The leaves are slowly turning color and dropping to the ground in a sea of yellow, orange and red.  With the end of fall comes the beginning of winter.  The air has a cold nip to it and people are digging out their gloves and scarves.  Why not stretch out the season a little longer with the use of a chiminea?  What's the point of saving the environment if you can't even enjoy it??  Kidding, of course.

Chimineas can allow you to spend more backyard evenings sharing laughs and good times with friends and family.  They create an intimate environment that invites people to snuggle up close to the fire.  The chimney allows the smoke to be vented up and away which creates less of a nuisance than a firepit for those trying to get in some more outdoor time.  There's a huge range of styles and designs of chimineas that will allow anyone to be able to match the decor of their backyard.  Make sure that you buy one that is good and sturdy, like the ones shown here out of cast iron.  This will make sure that the chiminea isn't knocked over in the wind and damaged.

Worried about the environmental impact of your chiminea?  Use an eco-friendly firestarted and wood log to keep it as eco-friendly as possible.  There are tons of them on the market.  Also, consider the chiminea to be a dual purpose product -- it can help keep you warm while you savor nature and you can easily cook up your dinner on it with the addition of a cooking grill!  Now you can grill those organic veggies and soy burgers outdoors in style!

This 100% natural baby wipe kit is really cool and you can win one by going to Organic Girl's blog.  It consists of a reusable/recyclable jar to keep the bum wipes in, 10 wipes and a blend of essential oils.  The oil blend contains chamomile, calendula and lavender to help calm and freshen baby's wee little bum.  The set is kind of DIY because you add water to moisten the wipes and vinegar to reduce bacteria and odours.  Imagine how many baby wipes you use for one child from birth to potty training...the amount of money wasted and trash ending up in the landfill is ridiculous!  Re-usable wipes such as these are better for both the planet and for baby's delicate skin.  When you make it yourself, you know that there are no harsh chemicals or perfumes in the wipes to dry or irritate your baby's skin.  Now the saying "Soft as a baby's bum" will finally make sense!!

Eco-Me has a whole range of neat products that allow you access to the materials to DIY a variety of environmentally friendly products for babies such as baby pail deodorizers and room sprays.  They also have other kits for home cleaning, dog or cat products.  Check out Organically Hatched to purchase these items or go directly to the Eco-Me website to see their entire range of products!  Thanks to Organic Girl for the chance to win this baby wipe set and check it out!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm going to only ask for environmentally friendly things this year for Christmas.  That should make shopping a learning experience for my family.  My mom bragged to me the other day that she was going "green" because she recycles her empty cigarette packages....doh!

Onto something funner...check out these gorgeous purses made by Etsy crafter interrobang.  Based out of Australia, interrobang literally means question mark, exclamation point (?!).  I just thought that was an interesting/weird little tidbit!  She lists recycled seatbelts as one of her favorite materials to work with and recommends that you order with plenty of time left for shipping if you're in the U.S./Canada.

Both the purse and matching wallet are, obviously, made from recycled seatbelts.  Tons of cars are sent to the wreckers every year with the metal being recycled.  The seat belts were previously just garbage but have been ingeniously repurposed into these amazing purses and wallets.  The nature of the seatbelt itself is meant to be extremely strong and durable.  This leads to extremely strong and durable products made out of the junked belts!

I absolutely love the look of the belts sewn together and then having melted seams to make it even stronger.  The shiny stripes make a beautiful and completely unexpected striped appearance to the bag.  I'm certain that many people wouldn't even recognize the material as being a seatbelt but I'd love to fill them in on the huge range of benefits of upcycling!

There are a few different styles of purses and wallets available as well as laptop sleeves and messenger bags.  She even has an interesting bag made from upcycled billboards!  Definitely worth checking out this seller as you try to get your Christmas shopping done!!

Just look at this beautiful bouquet from a company called Gifts-To-Impress.  This would be a great centerpiece at any baby shower or as a welcome home present for a new mom and baby.  The "roses" are actually baby clothes rolled up to look like flowers!  You can get the arrangements in pink, blue or gender neutral yellow.  The clothes are 100% organic, unbleached and undyed t-shirt, beanie, socks, bib and onesie.  The color comes from the the greenery and fake flowers surrounding the rolled up layette pieces.  Another really cool and eco-friendly part of this gift is that the greenery and fake flowers are made from wood shavings and recycled paper!

I've seen DIY versions of baby bouquets using facecloths or just socks as well.  They didn't look too hard to do and ended up looking very, very cute!  E-how has a pretty good article explaining how it's done but it seriously needs a picture to show how cute the project really can be!  The only downside to receiving this bouquet is that you'd have to take it apart to use the pieces!  I'm not sure that I'd have the heart...just so pretty!

Check out the I Am Not a Paper Cup that is sold through Amazon for a measley $11.49.  This would make a great gift for the take-out coffee enthusiast who seems to use disposable all the time.  I might just have to get this for my brother for Christmas this year.  It takes everything in me not to freak out when I see him with a styrofoam cup from a coffee shop in his hand.  Styrofoam??!?  Are you kidding me?  This ceramic version of the disposable coffee cup saves trees and prevents people from using styrofoam mugs for their caffeine addictions.  They should sell these right at the coffee shops and make the real disposable cups unavailable!  They already charge a fortune for coffee someplaces anyways...

You'll notice that here on my blog, I feature many products from Etsy.  Etsy is a great resource for finding green products that are handmade.  When you buy handmade, you're supporting small companies instead of huge conglomerates that manufacture overseas.  Etsy even has a feature so that it can search for products locally for you!  This way you can shop locally and remove the need for items to travel so far before they reach you.

There's a huge range of products that are available.  Many are handcrafted, some are not.  They have a bit of everything -- clothing, art and housewares are all available there.  There are hundreds and hundreds of completely unique, one of a kind items.  It's super easy to shop there too because once you've found the item that you want to buy, you just fill out an online form and pay with paypal or a credit card.  You've got to make sure that you order items for Christmas with lots of time for the crafters to be able to complete the order fulfillment as well as allow time for shipping if necessary.

I've found it very easy (and fun!) to communicate with the crafters.  Many are very open to creating custom products specifically to suit your needs.  What I'm really saying is that it's seriously time for me start my online Christmas shopping!  I'd better get to it...there's only 71 more shopping days until Christmas!!!  Yikes.

There are a ton of products for teens that can help them become as eco-friendly as the rest of the family.  A good place to start is by getting them using an organic acne treatment.  Organic ingredients are much better than chemicals for problem skin and help to maintain a sustainable base for the skin care industry.  When you buy organic, you are saying that you want them to keep producing organic products, that the earth is important to you and that you'll continue to ensure that organic farming exists.

There are many DIY acne skin care treatments that you can look up online.  Fresh and all natural ingredients are the way to begin.  Ensure that you research any information you receive thoroughly to make sure that you don't end up with skin that's in worse shape than it already is!  Be aware that some treatments may work better for others than it does for you.  Pay close attention to how your skin reacts and be willing to try something new if it doesn't work.  There are also tons of organic and eco-friendly acne treatments that are ready to buy from the shelf.  Again, just make sure that you understand what you're buying ahead of time.

I'm going to try to do more posts on eco-friendly living for teens as well as the rest of the family.  I realized that this is an area I've been forgetting.  I've got a teenage son and I want him to start picking up some green habits too!  The picture is from Flickr user Fotoos Van Robin who has an amazing array of great photos with clean, clear lines.

Check out this gorgeous wood high chair from Fab Baby Gear.  It's the Argington Babylon high chair and is much more eco-friendly than your standard all plastic high chair like the one I used for my kids.  It's made from FSC certified, sustainably harvest wood and put together with low VOC glues.  The finishing is all completely non-toxic and pollutant free which is important because if your kids are anything like mine, they'll be mouthing this all over the place!

The chair is made in energy efficient facilities and can be adjusted without any tools.  My favorite part is just how long you could use this chair for.  It holds up to 250 pounds and can be adjusted from bistro table height to coffee table height!  You can't get much more use than that.  From ages 6 months to adult is the recommended ages for use.  You want to wait until they're about 6 months so that they can sit up independently and not just slouch over to the side.

Organic Girl has another awesome giveaway -- she and Fab Baby Gear are giving away one of these chairs in either Birch or Cherry.  I follow this lady's blog like a maniac and enter nearly every contest.  I haven't won anything yet but you'll be sure to hear about it if I do!  She reviews a ton of great kids products, some are green-er than others but they're all kinda cool.  There's lots of great giveaways too that you can enter.  Maybe I shouldn't encourage that.  I don't really need the competition!! lol

Looking to check out an up and coming organic skin care line?  Try the ISUN Organic Skin Care that is made with all natural, all organic ingredients.  Check out their website at www.isunorganicskincare.com for more details on their products including the catalogue that lists all of the products that they currently have available.

Their company is inspired by the world around it and therefore, wants to protect it.  They are an eco-conscious company that is mindful of their packaging and manufacturing technologies.  The company tries to ensure that they only have a positive effect on the planet by donating a portion of the proceeds to organizations such as Feed the Children and Youth Action International.  Through their donations, they try to ensure that children receive the loving care, education and personal growth that all children deserve, regardless of where or how they are born.

Wondering how you can try their products out?  Well their products are now being at spas from Maui to Colorado.  You can also enjoy how alive the fair trade ingredient skin care line makes you feel by purchasing online at www.purenaturaltouch.com.  These products would make great Christmas gifts!

This is a sponsored post with 100% real opinions.

Okay, so it might take more than a sign in a restaurant captured by Flickr user Loren Javier at a Disneyland restaurant to say that Mickey Mouse has finally gone green but at least it's a start!  They are urging you to save the plastic baskets from your lunch for re-use and that's definitely a step in the green direction.

What else is helping one of the world's biggest companies to go green-ish?  How about some eco-friendly souvenirs available for sale in downtown disney?  They are getting in some of my favorite family friendly eco-chic products at a Disney store called Tren-D at Disneyworld such as purses made from candywrappers or seat belts that have been reclaimed from wrecks.  I think a seat belt bag may just have to make it onto my wish list...

The Disney company as a whole has been working hard to become more eco-friendly and that's a huge deal when you're talking about such a massive company.  They are working on reducing plastic bag usage at all of their stores and events.  They recommend not using plastic wrap or plastic bags.  If you go to your local Disney store, chances are that you'll see that most products are wrapped in plastic and that they do not charge for plastic bags.  They're talking the talk but I'd like to see them walk the walk if you know what I mean.

They have a classroom based program that helps kids to discover a love of science, teamwork and competition by joining an environmental competition.  It's a free program that actually does look pretty cool.  You can check it out here.  The bad parts are that it's only available for grades 4 through grade 6 and that it is only available to American students.  Very strange to have something called a Disney planet challenge to be only open to classrooms in the United States.

They are (and have been for quite some time) heavily involved in conservation efforts throughout the world (not just in the U.S.A.!).  Their projects are many and far ranging.  They are, of course, also heavily publicized efforts but if they are doing some good then they deserve all of the good press I guess.  Their conservation efforts support non-profit charities that are working with eco-systems, wildlife and communities.

They are also involved in promoting environmental awareness to kids.  To me, this is one of the most important things to promote to kids.  In reality, today's kids are going to have to deal appropriately with whatever mess the planet is in when they inherit it from their parents generation.  These kids are going to need to know the issues, understand them backwards and forwards and be brainstorming ways of trying to negate all of the damage that has already been done.

Could Disney be more eco-friendly?  YES!!!  However, I think it's important to recognize the efforts that the company is making.  They may only be tiny steps but at least they are in the right direction which is more than I can say for other companies that make money from our kids!