Martha Stewart Good Things for A Healthy Home Green Guide

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia recently released a special edition magazine from its Good Things for a Healthy Home publication focused on green living. 

The small sized magazine (same size as its popular Everyday Food publication) is filled with 87 different topics all related to living a greener more healthy lifestyle.

Covering everything from which types of meats to buy to choosing the right interior paint this little publication packs a lot of useful information into its pages. 

The guide uses a three tier rating system of "careful, more careful, most careful" on many of the topics it covers giving readers a series of options on how to improve their lifestyle. 

We like the format because it is unimposing and not threatening.  It points out the different options available to consumers looking to improve certain areas and then lets them make an informed choice based on their own values and circumstances.  Using this type of format is particularly effective because it doesn't alienate readers by offering unobtainable solutions as the only option for them to make greener more eco-friendly improvements in their lives.

Available until June 9th for $3.99 this little guide is worth every penny and for many will serve as a solid introduction to making greener more eco-friendly lifestyle choices. 

Way to go Martha!

Squeaky Green: The Method Guide to Detoxing Your Home

Squeaky Green: The Method Guide to Detoxing Your Home (Chronicle 2008), the new guide to greener cleaning and living from Method co-founders Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry goes on sale across the U.S. today.

The book is packed with useful, practical up-to-date tips and suggestions for living an all around greener lifestyle.  It features original content from the Method co-founders and additional helpful tips from eco-stylist Danny Seo.   

Sustainable is Good Products had the chance to read Squeaky Green and found the book to be just the right balance of tips, green anecdotes and important facts. 

Written and organized in a modern hip style the book is clearly aimed at the increasing wave of eco-conscious consumers out there. 
Squeaky Green does a good job of introducing areas of concern to readers and making suggestions about cleaning solutions and types of products to consider.

Going way beyond the basics of green cleaning, the book covers carpeting, bedding, pets, kitchens, the importance of recycling and many other types of products and areas of the home. 

Danny Seo is a perfect addition, popping up occasionally throughout the book with his own tips and ideas.  Seo has worked with Method before and seems to be developing a strong working relationship with the company.

Lowry and Ryan give us cost effective options to greening our living environments often referencing stores like Ikea as good choices for greener options on a budget.

Its helpful to have a resource such as Squeaky Green that is broken down into sections covering all areas of the home, highlighting trouble spots and identifying where a person concerned about living in a healthy non-toxic environment should focus their efforts

The book has been available exclusively through the Home Shopping Network (HSN) until today when it goes on sale across the country.

And for those curious, the book is not a multi page advertisement for Method.  The authors do a good job of not overtly pushing their own products on readers.  Method products are featured in many of the photos throughout the book.  But lets face it, Method has crafted an image that consumers like.  Some of the people buying Squeaky Green are buying it because its by the Method Guys. 

There is something for everyone in this book including Method fanatics like Nathan Aaron who runs the great blog Method Lust. 

The book was made using recycled content and responsibly printed with inks made from soy and processed chlorine-free.

We highly recommend Squeaky Green as a useful and informative resource for the eco-conscious consumer/home owner/apartment dweller. 

Big Green Purse by Diane Maceachern

Diane Maceachern's Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World (Penguin 2008) is a new green book aimed at women.  Focusing on the power of the purse, Maceachern argues women can have significant influence in greening the world if they align their spending habits with enhanced eco-awareness. 

The book is a great resource for anyone not just women who are interesting in learning how to make better environmental decisions with their purchases.  The author covers twenty main areas of common spending including cars, cosmetics, food, beverages, cleaners etc and shows how smart spending and awareness can have a significant impact.  Big Green Purse provides the reader with suggestions of companies to consider buying from and argues its well worth the extra money to buy greener more eco-friendly products.

I found Big Green Purse to be an excellent resource and a great starting point especially if you haven't had much exposure to different areas of the marketplace where buying greener options can really help.  Even the more seasoned green shopper will find Big Green Purse useful as a resource and reference.

Diane Maceachern has a web site Big Green Purse with additional information on the book as well as a wealth of other useful info.