Make Your Home Green!

Danny Seo was literally born on Earth Day, and he hopes you’ll celebrate his birthday by taking some small steps to make your home environmentally friendly. America’s leading Guru of Green is the author of numerous books about the environment and hosts a national show called Simply Green on Sirius Radio. Seo hopes to inspire you to GO Green with some super suggestions for home improvements. Don’t sweat the small stuff! It pays to really think about the energy hogs in your home, like major appliances like the refrigerator. You should replace your fridge if it’s more than 10 years old; it’s probably using twice as much energy today than the first day you plugged it in. Just look for this logo to find the Energy Star appliances; it means it’s the most energy efficient in its category and will save you money in the long run, too! It’s time to do something good for Earth Day: recycle your rechargeable batteries! Now, we all know rechargeable batteries are good for the Earth since you can charge them over and over. But eventually, they lose their charge and need to replaced. At many stores, they have these collection boxes from the non-profit Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation. Just drop off your old rechargeables in these boxes and they’ll get recycled into new metal products! It’s so easy and a great way to celebrate Earth Day! This is a bright idea, literally! We’ve all seen these compact fluorescent lighbulbs; they last up to 8 times longer and use up to a 1/5 of the energy of traditional lightbulbs. That’s the good part. The bad part is that sometimes the light is too harsh. So here’s one of my eco-style tips: Use a darker lampshade. A black lampshade diffuses the light and also looks so chic with just about any lamp. Now you’ve updated a lamp and can take advantage of the money-saving compact fluorescents! Win-Win! Now, nobody likes cleaning, right? But these eco-friendly cleaning products form Method are my absolute favorite and can help make housekeeping a bit more fun. I love these microfiber towels; they literally grip onto dirt and bacteria and are machine washable, so you can use them over and over! And these different cleaners are biodegradable and affordable and smell so great: like grapefruit, cucumber and lavender! Now if you’re planning a major kitchen renovation, I always think flooring is a great place to go green. Look at these pre-finished bamboo and cork floors. Both are eco-friendly flooring options that not only look great, but are affordable, too! These are comparable in price if not less—to hardwood! So ecological is economical, too. So, just remember, to celebrate Earth Day, hop in your hybrid car and head to your local appliance store to Go Green. Whether you want to do something big like a green kitchen makeover or just pick up some cleaning products, it’s important to GO GREEN! Happy Earth Day! More about Danny Seo: Environmental lifestyle expert Danny Seo calls his eco-friendly way of living Simply Green. Through his bestselling books, his how-to lifestyle lectures, weekly Sirius Satellite Radio program and his companion TV show, Danny Seo continues to share his creative ideas that has made him America’s leading lifestyle authority on modern, eco-friendly living. Born on Earth Day in 1977, Danny has championed on behalf of the natural biodiversity of our planet from a very young age. On his 12th birthday, he founded the organization Earth 2000 with just a few friends and $23. By his 18th birthday, he transformed the grassroots organization into the country’s largest teenage activist charity spearheading worldwide campaigns on behalf of the environment. Today, Danny, 29, encourages America to live a greener lifestyle. His lifestyle book Conscious Style Home (St. Martin’s Press; 2001) chronicles his renovation of his parents’ Green Hills, Pennsylvania home. Using easy-to-find eco-friendly materials, the beautifully photographed book received rave reviews in The New York Times, Elle, Food & Wine, Elle Decor, and USA Today, who raved “Say ‘environment’ to Danny Seo, and it’s as if you’ve punched the word into the search engine Google: Out roars an avalanche of ideas and references that threatens to scramble your brain.'” His brand new books Simply Green Parties and Simply Green Giving showcases Danny’s unique take and approach to stylish green living. Both books feature lush, colorful photography and clear, step-by-step instructions along with Danny’s secret tips and how-to information on living the Simply Green way. Danny’s popular weekly Sirius Satellite Radio talk show, Simply Green with Danny Seo, offers seasonal advice, tips and how-to information to listeners nationwide. From planning an organic baby shower to making green and gorgeous gifts for the holidays, the show offers everything you need to know to live Simply Green. As Editor-at-Large of Country Home magazine, Danny pens a monthly column for the magazine and produce feature stories for the magazine’s 7.6 million readers. Each month, his “Fresh Thinking” column features clever and easy ideas to recycle anything into gorgeously chic home accessories with quick and easy tips that prove green living can be gorgeous living, too. Danny also assists some of Hollywood’s biggest celebrities as an eco-stylist. He dresses actors and actresses in environmentally-friendly fashion, consults on the renovation of their homes, and helps them raise money for their eco-charities. Danny has been named one of “40 Under 40” to watch by Crain’s New York Business and in an honor of a lighter note, one of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People in the World.” He stars in a nationwide TV public service announcement campaign airing on HGTV and TLC encouraging Americans to recycle their old cell phones through a nonprofit program called Call2Recycle. A popular speaker at colleges, corporations and special events, Danny has given hundreds of keynote addresses including the College of William & Mary, and The State of the World Forums and the National Kitchen & Bath Association. In May 2006, he gave the commencement speech to the University of California’s Berkeley graduating class.