Welcome to another installment of Friday Favorites!  Here, you’ll find three items that help my family in our quest to be green and healthy.

Let There Be Light

Since most of the United States has switched over to Daylight Savings Time, we can expect to enjoy more hours of sunshine each day.  This is great news for those wanting to soak up more Vitamin D and chase those nasty Winter Blues away.  However, it’s still necessary to use light bulbs around the house.

This cool Mini Lynx Fluorescent, energy saving light bulb casts warm, soft light but at a fraction of the cost.  This bulb is the equivalent of 60 watts, and lasts for an amazing 8,000 hours.  That’s 10 times longer than normal incandescent bulbs!  They are eco-friendly, Energy Star qualified, and use 75% less energy.

I especially like these bulbs from www.webstaurant.com.  You can buy them in lots of 10 for $3.44 per light bulb.  Because they last so long and use less energy, you’ll be money ahead.

Quench the Thirst, Without Wasting Water

I absolutely love my sprinkler can.  Yes, seriously.  This is one of my favorite things and I’ll tell you why.  I enjoy having flowers and plants both indoors and out.  And just like people, they need water to survive.  However, I’m always looking for ways to conserve water and energy.

Watering cans are great because you can keep them outside to collect rain water and water from the downspouts and then use them for flower and plants.  It’s a great water to conserve water and energy and keep your flowers and plants healthy.

A Tisket, a Tasket.  I Love All My Baskets

I’m not talking about the expensive Longaberger baskets (which are pretty and have a pretty price tag as well).  I’m talking about the baskets that come from thrift shops, and gifts that you receive.  I have baskets all over the house and on my porch.  Some are functional and some are decorative but I love them all.

I have a large one that I use for a laundry basket and another I use to store home movie cassettes and mini photo albums.  I keep one in the garage to store hats, gloves and scarves during the winter.  We have a basket for magazines and several of them we use for plants and flowers.  You can use small baskets in the bathroom to store toiletries and pretty soaps and I have a huge basket in my walk-in closet to store all the school logo T-shirts and sweatshirts that I don’t want clogging up space in my closet or drawers.

You can display baskets on a shelf or recycle them by creating home-made Easter baskets or gift baskets.  Who wouldn’t want a “movie night” basket with a DVD, some popcorn and a couple cut mugs with hot cocoa mix?  You can make a “get better soon” basket with some herbal remedies, tissues, and a large mug with chicken soup mix.  There are cookie baskets, fruit baskets and new baby baskets.  So, while it’s great to buy one already made, the gift will mean so much more if you take the time to create it yourself.

There you have it!  These are just a few of the things I have around the house that make it easier for us to stay green and save green.  Do you use energy saving bulbs?  Do you have any ideas for basket uses?  We’d love to hear from you and get some of your ideas.  Leave a comment below.