Are you already overwhelmed by the school supplies list that little Johnny just brought or will soon bring home?

If you've got to fork over the dough for the school supplies anyway, why not buy eco-friendly supplies?

That's right, you can get everything from paper and notebooks made from bananas or mangos to solar backpacks and even FSC certified graphite and colored pencils.

All of these supplies are easy to come by, eco-friendly, and help you take one more step towards a greener life.

Oh, did I mention that they're safe? Yeah, who wants PVC, chemicals, and dyes all over their kids?

Don't worry, you don't have to go store hopping and internet scouring, we're laying them all out right here for ya.

Many of us, especially in America, are blessed by abundance...or at least the absence of lack.

Have you ever thought about how those holiday left-overs go to waste when so many are going hungry? Yeah, until a few days ago I hadn't either.

So whether you whip out your Schwetty Balls onto the holiday table this year, or perhaps some other tasty treat like roasted salty nuts, consider these ideas for putting your left-overs to better use.

With Christmas only 11 days away people are starting finishing their "last minute" shopping and moving on to...

You guessed it...wrapping all those presents.

Second only to traditional card stock Christmas cards, wrapping paper is the biggest waste of paper and hence, trees, during the holidays...and it's NOT [normally] recyclable.

Fear not, present wrapping lovers, there are some gift adorning options that blow the ever cursed wrapping paper out of the water!

Did you know that today is America Recycles Day?

Chances are you did not.

Why not use today as the day to start taking simple steps towards living green--which we're all about here at The Fun Times Guide to Living Green.

Did you know:

• Recycling a single plastic bottle provides enough fiber to make just over 10 t-shirts


• Recycling a single aluminum can saves enough energy to power a tv for 3 hours

Yeah, you read it right.

A Yahoo! UK story yesterday reports that China is recycling used condoms potentially laden with STD's, including AIDS, into those colorful hair bands used daily by all yall who adorn yourself with luscoius, flowing locks...not to be confused, however, with hair bands of the 80's, like Poison, Queen, or Cindarella.

Though those hair bands probably had their fair share of STD's as well...

If we don't save our planet, the universe will create a new one...but humans won't inhabit it.

It's true, this feeble rock we call home is our one and only shot. We should all take a lesson from dying stars 400 times the size of our sun and do a bit of recycling.

Oh you didn't know that stars traveling 80 miles per second recycle? You'd be surprised...

It's almost the weekend. Are you holding off on that home improvement project (or projects) because you don't have the money? I know I am.

Have you ever thought of heading down to your local building materials salvage shop and buying some reclaimed materials?

This is part of a practice known as "sustainable building".

Chances are great that you'll get higher quality products at a fraction of the cost! Weekend warriors, strap on the tool belts and wait no longer on those home improvement projects.

But where do you find a salvage store?