Today was my second time attending the Green Living Expo at the LA Convention Center. I look forward to seeing what new eco-friendly products have been invented and the wide variety of information that is given out. I also made it to see Nancy Astrid Lindo, from Astrid Design Studio, speak about “Creating an Ecological Home.” She spoke with other panelists David Heller(Ecospire), Eric Corey Freed(Organic Architect), Stacey Champion(Champion Indoors), L. Axil Comras(Green Home), Shawn Berry(Woodshanti), and Jennifer Schwab(Sierra Club Green Home) on toxins in your home, cleaning supplies, and how these effect the environment and your health, etc. Here is a list of some facts Nancy showed during her presentation, some are eye opening and should give you a feel for what’s really going on and what were exposing ourselves to daily: * “Americans spend 90-95% of their time indoors * There are 150 chemicals in homes * Indoor toxicity levels are 100 times more than outdoor levels * Men have a 1:2 ratio and women are 1:3 for developing cancer * EPA has not tested 75% of toxins Some things said by the panelists on home design: * “People don’t need more space, but instead, smarter use of space.” – Eric Corey Freed * Shawn Berry roughly mentioned that people need to “Think beyond trend and style, and focus on functionality.” * “You wouldn’t eat Twinkies for every meal right?! Well, the same goes for building products.” Eric Corey Freed is referring to twinkies as a way to explain what you shouldn’t constantly put into your body and what you shouldn’t build your home with. Use better materials for your home and they will be better for your health and the environment. The panel also discussed how optical whiteners to make your clothes whiter aren’t natural, and only make your brain think they look whiter because of the chemicals. But unfortunately, these chemicals you wash your clothes with drain out of your washer, into the oceans, and fish become exposed and sometimes end up glowing because of it. And guess what?! These chemicals we use, not only get into the ocean and into the systems of sea creatures, but we eat them too! So right back on your plate… sound delish?! Make sure to use eco cleaning products (i.e. Seventh Generation or Ecos) when cleaning or doing laundry. The panel said to make sure cleaning products have enzymes because enzyme based cleaners (especially for the bathroom) eat organic compounds. Everyone has a problem with mold right? I know my roommates bathroom has that problem. Not enough ventilation=mold. Stacey champion explained that because our houses are paper made, mold is attracted to it. Why? Because as Stacey said paper is made of sugar and when mixed with water (which every house has obviously), mold forms because mold eats sugar and other dead stuff. So the panelists advised to dry things out for 48 hours to avoid mold. Does your mom yell at you to make your bed in the morning? Well here is a good reason Stacey says not to! The sweat you give off in your bed gets on your bed sheets obviously, so don’t make your bed yet, let it air out. I had to jot these few tips down given by the panelists to keep unwanted pests away…. * Use mint to keep mice away * Use lemon in cracks to keep ants away * Use bay leaves to keep roaches away Some links & sites to checkout that the panel mentioned were: * Green Building Pages – Sustainable building materials database * CADR – Air cleaners * NASA plants filter air toxins **And don’t forget! The panel said to keep your shoes off while in your home because your shoes can track in unwanted pollutants from outside. Also, keep any kind of radiation (i.e. digital alarm clocks on your nightstand) at least 6 ft away from you because the toxic radiation can seep into your skin. Your skin is your body’s largest organ and absorbs anything you touch or are around! Aun and I walked around the rest of the expo checking out all the vendors that ranged from solar energy products, green cleaning supplies, candles, baby clothes and diapers, holistic dog food, laptop bento lunch boxes, water filters, organic bedding, gardening, eco-art, electric bikes, etc. **I got my own Reusablebags sandwich and snack holders finally! Love them! And they will pay for themselves over time because I won’t have to keep buying ziplock bags over and over, and they are PVC- and phthalate-free! Here are some of the sites of the vendors that were there for you to checkout: * Farm Fresh to You – organic produced delivered at your door! * Chai Cola - this drink is so good! Aun & I tried it and it was delish! (think diet coke but not as sweet, yum!) * Green Cradle – organic bedding and mattresses * GreenHab – sustainable design consultants * The Ultimate Green Store - bento-ware for everywhere, and more! * Amped Bikes – hybrid electric bicycle conversions * Eco-logical ART- Peter Schulberg’s art, recycling billboards * Farmscape – your family farmer, consultants in helping you create your own garden * June15 – stylish natural reusable bags..checkout the wine bottle bags!! * Smart2Be Green - weekly newsletter with easy tips to help you live a greener life * TomatKids – tomat organic baby clothing * Earthborn Holistic Natural Dog food – collect UPC codes and they will plant trees for every bag of dog food sold! Packaging is also recycled. * gDiapers – “How big will your child’s footprint be?” 100% biodegradable diapers (use this promotion code: “GoGreen2010″ for get $10 off gDiapers everyday g’s 6-pack of little gPants!) * LA Green Networking * Pelcor – cork-made products (hand bags!) * Siloink – the last ink catridge you’ll ever buy! * Ecoluxe Life – beauty, bath and body, etc tips and products * Earthlist.com – if you like Facebook, you may like this site! * Aarbur – artistic, biodegradable jute bags * Lifefactory Glass – safe, simple, smart baby products * Terramor – organic home products * bGreen Apparel * O-Bon – eco friendly school & office supplies * Barber Eco 8000 – blow dryer

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