Trying to live a greener life can be a money-saver in many ways. But oftentimes it can be discouraging when you want to buy the greener version of a product and it is too expensive. On February 1, EcoSteal
launched to offer a chance to pick up new "green" products without the expense. For those of you familiar with Woot, think of it as a green version of Woot. Here is how it works.

EcoSteal sells one item at a time at a deeply discounted rate (they say 40-80% off retail value). This one item is sold on their website until they run out and then a new product is listed (unlike Woot which sells a new item daily). So if its a popular product and you don't go to the website early enough, you might miss out on that particular deal. There is a limit of 3 units per household. There are several ways to know what they are selling at the moment. You can visit their website, but then you have to keep checking back to figure out when a new deal is posted. You can sign up at their website to receive email alerts which I find to be very convenient. You can also follow their Twitter feed.

Here are some of the things they have sold at a discount so far:

• Belle Baby Carrier


• Kina Handmade Baby Booties


• Mountainsmith Digi Cam Case


• Meyer Well's Table


• Beckon's Organic Grace Women's cardigan

I'm excited to see what sort of deals will come up in the future and to be introduced to new green products and companies. It seems like a win-win situation for the companies and consumers - companies get some advertising and consumers get a great green deal!

Have a favorite place to find deals on green products? Share it in the comments!

The approaching holidays often encourage us to try to update our home, just a bit, for the inevitable visitors. You might be tempted to buy some new linens, vases, or knickknacks from a big-box store. I propose you consider something a tad more challenging, and much longer lasting: Original art.

Every home makeover show includes the creation of questionable, cheap “art” to hang on the mark’s walls. Original artworks, even hastily constructed, formulaic paint splotches, make a room feel pulled together and personal.

So if you’re not rolling in money right now, you needn’t despair. But you also don’t need to get out the paint rollers and make a mess. The country - your city or town - is teeming with artists anxious to sell (or even barter) their work. Many have online presences, and I’ll list some below, but I encourage you to talk to friends and friends of friends and find some local artists to patronize too. This needn’t be through galleries; art colleges usually have holiday shows featuring student’s art under $100. The cheapest way to buy is to find the artist you like, go to their studio, and ask if you can buy directly from them. Ask to see drawings and watercolors. Find some photographers you like. Works on paper are usually cheaper than works on canvas.

When you are working directly with artists, do be sensitive about prices. Artists who are signed to gallery representation or are currently in art shows may not have the latitude to offer lower studio prices, so it is best to establish this upfront. Alternately, galleries can take significant commissions on sales (up to 50%), and artists may rely on increased profits from direct sales to offset a very small profit on works sold through a gallery.

Poke around the following links and find some lovely stuff that’s far less expensive than your weekly grocery bill.

20x200: You’ll want to sign up for the mailing list to buy from Jen Beckman’s online gallery. She releases limited editions of photographs and prints by different artists on Tuesday and Wednesdays at 2 pm. The 200 $20 prints often sell out immediately, so be quick with your trigger finger, and you can amass a collection of significant artists for Starbucks’ change.

Tiny Show Case: This online gallery curates a very of-the-moment selection of small prints that would look happy in an Domino Magazine photo shoot but it also includes some less pop-oriented and thoughtful landscapes.

Duane Keiser: Duane Keiser is known as a pioneer in the painting-a-day blog world. He paints one small painting within an hour every day, or hereabouts, and lists them for sale on ebay. His paintings are small, intimate, and lovely. Prices usually start around $100.

Two artists following in Keiser’s footsteps are Abbey Ryan and Jeff Hynes. Their daily paintings are similar to Keiser’s in size and scope, and both painters are sensitive and competent.

Many other painters have started to work this way. Hynes has a list here. The Daily Painters Guild (some of the best of this bunch), The Daily Paint Works, and Daily Painters websites collect dozens of painters (of varying quality) working in this mode and price range.