12/18/10

Many people like the convenience of those new single-serve coffee makers that brew a cup of coffee by using a pre-filled plastic pod. The problem? Millions of those disposable pods end up in the trash every day and aren't biodegradable. Instead, look for refillable pod inserts, which you can fill with your own ground coffee and rinse out when finished. You can use them over and over without any waste.

12/17/10

This holiday season, give the gift of giving back with a TisBest charity gift card. Instead of giving your loved one a gift card that they can use at a store, a TisBest card can be redeemed by the recipient as a donation to the charity of his or her choice. There are thousands of organizations to choose from at the TisBest website; visit www.tisbest.org.

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.