Do Just One Thing

12/16/10

Many people like to decorate their fireplace mantel or other parts of the house with store-bought fake snow, which is made with non-biodegradable plastics. While the greenest solution is to forgo the artificial winter wonderland altogether, the next greenest tip is to look no further than your linen closet. Rip open an old bed pillow and use the polyester fill inside as snow. It's easy to pull out clumps and decorate, and it won't create a big mess either.

12/15/10

A Christmas dilemma: real or fake? Which is the greenest? While an artificial Christmas tree may seem the greenest because it's reusable, it's the loser here. Most fake trees are made from petroleum sources and are manufactured overseas, using loads of fuel to ship halfway around the world to your home. A real evergreen tree is fully biodegradable, grown on land that might otherwise be used for development and 100 percent recyclable. If you can, go real.

12/14/10

Morning commuters listen up: If you turn on your car to warm up and defrost your windows, reconsider it. The fuel you are wasting to heat up the car could easily be saved by using an ice scraper to manually chip the frost and ice off instead. Plus, you'll warm up and get a mini workout in the process, too. A bonus tip: place a flattened piece of cardboard on the windshield at night to prevent frost or ice from forming in the first place.