Practical Eco-Friendly Substitutions

We all see the word highly-emphasized on a variety of products while carousing through the grocery store. What exactly does "Organic" mean, anyway?

By buying and eating organic, you're not just spending more money on the same products you'd buy that don't have that label. Organic food is made entirely without pesticides adn other harmful chemicals to the plants, animals, or you.

My favorite spot with a large variety of organic products at reasonable prices is Trader Joe's. Their brand of items are usually just as good of a quality as brandname ones, so you can save even more money by choosing the non-brandname.

You can find some very fun (and geeky) gift ideas from Geekware. Everything on the site is some sort of recycled hardware. I recently purchased the circuitboard earrings, which are comfortable to wear and make my look funky. There are also wall clocks made from cds, Christmas ornaments out of circuitboard, notebooks (the kind with paper!) made of out floppy disks, and keyboard keys that are formed into everything from pins to keychains to cufflinks. All in all, they're great ideas to reuse materials that would otherwise fill a dump somewhere and you can show off your dual-personality of geeky, but green.

Dress yourself in only the best. Natural fibers and materials are not only great for the environment, but also for sensitive skin. For a great selection of organic clothing, check out Maggie's. I own a pair of their yoga pants, which now happens to be one of my favorite pieces of clothing. Treehugger also offers some great tips on how to "Green Your Wardrobe."

If you ladies are looking for a way to save the planet, but still live a carefree life, why not check out some "Sexy, Sustainable Swimwear," made from recycled materials. My pick is the green suit from Aaron Chang, but there are also some other great styls to choose from.

Available anywhere from your local hardware store to the grocery store, you can pic up energy-saving lightbulbs. You'll recognize them by their cute little coiled design. These babies can emit the light of a 100 watt bulb, but only using 18 watts.

Also, LEDs are now available to replace some of your classic lightbulbs. Some only take 1 watt! Not all energy-saving bulbs have to be a spiral shaped or a plain colored light... but for those you may want to go to a speciality lighting store.