Happy Chrismahanakwanzakah!

So the Jack-o-lantern is in the compost and the Thanksgiving meal is probably still in your tummy...and before you know it, the holidays are among us. That's right---it's time to start shopping, decorate your home and celebrate the season with family and friends. But before you put up ole' Tannenbaum or take out the Menorah, consider how you can be a little more environmentally responsible this holiday season.

Instead of purchasing standard taper candles for your Menorah, kinara or Christmas decor in general, investigate options for cleaner candles made of beeswax or soy. Conventional candles contain additives that my stain fabric and petroleum-based ingredients that create a dirty burn. Beeswax and/or soy candles burn much cleaner and will still make your "holiday of lights" sparkle and glow. You can also consider creating your own candelabrum if you are in need of one with old plumbing hardware, wine bottles or different-sized candle holders. Read More!



EBooks

Reading is a universal pleasure. Instruction manuals, novels, cookbooks, blank journals, children's pop-up books, and biographies line the shelves of houses, apartments, offices, and schools around the world. Yet producing those books takes a tremendous amount of energy.

Paper manufacturing and printing, binding, and shipping the finished product also generates devastating air and water pollution. As sad as it is to give up the pleasures of reading on paper, e-books may just be the ideal alternative. E-books can be bought online and read using mobile devices, such as the Kindle (from Amazon) or the or the Nook (from Barnes and Noble). Unlike computers, these e-readers are designed with electric ink displays (which don't require backlighting), so you don't suffer from eye fatigue after looking at the screen for too long. Read More!

Second Chance Toys

Welcome to my beauty column! We will devote this space to a new product category for the month, be it body wash, nail polish, or bath salts. We'll let you know which brand outshines the other in the categories of safety, environmental responsiveness, packaging, practicality, and results so that you can make informed choices about what you slather on, dust on, and lather up with. This month, we take on nail polish.

When I was a tween, painting my nails was a Friday-night ritual. I'd pull out my square Lucite case, which held all my supplies-a cuticle pusher, a nail file, a buffer and toe separators (for my pedicure) and loads of little hot pink, orange, purple, even blue bottles. I'd paint away on my bed, on the floor, at the kitchen table.

Fun for me. Not for mom. "Woo! It smells in here!" she'd say. Then she'd open the front door and wave it back and forth like a fan. "You know, that smell's no good for you. You're breathing that in." Read More!