Top Eco-Entertaining Tips:

1. Avoid plastic and paper and use cloth napkins, glasses and dishes. 2. Get fresh, local ingredients from your farmers' market, found on LocalHarvest.org. 3. Serve organic wines and spirits. Cheers!

Your Laundry

Laundry can be a dirty chore. Keep it clean and green with energy-efficient appliances, eco-friendly detergents and line-drying solutions.

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Laundry is one of those chores that is very labor-intensive (between sorting, washing, drying and folding, a single load requires a nearly two-hour time commitment). And between water waste, air pollution, water pollution and high energy consumption, it has a pretty intensive adverse impact on the environment too.

Fortunately, washers and dryers are getting more energy efficient with high-tech options designed to get your clothes cleaner in a way that's gentler on fabrics and the Earth. And even though it's tempting to save thought and time by grabbing any traditional detergent brand off the shelves, you should know that most familiar laundry products are made up of a synthetic soup — non-renewable petroleum, synthetic fragrances, chemical whiteners — that can leave irritating residues sitting next to your skin and washing out into everybody's groundwater. That's why we tested a ton of green options and found the most effective formulas to get your laundry sparkling clean.

Here, we show you how to update your laundry room, get your clothing sparkling clean with the most effective, eco-friendly detergents and line dry your loads with ease.