Image by Muffet (via Flickr)

Valentine’s Day is coming up in just under two weeks, but if you are anything like me, you haven’t quite had a chance to finalize your plans. Should you give flowers? Candy? Exchange cards? What about green or eco-friendly Valentine’s gifts? Well, there are many different ideas to choose from and many ways you could go, but let me give you a few of my favorite eco-friendly ideas for Valentine’s Day:

1) If you are going to go the traditional route e.g. chocolates or flowers, go for the organic variety. I highly recommend Equal Exchange when it comes to organic chocolate. They have chocolate bars (which are currently on sale until Feb 14th), organic dried berries and nuts, organic hot cocoa, organic chocolate and coffee gift bags, etc. You can even get free-shipping (UPS ground in the contingent U.S. only) if you enter the code: chocolatelove. Go for the chocolate/coffee gift bag….a great eco-tasty choice!

When it comes to flowers, California Organic Flowers is a nice choice as they have a wide variety of organic flowers, with many great options under $50. If you want to make your own living bouquet, take a look at this video from California Organic Flowers as they provide some helpful tips on doing your own arrangements.

2) Get away for the weekend. If you are one of those people who likes to get away for Valentine’s Day weekend, how about a trip to the new Aria™ Resort & Casino at the CityCenter in Las Vegas? The Aria is LEED® Gold Certified and features smoke-free walkways, floor to ceiling airflow (to help remove smoke from their casino), energy-efficient lighting, bicycle valets and much, much more. While you are there, don’t forget to relax and indulge in the Aria’s spa services including a heated-stone massage or unwind and breathe in the air from their infused salt room.

If you are looking for a tropical rainforest type get-away, one of the ones on the top of my to-do list is the Daintree Eco Lodge & Spa in Australia. This eco-lodge is located in a 30-acre rainforest valley in Daintree National Park. Their guest rooms are ecologically-friendly treehouses and since they only have 15 of them, you’ll want to book early.

3) If you can’t take time away or would rather stay closer to home, you can do a day trip to a local eco-friendly or green spa. Spa Index has a list of eco-friendly spas you can choose from. (Hint: many of the spas on their list offer discounts for first-time customers.)

If a spa day at home is more your cup of tea, check out these at home spa tips and recipes. You can easily turn your Valentine’s Day into a spa day, without even leaving the comfort of home!

4) If you decide to stay in, make a meal for you and your significant other. What’s nice about making a meal at home is that you control what goes in your meal. You can include fresh or locally-grown fruits/vegetables, pick out a great organic or vegan wine and design your meal so it’s just right for you.

For example, you could start off with a tomato bisque soup,  make a simple grilled BLT panini or a Butternut Squash Enchilada for your main dish and end off with some chocolate-dipped strawberries. But, if you are hoping for romantic evening, you might want to add one or more of these aphrodisiacs into your meal.

5) For those of you with kids, a creative eco-friendly idea for Valentine’s Day is to get outdoors. It doesn’t cost much, it’s a nice way to get some fresh air and a wonderful way to get the kids (and family) to fall in love with nature again. If weather permits, you could pack a picnic lunch and enjoy a meal outdoors. If not, then maybe just a walk…look at the trees, do some bird-watching, maybe take some pictures or pick up some beautiful fallen leaves. Whatever you choose to do, reconnecting with nature is a wonderful thing to do on Valentine’s Day!

6) Make your own Valentine’s Day cards/gifts. Rather than going out and spending between $1.00-$5.00 on a Valentine’s Day card, just make one. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have something lying around that they can use to make a Valentine’s Day card. You can take that junk mail you got or an old magazine and cut it up to make a heart-shaped valentine. You can even use the fallen leaves you and your kids collected to make some creative leaf rubbings or press your leaves/flowers onto a votive cup to make a beautiful candle holder.

Well, those are some of my favorite eco-friendly ideas. What are your favorite eco-friendly ideas for Valentine’s Day? If you have a favorite gift, idea or site you think other readers should be aware of, please let me know. Enjoy your eco-friendly Valentine’s Day!

When someone starts talking to you about solar, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Well, if you’re like most people, you probably think of the solar panels that are installed on homes and businesses around the world.  But, solar panels aren’t just for homes anymore. These days there are many creative ways people are using the sun to power up. You can find anything from solar backpacks to solar cell-phones and chargers to solar cookers to solar powered bicycles, cars and more.

Do you consider yourself solar-minded? Do you have a favorite solar powered gadget? What is it?  Here are a few creative and/or odd solar gadgets for the solar-minded individual:

1) Solar Powered CoolerBot: If you were hoping this was a solar powered beer cooler, I’m sorry to let you know it’s not. But it is a very cool robot made from a cooler. It was designed to be used for nature photography and surveillance. It’s rugged, water-proof and built to withstand the outdoors to help you get that perfect nature shot.

2) Solar Powered Water Bottle: That’s right….it’s a water bottle by day and a lantern by night. I know, it’s not exactly one of those jump up and down about gadgets. But if it works, it’s something that might come in handy while out camping or on an evening hike.

3) Automower® Solar Hybrid: The Automower® is like a Roomba® for your lawn. While it may be a little bit of a hassle to set up, it is the world’s first fully-automated lawn mower that is in part powered by the sun. During the day the solar cells help increase mowing time between recharges.  On top of that it comes with a timer and anti-theft alarm (so you don’t have to worry about the neighbor snagging your new mower). This is definitely not your daddy’s lawn-mower!

4) Sun Oven® (aka a solar oven/BBQ): This is a great solar gadget for people who enjoy the outdoors. Rather than hauling out and firing up the BBQ, only to deal with all the smoke, flames, etc., you just pull out the good ‘ole sun oven. It apparently requires only minimal sun to bake, boil or steam foods including meats, vegetables, breads, soups, etc. Your food won’t have that “cooked on the grill” taste, but that doesn’t mean it won’t taste good. Just let the sun do the work.

5) Solar Panel Mat: Just what any outdoor person needs, right?! Well, if you truly are an outdoors-type person then yes. The solar panel mat is a simple, flexible and easily transportable method of getting energy in a pinch. Whether you need to charge your cell phone, your laptop, your camera, your car battery, etc. the solar panel mat is the gadget of choice. Just lay it down and start charging.

6)  Solar-powered bra: This gadget is designed for the seriously solar-minded female to promote clean energy and eco-awareness. The solar-powered bra can be used to power a variety of electronic devices including cell phones, i-pods and even its built-in “chest-mounted electric billboard”.  Then as an added bonus, it comes with a pair of re-usable drink pouches. Interesting concept, but do you think it will catch on?

So, if you are a truly solar-minded individual, then you might want to get more information on some of these solar powered gadgets.  You may find they are right up your alley. Let me know what solar-powered gadget is right for you!

Photo by Optical illusion (via Flickr)

First of all, what is a New Year’s resolution?  A New Year’s resolution is commonly defined as “a promise that you make to yourself to start doing something good or stop doing something bad on the first day of the year” .  Therefore, when it comes to making New Year’s Resolutions, you probably aren’t surprised to learn that some of the top resolutions include losing weight, traveling, buying a house or a car, finding love and making more money. But how did New Year’s resolutions start anyway? And what about resolutions that are also good for the environment?

Well, the history of making New Year’s resolutions it is traditionally believed to go back all the way to 153 B.C. when Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar.  A two-faced god, Janus was able to look back on events of the past and also look forward to events of the future. Because of this, Janus was regarded as the ancient symbol for resolutions.  The Romans also named the first month, January, after Janus since he was considered “the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and entrances”.

So with the start of a new year came the start of new decisions, the resolving of old disputes and the determination to somehow improve one’s life over the coming year.  These days many people’s resolutions are based on their actions over the past year….what things do they feel bad about? What things do they want to change?  What things do they want to start doing that they didn’t do before? It is a chance for each person to reflect on themselves and their actions and make decisions to improve their life.

If you are looking to make some New Year’s Resolutions that can be good for both you and the environment, here are some of my favorites:

1. Grow your own organic herbs/vegetables.  This can also be tied into eating healthier.  If you grow your own herbs and vegetables you don’t have to worry about chemicals put on them, you know what you are getting and you couldn’t ask for fresher produce.

2. Cut down your vehicle’s harmful emissions. Get an electric vehicle or hybrid vehicle. If you can’t afford to get a new vehicle, do something to cut down your vehicle’s harmful emissions like using a proven fuel additive t0 lower your emissions.  Also, if you have never used public transportation, make a resolution to leave your vehicle at home a few times a week and give it a try.

3. Be more aware of your water usage.  Just resolving to be more aware, will probably help you cut down on your water usage.  I know when I pay attention to my water usage, I use less.

4. Involve your whole family in energy conservation.  My 4-yr old loves to make sure lights are off and wants to be sure she isn’t wasting power. She’s even got her little brother turning off lights when he leaves a room.

5. Spend more time outdoors. Go for a walk, take your kids to the park, go camping, go to the beach, go for a nature hike, explore someplace you’ve never been, etc.  Getting outside and enjoying nature is good for you and the more you become aware of nature, the more you will respect it and help ensure others can enjoy it too.

6. Donate items you don’t need/use.  How many items, whether food, clothes, kitchen supplies, etc do you have lying around your house that you don’t actually use?  Why do you still have them?  Try something, go through and donate all the things you don’t actually use.  Holiday items aside, if you haven’t used something in the last six months are you really going to miss it?  If you won’t, then donate it.

7. Volunteer.  Helping a good cause or helping others in need is a smart resolution. Giving to others should be the spirit year-round, not just during the holidays. So much can be accomplished with just a little donated time from each of us.

8. Use natural cleaning products. Instead of using chemicals to clean your home use natural cleaners. Natural cleaners are better for you, your home and the environment.  They are a smart resolution all around.

9. Decide to make at least one energy-efficient change to your home this year.  Whether you just want to do it to save money or you want to do something better for you and the environment or a combination of both, check out the different options available to make your home more energy-efficient.  Then follow through and make your home a little more energy-efficient in 2010.

10. Buy less/use less.  One of the most important ones, from my viewpoint.  Starting with this resolution alone, you could jump-start the rest of your New Year’s resolutions.  It helps when it comes to losing weight, when it comes to saving money, helps be more environmentally-aware, etc.

Have you laid out your New Year’s resolutions? Are any of these on your list?  You know….January 1st, 2010 is only a few days away! I would love to hear what resolutions you have decided upon to help you and the environment around you –  Happy New Year!