.

Brass
Like copper, brass is worth more than your typical recyclables. So, turn rusty old hinges, door knobs, plumbing fittings and more into cash at your local scrap metal center.

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What? You want more already? If 20 Things To Do Without Spending A Dime just wasn’t enough, and you’ve worn our Economy-Conscious Dating Guide thin (nice work!), check out these tips. I’ve racked my brain for even more things you can do without money, because even in penny-pinching times, you deserve to have fun. So grab this handy guide, alone or on a date, and do something free!

Photograph your meals. Find out just how appetizing (or not) your food really is. You can do two things with this: lose weight or make art.

Whistle at the birds. Nothing chauvinistic about this. I mean whistle at real birds, when you’re at the park or taking a walk in the woods. Learn to imitate the birdcalls and see if you can get them to talk back to you. Extra points if you do this on a date. Totally cool.

Strip poker. Need I say more?

Make a time capsule. Gather a few small trinkets and mementos related to your current life and write a some lines about what you’re doing now and where you aspire to be in the near future. Put everything in a glass jar and bury it in the yard (or in the back of your closet). Now mark your calendar to dig out this treasure in a year.

Be a photographer. Even if you don’t think you have the skills, act as if! Every trip to the laundromat or the market can become a chance to scour the seemingly mundane landscape for little bits of beauty. With the ease and instant viewing of digital photography, what have you got to lose?

Visit a friend. Pretty simple. Chatting over tea in the living room costs nothing and nourishes your soul.

Write a letter. Remember snail mail? I hope you haven’t lost the art. Track down someone’s mailing address, and use colored pens on funky stationary to write the most wonderful letter you can imagine. Delight in their surprise at receiving your artistic love on paper.

Start a blog. About anything! The more specific to your life, the better. Whatever you do the most is what you can share the best with the world. Blogs are not irrelevant, as some people might have you think. Recent world events have shown that social media matters. From now on, we are the media.

Go for a full moon walk.

Write secret love notes and plant them in your honey’s medicine cabinet, underwear drawer, pillowcase, tote. If you’re single, write “secret admirer” notes and hide them around the office so everybody thinks they’re the recipient of a sweet crush. Just make sure you don’t get caught!

Pick an assignment from Learning to Love You More.

Sit on a park bench and feed the birds. This is what I call kickin’ it old school. Extra points for cloud gazing. Extra extra points if you do this on a date.

Learn exotic phrases in your favorite foreign language (the library, my favorite free place, is the best resource for language books and CDs). Tape the phrases up around your house and learn them well enough to pepper them into daily conversation. Impress your friends, and better yet, impress yourself!

Re-imagine reality with a friend. Simply pick a place you’re not too thrilled with and verbalize what you’d prefer. “If I were Queen of the World, I’d take that noisy intersection, tear up the pavement, use the chunks to build raised garden beds and plant my favorite vegetables. Let the drivers get out and walk.” Kids are great at this kind of thing; let’s take a hint. Besides, we can’t recreate our world if we can’t dream it up first.

Perform random acts of kindness around your neighborhood. Weed your neighbor’s garden on the sly, or pick up some trash. Leave an anonymous bouquet of flowers for the new mom across the street, or a small bag of groceries for the elderly lady whose husband recently died. This is a great idea for a date as it’s a good indicator of the merit and integrity of your love interest.

If you live anywhere with sand, build a sand castle.

Volunteer to walk dogs at the Humane Society. A happy dog provides instant gratification and it’s a fun thing to do with your sweetie on a beautiful day.

Swing in a hammock. Do nothing else. No reading, no texting, no tweets on the iPhone. Just swing and look up at the branches, the birds, the clouds. Continue for at least one hour. Bliss, at no cost!

Write poetry. Good poetry. You are not too cool for poetry, I promise, plus it’s not as easy as you think. Use the wild freedom of ee cummings for inspiration and do the English language (or any favorite language) proud.

And of course, finally – and it bears repeating – give someone a hug!

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I’ve learned the best way to find earth-friendly products at a discount is to surf the web. My most recent find: Ecobunga! A well-stocked portal of green deals, sweepstakes, coupons and downright free green goodies.

We link shoppers to great bargains and prizes while helping companies get the word out about their eco-friendly products and services, says their website.

After only a few moments I found deals on:

Seventh Generation products – buy one, get 50% off the second

Simple Shoes for as low as $10

40% off of a home wind generator system, and free shipping

10% off of the purchase of an electric bicycle from Currie Technologies

Bulk savings on Eden Organic Foods

Save a buck coupon for Knudsen Organic Juices

There are also contests to win items such as:

Sigg reusable bottle

A Ford Fusion car

Bamboo Sheets

Eco Mist cleaning products

The Modern Vegetarian Cookbook

Good luck, and let us know if you come up lucky!

Image: AMagill

Many people in business are secretly hoping the recession will kill off the growing popularity of green issues. Some others are hoping not so secretly, among them the delightful (not) Michael O’Leary of Irish budget airline RyanAir, who had this to say in February last year:

In many ways we would welcome a chill or something even colder. We would welcome a good, deep, bloody recession in this country for 12 to 18 months. It would be bloody good for the industry. It would help see off the environmental nonsense that has become so popular among the chattering classes.

In reality though, environmental issues are not going to go away, and the recession is as much an opportunity for environmentalists as a threat.

Brands that indulged in greenwash or sold a green veneer as a lifestyle gimmick are bound to suffer in these straitened economic times. I think (hope) that discriminating customers with money to spend will continue to seek out truly artisanal eco-friendly products. It’s the brands clambered on the bandwagon in an exploitative, non-genuine fashion that will suffer. I must admit I laughed at AA Gill’s scathing review of Daylesford Organic in London. On the face of things it sounds like a case in point, though I’ve never shopped or eaten there, so I reserve my judgment.

Right now it’s the value-for-money proposition that chimes with the general public. That’s probably why Rachel’s, an organic dairy brand in the UK, recently dropped the word “organic” from its brand name. Many customers regard organic produce as a luxury that they can’t currently afford. Rachel’s is still certified organic – it’s just no longer called Rachel’s Organic on its packaging.

In the battle for hearts and minds, environmentalists can also focus on selling a value-for-money proposition. Even in these tough financial times, people do still care about the environment and are paying attention to green issues. They are just looking for a way to do it without blowing the family budget. The good news is that frugality goes hand in hand with green living.

Environmentalism at its heart is not just about what you buy, though that’s important, but fundamentally about buying less. You don’t really need that new iPhone – and if you are tempted, you might want to check out this amazing photo gallery on Treehugger showing the shocking truth about where the raw materials came from.

It’s not all about deprivation, though. EcoSalon has loads of great ideas for how to save pennies and the planet without compromising on style.

Some simple ideas that will save you money and help the planet include:

Cutting down on your electricity and natural gas consumption. Turn off lights, switch appliances off at the wall, turn the central heating off completely for summer. Simple but effective.

Drive less and instead catch public transport, cycle or walk.

Use the library or book exchange websites rather than buying books.

Barter more generally, not just for books.

Can’t afford to go to the farmers’ market or buy organic brands in the supermarket? Don’t give up on organic food but instead sign up for a vegetable box scheme – you’ll get fresh, seasonal food at great prices. It’s actually often cheaper than the conventional produce in the supermarket. Or grow your own – whatever your space.

Reduce meat consumption and cook more vegetarian food – EcoSalon posts great vegetarian recipes if you need inspiration.

Practise good home economics and use up food. Remember that multi-buy deals in the supermarket are not such a great deal if you have to use it all up by the next day.

Mend your clothes or have a clothes swap. And skimp on dry cleaning.

Holiday close to home or take the train.

And, here are even more ideas. I’d love to hear from you so please share your best ideas for frugal green living in the comments.

Meanwhile, you might take a certain schadenfreude from knowing that RyanAir plummeted into the red after failing to hedge effectively on fuel prices last year. O’Leary’s latest plan to make money is to charge customers to use the toilet on board the aeroplane.

Image: AMagill

Gardening is hot, hot, hot. And why not? Planting a few seeds on your deck or in your backyard yields delicious, organic results – and money savings, too. Besides, April is National Gardening Month! You know the basics of how to start your own vegetable garden, but where do you go from here? Here are some crops that even the least green thumbed among you can tackle, and tips on how to make them flourish.

Tomato

Originating in South America, this plump red herbaceous perennial is rich in nutrients like niacin, potassium and phosphorous, antioxidants like lycopene, anthocyanin and carotene, and vitamins A, C and E. Tomatoes can add a juicy shot of flavor to a variety of dishes, such as salads, sandwiches and pasta.

After the last frost of winter has thawed, pick a spot in your yard that receives ample sunlight and test the soil’s pH level – you want between 6 and 7. (To increase the Ph level, add lime. To decrease it, add sulfur.) Spread compost over this area and mix it with the soil. Dig a hole for each seed, leaving at least a foot in between for growth, cover them and firmly pat down the soil. Water them with a spray bottle a couple times per week.

Radish

Existing in shades of red, purple and white, these root vegetables were first cultivated thousands of years ago in Europe. Radishes are a great source of potassium, folic acid, magnesium and calcium, and are commonly used in salad dressings or as a garnish for salads.

Radishes thrive in soil with a pH level of around 6 or 7. Till a sunny patch in your garden and plant the seeds ½ inch below the soil’s surface with one inch of space between each. Water them lightly every couple days. Radishes are fast growers and should be ready to pull in several weeks. Don’t wait too long, or they’ll begin to deteriorate.

Zucchini

In the late 1800s, spontaneous mutations of summer squashes yielded the first zucchini in Italy. Typically shaped like a cucumber, this yellow or green vegetable is low in calories and chop full of potassium, folate and manganese. Zucchini can be boiled, fried or steamed as a tasty side or stuffed and baked as a delectable entrée.

In a mound of composted soil a foot high and a couple feet wide, sow several zucchini seeds. Space each mound approximately 3 feet apart, water them heavily every other day and wait for them to sprout in a couple weeks. They should be ready to harvest about a month later.

Beet

Evolving from wild plants in the Mediterranean, the beet, or beetroot, has a fleshy root that can be boiled and eaten plain, tossed in a salad or used to make borscht. Betaine, one of the primary nutrients in this deep red or purple vegetable, is known to improve cardiovascular health.

Clean and strengthen the seeds by soaking them in water at room temperature for a day. Plow the soil and remove any stones from the top 3 feet. Plant each seed 2 inches apart and water them at least once every day.

Carrot

This biennial root vegetable was first domesticated during the 10th century in modern-day Afghanistan. Rich in vitamin A, antioxidants and dietary fiber, the carrot’s orange color is a result of the carotene it synthesizes when growing. Carrots are equally delicious as a healthy snack, in a side of steamed vegetables or even baked into a cake.

Leaving several inches in between holes, dig less than an inch deep and plant a couple of seeds in each. Make sure that the soil stays moist but remember to water the carrots less as they begin to reach maturity.

Spinach

Early forms of this annual flowering plant were first found in the ancient world on the Indian subcontinent. High in both iron and calcium, this green leafy vegetable is eaten plain, cooked in a quiche, used as a pizza topping and made into a chip dip.

Turn over the soil with compost and plant seeds less than an inch deep, placing them at least 2 inches apart to give room for growth. Sow the soil a couple more times in the first month and keep this area well-watered.

Peas

Dating back to the Neolithic Age in Jordan, Syria and Turkey, peas grow in the seed-pod of a legume. A good source of vitamins A, B and C, these small green spheres can be roasted for a tasty snack or thrown into stir-fries, casseroles and soups.

Cultivate the soil with nutrient-rich compost. Keep in mind that your soil must drain well in order for peas for flourish. Space each seed several inches apart and sow them one inch deep. Freshly planted seeds require ½ inch of water every week, while more mature plants need a full inch.

Pepper

Native to Central and South America, these green, yellow, red or orange vegetables range in flavor from spicy to sweet. Containing nutrients like thiamin, folate and manganese, peppers can be stuffed with rice and meat or give salads, salsa and pasta a zesty kick.

Till the soil with both compost and Epsom salts, which will make it rich in magnesium to help the peppers develop healthily. Since they grow best in warm soil, sow the seeds a foot or more apart in raised beds. Water them frequently, keeping the soil moist, or they may taste bitter once harvested.

Lettuce

Enjoyed in ancient Egypt as an aphrodisiac, lettuce is a good source of folic acid and vitamin A. Used as the primary ingredient in most salads, this green leaf vegetable, of which there are dozens of common varieties, can also be stuffed with various ingredients to make a lettuce wrap or top sandwiches, hamburgers and tacos.

When cultivating the soil with nutrient-rich compost, break up any chunks and remove debris. Make sure that seeds are planted between 8 and 16 inches apart and water them every morning. Avoid doing so at night because this could cause disease.

Onion

Archaeologists have traced the first known onions back to the Bronze Age in early Palestinian settlements. Rich in dietary fiber, folate and vitamin C, these bulb-shaped vegetables add flavor to an assortment of foods, like dips, soups, salads, casseroles and much more.

Plow the soil a foot deep and get rid of debris. Use parasitic nematodes to prevent maggots and cutworms from destroying the crop. Plant the seeds a couple centimeters deep and several inches apart. Weed this area frequently but gently and provide them with about an inch of water every week.

P.S. Bring out that green thumb with the complete guide to composting and tips for healthy soil.

Images: Ron1478, Manjith Kainickara, clayirving, whitneybee, Nikki L., colorline, ms.Tea, Mzelle Biscotte, John of Austin, bcballard, Darwin Bell

Source: wikipedia

Going green – we hear it so often, but what does it really mean to go green? In some cases it’s about much more than making a global impact on a local scale: it can also be a way to save money during a recession, try something new and learn through doing. From self- to home-improvement, design to decor, here are dozens of carefully chosen, essential ways to craft an eco-friendly lifestyle that are good for you, your pocketbook and the planet.

Overall Strategies for Personal Sustainability in a Recession

(Image via: Tracy Olsen)

Personal Sustainability in a Recession: There is only so much we can do to control the world around us so the best place to start going green and saving money is in your own life, home and expenses.

Specific Sustainability and Money-Saving Tips: Once you decide on general strategies for going green you will need these – an arsenal of 25 essential tips for actually making your life greener.

Daily Ways to Go Green: Sustainable options stare us in the face every day, from how we travel to how we transport our foods and work with what we have. Here are some common-sense tips for going green daily.

Giving Green: Eco-Friendly Presents on a Budget

(Images via: RobLee and ArtzyViva)

Cheap and Eco-Friendly Gifts: You don’t want to come off as a cheapskate, so hide your frugality and do something good by giving a green gift that still fits within your personal budget.

Giving Meaningful and Green Gifts: The kind of gifts we give say a lot about who we are as people. Sure, there are thoughtful object gifts but you can also give of your time, money and more.

Green Gift of Your Time: Want to give something but don’t have the funds? Well, one great way to help the world and save money on presents is to give the gift of your own time and energy.

House and Home: Making Use of What You Have

(Image via PageDooley)

Reduce, Reuse, Remodel: So, you are closing in on the end of your remodeling project but you have run out of money. Here are some ways you can still make the most of your planned interior redesign project.

Recycling Around the House: When most of us think of recycling we imagine tossing something into a box that is whisked away – but there are many things you can creatively reuse around your own home.

Even More Upcycling Ideas: So many things got thrown away casually when they could become something entirely new with little or no effort – try to upcycle before you recycle.

Eco-Friendly Fashion: Affordable Green Apparel  Strategies

Stylish Second-Hand Stores in the US: Saying yes to second-hand clothing is a great way to go green and find fashions that won’t be pushed on you at the mainstream stores.

Make Clothing Last Longer: We all have our favorite clothes and shoes we had to lose to wear and tear, so like good health care you can and should take steps to prevent problems before they become too big to handle.

Wash Less, Save More: Wash your jeans a little less often and save the equivalent energy of turning off thousands of light bulbs – a fairly simple way to save money, time and energy all at once.

Sustainable Consumption: Money-Saving Food and Water Tips

(Image via: HLK)

High Food Prices Explained: Why is food so expensive and, more importantly, what can you do to save money without sacrificing your favorites or cutting down on quality?

How to Eat Well on a Budget: Cutting back on your grocery bill does not have to mean eating Mac-and-Cheese or otherwise compromising the quality and taste of your meals.

Cheap and Safe Non-Organics: The idea of buying only organic fruits and vegetables sounds nice in theory but in practice it isn’t necessary. Here is a list of safe-to-eat conventional versions.

How to Stop Wasting Groceries: In a recession especially it becomes important to make the most of what we have – particularly if as much as 1/3 of your groceries may be going straight into the garbage.

Water-Saving Strategies and  Tips: Cutting down on our use of water is only going to be more important as this vital natural resource becomes the center of increasingly many power plays around the world.

Reduce Waste: Reuse Everyday Household Goods

(Image via: Jenna Carver)

Keep Fruits and Vegetables Fresh: One of the best ways to save money is to be less wasteful – and one of the biggest sources of food waste is your fruit-and-vegetable drawer.

Reuse Old Make-Up Brushes: There are so many things that we throw away on a regular basis that can be repurposed quite easily and successfully for other projects – this is just one very good example.

Reupholster Your Sofa: A great DIY project, reupholstering your sofa is a way to save massive amounts of money you might spend on new furniture while also reducing your waste.

Mulch Leaves to Reduce Waste: One of the most painful things to see in the Fall is the number of big plastic bags filled and waiting on the curb to be taken away – when they could be composted right at home.

How to Green Your SUV: It sounds like an oxymoron – what, you ask, could a green SUV possibly be? However, if you are stuck with one of these fuel-suckers you can at least mitigate its damage!

Green DIY: Sustainable Make-Your-Own Home Projects

(Image via: Phil Garlic)

DIY Green Home Projects: There are a lot of ways to go green at home but some are a lot more fun than others. From sun jars to milk paint, here are some particularly nifty and unusual ways to keep it green.

DIY Chemical-Free Cleaning:  Standard chemical cleaners are not only smelly and expensive, they are also often about as far from green as you can get. Check out these cheaper and better alternative cleaners.

DIY Non-Toxic Milk Paint: Yes, you read that right – you can create your own paint right at home and, best of all, it is not toxic and made from an everyday material you surely have at hand.

DIY Laundry Detergent in 5 Minutes: Have a few minutes and an urge to do something good for yourself and the world? Save money, stop using chemicals and make your own green laundry detergent.

DIY Wood Polish: Creating eco-friendly wood polish is a lot easier than most people realize. Why go out of your way to buy something expensive at the store when you can use leftover lemons instead?

DIY Soy Candles: Soy is useful for so many things – but did you know that it is also ideal for creating candles? Make your own soy candles in a few simple steps at home.

DIY Homemade Curtains: Making your own curtains at home does not mean you have to have curtains that look homemade – here is a great way to go about it while still preserving your sense of style.

DIY Eco-Friendly Facials: Once again, here is a way to not only go environmental but also save money by doing it yourself. Some of these tips are so old they have been forgotten by many others are fresh and new.

DIY Pesticides and Fungicides: Commercial solutions to pests and fungi are often expensive, not to mention being environmentally unfriendly. Here are some easy do-it-yourself home solutions to these common problems.

Main image: Sarah Parrott

Yikes. Fashion writers all over the web are referring to “penny pinching,” during this week’s New York Fashion Week as “eco.”

We sort of get what they mean.

You mean like not being able to get models and themselves there for their favorite show of the year and not wasting carbon emissions on the drive or flight? Perhaps.

Maybe you mean the electricity they never spent on their hotel room to painfully go over the runway show one more time because they couldn’t afford to get to New York? Sure, eco.

Like all those designers trimming the fat at their events in attempts to save money but still trying to heavily showcase pieces consumers and buyers can’t live without?

Eco? Try survival of the fittest.

According to a Reuter’s article, “Many designers are opting for lower-cost presentations – installations where guests wander among models who are fixed in place – rather than high-priced runway shows.”

In a perfect world, these penny pinching designers would only factor in eco when it came to recycling backstage and by utilizing sustainable fabrics. Being cheap was never part of their plan.

Throwing the word eco around is dangerous business. And comparing it to being (as defined in the Webster’s New Riverside Dictionary) a stingy person or a miser is a double slap in the face for the designers that did make it and who are now broke for months to come.

Eco connotes the positive so let’s keep it that way. Although it often does enable us to save money, that’s just one of the many by-products of it.

Image: littleamandie