This picture of flowers from our garden in LA was sent to me last night... It makes me less homesick to see what’s happening at home while I’m away.

These are Sweet Peas and a Sunflower from my vegetable garden. So pretty.

Recently I had to get some covers for my patio furniture because my chaises and chairs were getting all yucky. I found these great eco-friendly covers from Empire Patio Covers. They are PVC and vinyl-free. Also, all of their coatings are dioxin free. 

Their products are very reasonably priced as well.

I also found this awesome company, the Billboard Tarp Warehouse. I got one for 62 bucks...not too bad! And we cut it and made several tarps. These tarps are super cool because they are recycled billboards! Since starting the company, they have saved millions of pounds of waste from going into landfills. They call this "Up-Cycling”, which is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value. These tarps have so many uses too – check out their site to see everything you can do with the tarps.
 
I love that I am able to reuse something – and to fill a need with something that already exists by giving it a second life.
 
I didn’t end up buying any of the Empire tarps, but they seem like a good, more eco-friendly way to go than buying regular patio furniture covers.
 
Check them out!

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I recently came across a very cool furniture company, Hudson Furniture Inc., that makes all of their furniture out of salvaged trees or wind/storm damaged trees. I think it's so great to use reclaimed wood rather than cut down trees growing in forests. When I buy furniture, if I don’t buy something used, I only buy new things that are made out of reclaimed wood. I also love the rustic, earthy look so I did some research to see what other companies are out there that also use reclaimed wood and here are a few that I found. But if anyone knows of any cool reclaimed wood companies I'd love to hear about those as well!

Los Angeles

Antico Furniture

Cliff Spencer

Stranger Furniture

New York

Domestic Aesthetic (smaller housewares)

John Houshmand

Varian Designs

San Francisco/Berkeley

The Wooden Duck

Urban Hardwoods

Seattle

Meyer Wells

Urban Hardwoods

There are so many awesome things you can make with reclaimed wood. I just found some great reclaimed wood picture frames on Etsy. I also remember going into a very cool vintage clothing store in the Valley a couple years ago and their clothing racks were made out of reclaimed tree trunks!  It was such a fun way to present the clothes.

In my home I also have a dining room table made out of an old bowling alley lane!  

I also have some reclaimed shelves in the living room, and recently bought a wine rack made of reclaimed wood. It’s so pretty! I need to find a home for it though, because I don’t have space for it right now.  

What have you made with reclaimed wood?

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I just finished shooting a film with Olivia Wilde (who also happens to be vegan) and she just sent me a link to these floor rugs that are pretty cool.

This design studio in Atlanta takes all kinds of carpet scraps and pieces them together to make these amazing Raw Rugs.

The goal is to keep carpet out of landfills, where it can sit for 50,000 plus years. Good job Raw Rugs!  

Check them out and let me know what you think.

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A lot of you have been wondering about ways to make your homes and bathrooms more eco friendly.  An easy way to start is by getting all natural and green cleaning products such as Method, Seventh Generation, Simple Green and some of the ones I wrote about in my earlier posting.

Making your bathroom green is fun and easy!  And the best part...it keeps more green in your wallet!  And who doesn't want that?  Sean Miller, the Director of Eduction at the Earth Day Network, said that, "If the average American household installed low-flow toilets and low-flow showerheads in their bathrooms, they could save up to $60 annually on their water and energy bills combined." Ok, so I know that’s not a HUGE amount of money, but it still counts!  Unfortunately, it doesn’t save that much money because water is inexpensive...I hope that one day water gets its proper value, and costs a lot more. I found a great list of low-flow toilets compiled by TreeHugger.com.

No matter what kind of toilet you have, I have a great tip for you that will save you money and save water!  All you have to do is save a 20 oz. water bottle, remove any plastic or paper from the outside of it and then fill it partially with sand, dirt, pebbles or gravel (if you can’t find any of those materials around your house, just fill the bottle partially with water!).  Make sure to seal the bottle tightly before placing it in your toilet tank.  Then carefully lower the bottle into the tank and put the lid of the toilet back on.  Pretty easy, right?  HERE is a New York Times article about reducing water in your home.  According to this article "A sealed half-gallon water container installed in the tank will save a half gallon of water per flush...a family of five that flushes five times a day each -- the national average -- will save 350 gallons of water each month."  That's a lot of water!

It doesn't stop there though because there are many ways to make your bathroom green.  You can buy towels and washcloths made of organic cotton or bamboo, get recycled toilet paper, and if you really want to get crafty you can make your own cleaning products from common household items like baking soda, lemon juice and diluted vinegar.

If you have a favorite homemade concoction that makes cleaning supplies that you swear by, please share!!

Also, those icky sprays for the bathroom are just gross and toxic.  Let’s face it... When you start eating better, you won’t need to spray the bathroom after you go.  After a while, your poop just doesn’t stink! Ok, just not nearly as bad!  If you do want a spray to use in the bathroom, try to find a nice, natural one... Or you can make your own with an old spray bottle!  Just take water and add your favorite essential oil, and there you have it!

Baby wipes are also not a bad thing to have in your bathroom!  Just find the good, non toxic kind that are all natural, biodegradable, and made with recycled materials. Be careful not to get the kind that contain Bronopol (a preservative ingredient).  It is in most baby wipes, and has been given the highest hazard score by the FDA! Seventh Generation makes some good ones, or you can find another eco, generic brand.  These are good for the planet, AND good for your bottom!

And of course, my favorite tip for an eco friendly bathroom.... Don’t flush!!!! Unless you have to, of course!

And I've posted some photos of these cute toilet seat covers from Toiluxe.  You can get them on Etsy if you want to decorate your bathroom!  They aren't eco, but are just some fun things for decoration, depending on your style.

What are your tips for making a more eco-friendly bathroom?