GREEN UP YOUR ROOM
By: Genevieve Ticlo

Turning your room eco-friendly is one of the many ways you can help your environment, your wallet, and your health stay in tip-top shape! Decorating green can mean saving trees, preserving species, and living a clean, healthy life, while still making a bold statement about who you are. Here are a few tips to change up your room, so you can start living in “eco-chic” style!

1. Color-Me-Green
If you decide to recolor your room, look for paints that have a low VOC rating (volatile organic compounds). These paints have harmful odors in them that can cause your head to hurt and can be bad for you in the long-run. Try Benjamin Moore EcoSpec latex paint (www.benjaminmoore.com) in Absolute Green.

Stylish Alternative: Instead of chemically harmful wallpapers or messy paints, try recyclable 23”x27” poster-sized color sample swatches from Yolo Colorhouse (www.yolocolorhouse.com). Each swatch costs under $6 and you can tile them to create your own unique effect. When you change your mind, reuse them as gift wrap or recycle them.

2. Fab Furniture
Instead of going out to buy brand new furniture, try looking for alternatives at your local flea market or thrift store. You can find cute and stylish vintage furniture that is gently used and almost-new, plus you are helping to keep more items from ending up in a landfill and contaminating the environment!

3. Create-a-Floor
Imagine being able to decorate your room with your own, customizable floor rug made from little squares you can mix-and-match, then recycle when you’re done. How cool does that sound? Well, a growing, eco-friendly company named FLOR (www.flor.com) has made it possible! With FLOR carpet squares, you can design your own rug to match your tastes exactly. Each square is made with green in mind, and can be shipped back to the company for recycling when you’re done using them. For something funky, try Toy Poodle in Fluffy Fuchsia ($14 per tile).

4. Sleep Green
By choosing organic bedding, you can be sure you’re sleeping sound on sheets that are safe and eco-friendly. Organic bedding is made from 100 percent organic fibers, so it’s good for you and the environment. Try Ingeo pillows from PB Teen (www.pbteen.com) and organic sheets from Target.

5. Brighten Up
Replace your old bulbs with compact fluorescent ones that will last 10 times longer, and that use only a quarter of the energy! With just one switch, you can stop up to 150 pounds of carbon dioxide from being emitted, and your parents will definitely be pleased with the smaller electric bills. Try GE’s Energy Star bulbs (3 for $8 at Wal-Mart)

6. Freshen Up
Feeling a little stuffy? Try all-natural air fresheners that are bio-degradable. They don’t need to be plugged in, so they save energy. Plus, they come in amazing scents so they not only look great, but they smell great, too! Try Method aroma rings ($8 at Target or www.methodhome.com).

Or try this: Get straight to the source of the stinky odor and try stuffing your sneakers and closed shoes with old newspapers. They are naturally absorbent and will prevent moisture and bacteria from invading your room.

7. Recycling Reminder
Decorate a paper grocery bag and leave it next to the trash can in your room to help you remember to recycle those papers and bottles you would have otherwise thrown out. Then, when it’s full, you can take the whole bag and recycle it together—no hassle, no mess!

8. Go Green — Literally!
What better way to start being a greenie than by adding some real, live green to your room? Growing a small plant on your desk or windowsill will help clean the air around you, and just add a touch of the outdoors. Plant seeds inside old containers, or adopt your very own green pet, like the Nyokki Kitty at Brooklyn 5 and 10 ($10 at www.brooklyn5and10.com). These cute, little, cat-faced containers grow grass hair that you can trim and style all your own.

9. Be an Artist
Instead of spending money on pre-made art, make and frame your own! Remember that menu from your favorite restaurant, or the map of Disneyland you still have in your drawer? Why not make a collage and frame it as a memory of the awesome times spent with your family and friends? Anything works, so you call the shots!

10. Green-in-a-Box
Still not green enough for you? Try EcoHatchery’s Eco Starter and Green & Healthy Homes kits (www.ecohatchery.com). Each kit varies in price and can help your family start saving money and being green. The kits come with instruction booklets and tools to help you conserve water, reduce energy use, and eliminate waste.

There are TONS of ways to green up your room, and these are just a few. Even the smallest things can make a difference. And don’t forget: the most important thing to remember when going eco-chic is to make a statement about yourself and what you stand for. Good luck!