Unfortunately, my hometown of Los Angeles is best known for Hollywood, Malibu, Beverly Hills and traffic. Most of us own cars out of necessity, because it's virtually impossible to get around without one. As a result, there's a car wash on almost every corner and you dare not drive if your car isn't glossy. Just … Continue reading Get Your Car Squeaky Green
Do you know someone who hasn't quite gone green? Maybe they've bought organic food once, or recycled soda cans or plastic bottles on a few occasions. But what they really need is a good, swift"¦kit. Get them started now with these green essentials: This eco-chic canvas tote is stunning and just the right size for … Continue reading A Go-Green Gift Kit for Your *Almost* Eco-Friendly Friend
Your life is green and you do your best to make it an eco-friendly day, every day. So take your eco-friendly intentions to Low Impact Living and try their just-launched Environmental Impact Calculator to find helpful ways to green up your home. This innovative tool provides personalized information to help you lighten your casa's carbon … Continue reading You’ve Got Your Home’s Eco Score…Now What?
I revealed to you my unusual love of laundry in Stay on the Line, and my musings on our general obsession with whitening. Would you believe I'm back to talk more about laundry? I'll get right to the point, lest I start waxing poetic about things like organic towels and green machines. We've all been … Continue reading A Static Cling Solution
You do wash your pillow, don't you? We spend almost 1/3 of our lives sleeping. That's 262,974 hours eyes shut, horizontal and hopefully in a REM-like state of restfulness. That's a lot of time spent with our heads nuzzling the same old pillow. Pillows are one of the most overlooked and neglected of household items, … Continue reading The Proper Way to Wash a Pillow
Do you remember your first Earth Day? Mine was in Washington, D.C. and the year was 1990. I can still feel the energy in the air as my friends and I weaved our way through the crowded Mall toward the Capitol. The excitement was contagious and we were so eager to help spread the message. … Continue reading Not Just Another Green Day
Call me wacky (sometimes) or old-fashioned (a little) or someone with too much time on her hands (I wish!), but I like doing my own laundry. There's something satisfying about separating darks from whites and folding everything just the way I like it. A big part of my laundering "formula" involves avoiding the dryer. I … Continue reading Stay on the Line
You remember it: the commercial of the frazzled woman with hands flailing in the air and a helpless look on her face because her husband and job and kids and pets all need her at the same time. She cries, "Calgon, take me away!" and is instantly transported to a bubbly bathtub where she can … Continue reading Don’t Throw the Bamboo out with the Bathwater
I'm not a parent (yet), but I am an incredibly proud aunt to Jack (almost 3) and Rose (15 months). I had no idea how much love I was capable of until they burst into my life and stole my heart. I would do almost anything in order to keep them safe, happy and healthy. … Continue reading The Eco-Friendly Bottled Water (Toy)
A Sunday morning in Malibu spent window-shopping and sipping coffee with a girlfriend is my idea of heaven. Whether it's the latest designer denim or celebrity eye candy, we always have fun checking out the flavor of the week. It was only a matter of time before toothpaste got its turn. No, I'm not talking … Continue reading A Routine Moment Finds Flavor
Are you one of those travelers who hordes collects the little plastic bottles of shampoos and lotions from hotel rooms? My grandmother was one such traveler, and her collection amassed over 25 years overflowed from under the sink in her powder room" just in case. These outdated vials bother me, not only because their "fragrance" … Continue reading Trend on the Wane: Hotel Toiletries
I lead as nomadic a lifestyle as possible for a confirmed yuppie. The travel bug caught years ago when I landed in Europe with a EurailPass and what felt like an eight-hundred-pound backpack. I was 21 and fresh-scrubbed, just out of college and ready to explore. That was in the late "Ëœ80s. We didn't know … Continue reading Traveling (Carbon) Light
I'm sure you've watched them, if not almost run over one of them, weaving in and out and in between cars. The city cyclist puts his limbs and his life on the line each time he hits the pavement. Thankfully, bicycles have become a more frequent sight during rush hour in this era of gas-guzzling … Continue reading You’re Glowing! Is It All the Exercise?
I believe our culture is obsessed with making white things whiter. From our teeth, to the whites of our eyes, to Aunt Edna's antique linens, we want white! Consider laundry - achieving the culturally-desirable level of whiteness, while avoiding harsh bleaches, blueings, and chemical whiteners is no easy task. I know of what I speak: … Continue reading In a Greener World, Can a Whiter Shade of White Be Had?
Cutting boards and I don't get along very well. They're holding tanks of bacteria, soaking up all sorts of unsightly and unspeakable critters, and they're frequently made of environmentally-unsound plastics. I will risk nicking a finger or scratching the '50s vintage yellow ceramic tiles I adore rather than use a cutting board. That is, until … Continue reading Any Way You Slice It
Kim Derby 