Creating an eco-friendly or "green" home can sometimes seem like a daunting or overwhelming prospect. Where do you begin? What do you need to consider? What the heck is "green," anyway?

The concept is actually pretty simple and boils down to thinking through the following essentials:

• The Materials [0] that make up your home, furniture and furnishings
• The Air Quality [0] inside your home
• The Amount of Energy and Water [0] your home consumes

What can you do to make immediate improvements? Lazy Environmentalist Josh Dorfman provides some easy video tips [0] on making your home eco-friendly.

MATERIALS

Consider materials that reduce your use of finite or virgin natural resources [1].

• Sustainably [1] harvested
• Recycled
• Reclaimed [2]
• Rapidly renewable [3]
• Fewer materials

How do you know your materials are really green?
Look for third party certifications like The Forest Stewardship Council [4] (FSC) and its partner organizations, which verify the sustainable forestry practices [5] of companies around the world. Look for the FSC label when purchasing products made of wood.

THE LAZY ENVIRONMENTALIST RECOMMENDATIONS:

Outdoor Furniture
Reforest Teak's [6] outdoor furniture is FSC certified, meaning that it's sustainably harvested. And beautiful. The point is that you can still have exactly what you want, provided it's sourced responsibly

Flooring
Smith & Fong produces high-quality, formaldehyde-free, [7] rapidly renewable bamboo flooring and bamboo panels that it markets under the name Plyboo [8]. Continuous innovation is a hallmark of this company. Plyboo comes in a number of styles and aesthetics and is a terrific material for flooring, cabinets, paneling, and furniture.

Sofas and Chairs
Viesso Furniture [9] Sofas and Chairs offers FSC certified frames, natural latex (low VOC [10]) cushions, and recycled content fabrics. All that adds up to great green design [10] at a fairly affordable price.

Beds
Design Mobel [11] has beds made from sustainably harvested wood using a "heli-harvesting" technique that removes by helicopter instead of cutting roads through the forest in order to minimize the footprint. It also offers natural latex mattresses as a comfortable healthy option, and even an iPod Bed (think of it as the world's most comfortable docking station).

More Eco-Friendly Home Essentials

Creating an Eco-Home [11]
The Air Quality [11]
Energy and Water Consumed [11]
View Josh Dorfman video on Eco-Friendly Homes [11]

INDOOR AIR QUALITY

Consider products and materials that eliminate or significantly reduce the use of toxic chemicals [12] in your home. A good rule of thumb is that if it's healthier for you in your home, it's healthier for the environment too. Two good general guidelines:

• Avoid products that emit Volatile Organic Compounds [13]
• Avoid products that contain formaldehyde [14]—a suspected carcinogen

How do you know it's really green?
For Indoor Air Quality, look for third party product certifications like Greenguard [15], an industry-independent, nonprofit organization that oversees the Greenguard Certification Program to help improve indoor air quality and establish healthy standards. The program certifies products that are tested to meet its rigorous standards.

THE LAZY ENVIRONMENTALIST RECOMMENDATIONS:

Paint
Benjamin Moore's Eco Spec® [16] line of paint products (Greenguard certified). Available in thousands of colors.

Bedding
Lifekind [17] is the first mattress maker in the United States to receive Greenguard certification for its mattresses, certifying that they meet rigorous low-VOC emissions standards. The extensive catalog features organic [17] mattresses, mattress pads, pillow shams, blankets, throws, and more.

Cleaning Products
Method [18]'s nontoxic, biodegradable cleaning products look as good as they act, and smell good too. The all-purpose and specialty surface cleaners, dishwashing, and laundry detergents, air fresheners, and hand and body washes are packaged in stylish bottles designed by Khalid Rashid. So cool looking you'll want to display on the counter instead of inside it.

Non-Wood Flooring
Transform your rooms with modular tiles from Interface FLOR [19] that are available in a multitude of colors and present nearly infinite design possibilities. The low-VOC tiles are made of wool, hemp, or nylon, with backings made of recycled materials.

More Eco-Friendly Home Essentials

Creating an Eco-Home [19]
The Materials [19]
[19]Energy and Water Consumed [19]

View Josh Dorfman video on Eco-Friendly Homes [19]

ENERGY & WATER CONSERVATION

Consider products that reduce your use of energy and water. Lower energy and water bills mean fewer climate changing greenhouse gases [19] emitted into the atmosphere, and less strain on water tables. Keep an eye out for:

• Energy efficient lighting [20]
• Energy efficient appliances [21]
• Green energy [22]
• Water efficient appliances [23]

How do you know it's really green?
Energy Star [24] is a program administered jointly by the EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy to promote greater energy efficiency. Energy Star rated products-including televisions, computers, stereos, fax machines, and printers as well as home appliances, lighting, heating and cooling systems, and building products—can be up to 30% more energy efficient than conventional products.

Now you can also look for the Water Sense Label [25], a program administered by the EPA (patterned on the Energy Star program) for products such as sinks, toilets, and faucets that are water efficient.

THE LAZY ENVIRONMENTALIST RECOMMENDATION:

Televisions
Okay, if you want to really go environmentally friendly, keep your cathode-ray set around and buck this trend. If you absolutely have to have a flat screen, the Sharp Aquos [26] line of Energy Star rated flat-screen LCD televisions delivers great color quality and clarity and top-ranked energy efficiency. The HDTV-compatible televisions are also manufactured in a production plant that draws approximately one-third of its power from solar energy and an onsite cogeneration system, and recycles all manufacturing wastewater using a state-of-the-art water purification process.

Skylights
Solatube [27] tubular skylights bring natural, healthy sunlight into your home by channeling it through a state-of-the art tube encased in high-tech mirrors, from your roof into any room you choose. Unlike standard skylights, installation of tubular skylights requires no structural changes.

Toilets
The AQUS Toilet System [28] is your instantaneous water recycling solution for the bathroom. Used water from the sink is channeled to the toilet for flushing via a water storage chamber installed inside the sink vanity.

Lighting
Koncept [29] offers a range of sleek, adjustable, and reasonably priced LED lamps that are perfect for bedrooms or offices. In 2006, the Z-Bar LED Desk Lamp received the prestigious "best in category" award by I.D. magazine. The Koncept line also features one of the first LED floor lamps. LEDs are the most efficient lights available using just 5% of the power that incandescents require and lasting up to 60 times longer. They kick CFL's butt.

Energy Provider
Sign up for green energy directly [30] through energy provider. Over 600 power utilities in 35 states offer green energy options directly to homeowners and renters. For a few dollars more per month (and in some instances less) you could be drawing clean energy into the grid when you turn on the lights, watch TV, and play video games.

More Eco-Friendly Home Essentials

Creating an Eco-Home [30]
The Materials [30]
The Air Quality [30]

View Josh Dorfman video on Eco-Friendly Homes [30]