Take one long-haired cat, a bushy-tailed dog, and two active little boys, and what do you get? Well, in my house you get lots of fun times AND a very dirty family room carpet. I’m not one for using chemicals for cleaning anywhere in my home but I like a clean carpet (who doesn’t?!) so I was super excited to try out the new Oreck Halo Vacuum Cleaner. The Oreck Halo not only vacuums up dust and debris like typical vacuum cleaners, but actually kills microorganisms without the use of harsh chemicals thanks to the use of UV-C light technology. If you’re an allergy or asthma sufferer, this vacuum will hold special appeal in that it kills dust mites eggs (up to 90%), which can trigger allergies. Beyond just killing dust mite eggs this vacuum also kills a host of other microorganisms, such as flu viruses, e-coli, mold and salmonella. According to the company, the Oreck Halo’s UV-C light is even powerful enough to kill the superbug MRSA, the antibiotic-resistant bacteria that causes staph infections. Wow! Now for the performance of the vacuum itself… Prior to trying out the Oreck Halo, we had a high-end vacuum cleaner which retailed for more than $400 but I felt the Oreck had stronger suction, was easier to maneuver, and had a better all-floors function. In addition, the attachments were longer and more user-friendly to take out.  My assessment is that the Oreck Halo performs better than expected for vacuuming debris, PLUS it includes UV-C light technology for killing microorganisms. And considering that the floor in your home probably has more bacteria (much more) than your toilet seat, I’d say that the Oreck Halo is worth a look, especially if you are in the market for a high-end vacuum. Or you have a crawling baby. Or you just want your floors to be cleaner than your toilet seat :)

Find It Here: Oreck.com

Until a few years ago, bamboo was, to me, something that grew like crazy in my neighbor’s backyard and occasionally turned up in my Chinese food. These days, however, bamboo is turning up in all kinds of places like flooring, clothing, towels and sheets. Yes, I said sheets. Super soft sheets, in fact, because it turns out that bamboo fibers are very silky and yet strong and durable. But bamboo isn’t just soft and silky and durable. It’s also highly sustainable and renewable, requires no pesticides to grow, is fast-drying, hypo-allergenic and has remarkable natural antibacterial and antifungal properties. I’m thinking bamboo sheets are the ones I’d want to sleep on and the ones we want you to sleep on, too, which is why we’re giving away a set of fabulous, luxurious, awesomelicious Karen Neuburger bamboo sheets to one lucky reader!

Find It Here: BonTon

Win It: We’re giving away a set of Karen Neuburger queen/king-sized bamboo sheets to one randomly selected winner. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter KN5 as the giveaway name and answer the question: Do you have any other bamboo products in your home? Enter by 5/27/09. $130 value. Open to US residents. Contest Closed. Congrats to Michelle!

I love to travel and explore with my family. At the same time I dread it—being out of my comfort zone, being away from my kitchen where I prepare meals that nourish our bodies with good food and our souls with tradition, and stepping into the unknown of chemicals and cleaners used at the place where we will rest our heads.

Since we’ve stopped using chemicals and have been eating real food, we notice it, even the kids do. Walking into a shoe or toy store makes our eyes water with all the off-gassing. It’s amazing what we can subject our bodies to, lack of nutrition, bombarding it with chemicals and disease, and our lovely bodies continue to function. Our family, thankfully, is more in tune so we can make better decisions knowing what’s good and not.

We realize this and are more accepting of the outside world when we travel but there is one thing we cannot tolerate. And you shouldn’t either. When you think about it, it’s an amazing invention that never existed and now has become a necessary element in making a house a home.

Sprays, plug-ins, plug-ins that self-spray, odor neutralizers, air sanitizers, and aromatherapy candles in just the right scent are all there, something for everyone. Air fresheners seem to work to help erase the smells in the room and clean the air, but actually they work on us. The chemicals coat our nasal passages with a film that deadens the nerve endings. They mask the problem and fool us into thinking the room is fresh, the smell we have learned to think of as clean.

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You know I love all things green, right? Green is good. No, actually green is AWESOME. But even better than the awesomeness of green is the awesomeness of green combined with style.  While I love many traditional childhood decor themes, I’m a big fan of nifty modern designs for the wee ones, as well. One shop in particular that makes me swoon is Saplings. They have oodles of  stylish eco-friendly kid and baby decor, all with an emphasis on being chemical-free, organic, fair-trade, sustainably-produced and locally procured whenever possible. Perusing their site is like a little slice of mass-marketed-characters-free heaven, with timeless designs that won’t become embarrassing or uncool as your child grows older. In a culture where everything is designed to break or go out of style in a shockingly short period of time (aka “planned obsolescence“) Saplings is like a breath of fresh, VOC-free air.

Find It Here: Saplings

Win It: We’re giving away a $50 gift certificate to Saplings. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter SAP as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: What is your favorite item in the Saplings shop? Enter by 4/19/09. $50 value. Contest closed. Congrats Katie!

Wouldn’t it be nice to have little reminders around the house to help everyone remember to be green? Not for you, of course, but you know, for the kids or maybe your spouse? I can’t even begin to count how many times a week I have to remind my kids to turn off their bedroom lights when they leave the room and well, it does get a bit tiresome which is why I’m really digging Ecominders. They’re these cool little stickers that you can put all over your home and office to remind everyone to “stick” to being green. Reusable and removable, they help you remember to do things like turn off lights, keep the thermostat at a certain level, turn off electronics when you’re not using them, turn off the water when brushing, use less toilet paper etc. They come in Kids & Schools versions, too. My kids think they’re really neato and are already turning the lights off more often than they used to so I’m giving Ecominders two green thumbs up—one for saving electricity and one for cutting down on my nagging!

Find It Here: Ecominders

Win It: We’re giving away a 5 pack of the Home & Office and Kids & Schools Ecominders along with a reusable tote and an Ecominders organic cotton T-shirt. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter EM4 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: Ecominders donates 1% of their profits to what organization? Enter by 4/15/09. $70 value. Contest closed. Congrats to Stefanie!

When I work in my yard, I always wear gloves. This is partly because I’m kind of prissy and don’t really like getting dirty but also because gloves protect my hands from branches, thorns, stubborn weeds that can cut and of course all the bacterium that live in soil. I learned about all the aforementioned hazards the hard way…by NOT using gloves and thus, I’m now a big fan. Of course, I always wear my husband’s el cheapo grande work gloves and of course, I always swear I’m going to get myself a decent pair. The ones I have my eye on are the West County Gardener Work Gloves. Full of recycling goodness, they’re constructed with a high-tech spandex mesh fabric derived from recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate) beverage bottles that have been ground up and spun into recycled yarn and each pair of gloves removes one 8-ounce beverage bottle from landfill. Only adding to their coolness is the fact that they also make them for kids. The Kid’s Classic glove is an exact replica of the adult Classic Glove, with all the same comfort and durability, but smaller. And cuter. My daughter, who always wants the gloves off my hands, literally, would be thrilled to have her very own and I’d be thrilled because then she could help me pull weeds!

Find It Here: West County Gloves

 Win It: We’re giving away three pair of West County Gardener gloves. The winner can choose from the Kid’s Classic and the Work Glove. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter WC3 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: What is a signature feature of the Work Glove? Open to US residents. Enter by 3/20/09. $60 value. Contest Closed. Congrats Shawn!

Before I met my husband, I never really thought of bird feeding as a hobby or something I would find enjoyable. Turns out a very basic peanut butter pinecone like the one I made in third grade was a simple way to be part of a popular and relaxing hobby. Of course, my husband prefers the more complex bird feeders that prevent squirrels from stealing the seeds but whether you go basic or become an avid birdwatcher, bird feeding is a great hobby for both kids and adults. My young kids enjoy watching the birds fly around and eat from the little feeder attached to our patio (so do my cats, for that matter) and I often find myself slowing down after a hectic day and watching the show. I know…you’re dying to ask what birdhouse is best for your family or backyard, right? Well, for those of us who lean green, a natural edible bird house is a wonderful eco-friendly alternative from those complicated plastic or metal feeders. I especially like the castle bird feeder made from a sunflower seeds, dried apple and orange slices, corn and other delicious treats—for the birds, of course! By providing a yummy little haven for birds to hang out, you get to enjoy nature and the stress relief that comes with it and who doesn’t need more of that in their lives?

Find It Here: Zen Garden Bonsai

When I turned eighteen, my mom gave me a large cedar chest as a gift. She used hers for important documents because cedar prevents mold and mildew, which is great because nobody likes mildew, but I don’t think any of my friends were exactly envious of my gift at the time. As it happens, that cedar chest has proven quite useful for storing a couple of my grandmother’s handmade quilts and keeping them in tip-top shape. Unfortunately, the cedar chest is a little impractical for protecting all my clothes. A more compact alternative are natural cedar and lavender blocks by Cedar Fresh. I know…cedar blocks sound so old school right? But you know what’s really old school? Mothballs. Do you really want your treasured coat, the one that looks great with every outfit, or your child’s heirloom baby blankets hanging out with toxic chemicals like naphthalene and paradichlorobenzene (for that special “fruity” smell)? NO! Using cedar and lavender blocks will preserve your clothes and blankets and other items around the house without any toxins. Also? Cedar Fresh makes their cedar blocks from non-endangered red cedarwood and because of the lavender, they smell really good—naturally. Your Grandma’s handmade quilts (and that awesome coat) will thank you!

Find It Here: Cedar Fresh

I recently became the proud owner of a VitaMix 5200 high performance blender. Yes, I know…it’s a blender. Big deal, right? Well, I’m here to tell you that the VitaMix really is a big deal. For one thing, it’s about a hundred times sturdier than the last THREE blenders I’ve owned, all of which died premature deaths because they were basically el cheapo grande pieces of crap that were never intended to last more than a year or two. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s much greener to just buy quality the first time, especially since it’s not at all unusual for VitaMix machines to last upwards of 25 years. But that’s not all… The VitaMix does a ton of things that make a lot of other appliances in your kitchen obsolete. Like? Let’s see… it blends fruits for fresh smoothies, cooks hot soup from scratch, makes low-fat ice creams, grinds healthy whole grains, makes fresh nut butters, kneads dough hands-free, juice whole fruits and vegetables, purees homemade baby food in seconds, creates lump-free gravies and sauces, crushes ice, chops cheeses both coarse and fine, mills gluten-free grains and beans, cooks scorch-free cheese sauces in minutes, grinds meat, churns fresh butter from cream and most impressive, it CLEANS ITSELF in minutes. Really, it does even more but I know you don’t have all day so let me just tell you that the container is made of Eastman Tritan copolyester which is virtually unbreakable as well as chemical resistant and best of all, contains no BPA—zero, nada, zilch!  So if you’re in the market for a blender that will last and you’re hoping to find something on the eco-friendly side, the VitaMix 5200 has the Green Mom stamp of approval.

Find It Here: Vita-Mix

Around my place, we eat a lot of veggies—especially carrots and potatoes, which means a lot of scrubbing and cleaning of said vegetables. Thankfully, we found the Tampico scrub/vegetable brush by the good people at GreenBoatStuff.com. (This family-owned company has a range of green products, with particular emphasis on boating and watersports, and proudly asserts its Earth-friendly nature in its name.) What I adore most about this rough brush, though, is not that it makes vegetable-cleaning a hundred times easier and quicker than, say, a toothbrush, though it really does; not its great price (a steal at $3.25 plus shipping); and not the health factor of having well-cleaned versus inadequately cleaned veggies. I love the green denominator best: It’s plastic-free and constructed to be as biodegradable as possible, even if it were to accidentally make its way into the marine ecosystem! The bristles are made of Tampico fiber, which is a vegetable fiber from a plant indigenous to Mexico, and the handle is of finished hardwood. A few of the other great things about Tampico are its capacity to store and release water, its resistance to heat and oils, and its abrasiveness, which makes it ideal for other applications on and off the boat and around the house. Although not the sleekest, most fashion-forward brush (but who needs form when you’ve got oodles of function?), it more than gets the job done—sans chemicals!

Find It Here: GreenBoatStuff.com

How much time do you spend in the shower? I thought I was spending about seven minutes until I actually timed it and realized that I was spending closer to FIFTEEN. Ah, the guilt! I couldn’t believe it! I now use a digital Ripple Shower Timer that beeps at me when I’m going too long and helps me wrap things up more quickly. Today we are excited to be giving away a Ripple Shower Timer to two lucky winners! These timers also serve as a digital clock. Cool!

Win It: Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter “RP23” as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: What is your favorite timer style? Open to US residents only. Enter by 12/1/08. Contest closed. Congrats, Sarah B. and Alana!

Remember that song “Rain, rain go away, come again another day?” Well, with the Arbour Rain Barrel, you may well be wishing for the next rainy day, especially if you’re in a drought-ridden locale. Water conservation is a big deal these days and a great way to conserve water for the growing season is with a good old fashioned rain barrel.  The Arbour model is made from recycled food-grade barrels and has a child-proof and mosquito-proof lid so the only thing getting in your rain barrel is, well, rain. And by using a barrel to collect rainwater, you’ll enjoy unrestricted usage and lower bills, too. Happy watering!

Find It Here: Arbour Rain Barrel