Best eco2 Blogs: Saving Money, Saving the Planet

By Melissa Massello, April 21, 2010

Of course, because The Gumshoes are completely addicted to saving money and saving the planet, we’re constantly reading and connecting with other great magazines, editors, and bloggers out there doing similarly cool things. (At least, we think we’re doing cool things, but we know they are!)

So, in honor of Earth Day, we bring you our 25 (ish) Favorite “eco2” Blogs — websites that have proven their commitment to being both ecological and economical and are having a blast doing it.

LIFESTYLE

TreeHugger
The ultimate in green living news, TreeHugger is the home to Discovery Channel and Planet Green, plus all other feeds from the eco-junkie Discovery Channel network. Founded by Graham Hill in 2006, TreeHugger publishes more than 35 blog posts per day from a global team of writers whose entire mission is to push sustainability into the mainstream in a fun, engaging, and well-designed way. How could we not love them?

Shift Your Habit
Elizabeth Rogers is the New York Times best-selling author of The Green Book and co-created eco-friendly reality TV show “Trippin'” with Cameron Diaz. Her newest project, a blog and a book by the same name released in March, Shift Your Habit: Easy Ways to Save Money, Simplify Your Life, and Save the Planet, encourages consumers to shift towards a greener lifestyle one habit at a time, and highlights exactly how much money that can add up to in savings — immediately and over time. We just adore her!

Your Daily Thread
High school best friends Tracy Hepler and Lauren Johanson launched Your Daily Thread as a way to green the smog-centric city of Los Angeles and the world, by sharing their perspectives and experiences with saving and sustainability after living abroad in Europe and Southeast Asia. Their cute-as-a-button daily blog features weekend guides for free events as well as tips for living a greener, more local, and more sustainable lifestyle, like organic restaurant and eco-fashion reviews. It was love at first sight for these Gumshoes.

SHOPPING, FASHION & STYLE

EcoStiletto
The daily blog and online marketplace of Shoestring‘s own Queen of Green Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, EcoStiletto is dedicated to reducing our carbon footprints “from a ginormous boot into an oh-so-slender stiletto.” Rachel’s Big List of Things That Suck help eco-chic consumers make smarter purchases every day, plus EcoStiletto membership offers thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of daily green product giveaways.

Budget Ecoist
The go green on a budget guide from Budget Fashionista Kathryn Finney, the Budget Ecoist focuses on eco-friendly products, green fashion, and generally living stylishly yet sustainably. Now integrated with the original Budget Fashionista site, it’s a one-stop-shop for looking the part for less and virtually green guilt free.

Green Your Decor
Celebrating her second anniversary this month, sustainable style guru Jennae Petersen’s blog features decadently eco2 home decorating tips including the Green $teal of the Week, plus a fantastic and always updated Green Gift Guide. We loved her tips for Shoestring on Green Holiday Decorating Under $15, and are super stoked about her new eco-cheap fashion blog, Green & Gorgeous.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Ecorazzi
Like a Perez Hilton for the purposeful, Ecorazzi makes stalking the sustainable habits of celebrities and getting “the latest in green gossip” just a click or an RSS subscription away. Founded by Michael d’Estries of Ithaca, New York and Rebecca Carter of Miami, Florida, in 2006 ), Ecorazzi has since grown to one of the most awarded and popular green blogs on the web. Enter Ecorazzi’s weekly contests and Twitter Thursday promotions to score coveted, celeb-worthy eco swag for free.

KIDS & PETS

CentHound.com
A great eco2 blog for dog lovers, CentHound features coupons and reviews for eco-friendly products and services, plus cheap and green tips and DIY projects for dog toys and more. While it’s still pretty new, CentHound features some cool videos and a fresh and clean design that we’re sure is going places. Probably outdoors, pooper scooper in hand, for a nice, long, Pacific Northwest walk.

Minimalist Mama
Our resident “less is more” parenting expert Christine Koh is the author of Shoestring‘s Minimalist Mama column, the eco2 offshoot of her immensely popular blog, Boston Mamas. Koh is a consummate wealth of clever and creative tips for being a more mindful and green example for the next generation. A fabulous writer, graphic designer, and all-around amazing person, we know you’ll immediately fall in love with CK and with Boston Mamas, wherever you may roam.

FOOD & WINE

VegNews
By now, everyone has heard that going meatless at least a few times a week is better for the environment and decidedly cheaper than eating meat. Check out the blogs and online version of this popular vegetarian lifestyle magazine, in publication since 2000, for free (and might tasty) tips for leading a better veggie life, as well as Veg Jobs and Veg Events around the country.

Parducci Winery
As the country’s first carbon-neutral winery, Parducci’s sustainable wines are a staple at Shoestring parties. The winemakers have dedicated themselves to educating the public and other winemakers through their Green Winegrowing Handbook, now in its second edition, and their YouTube channel — plus, each of their fine wines are under $35, with the majority under $12! (Read our own Stewart Kelly’s review of Parducci for tasting notes and recommendations.)

Good Wine Under $20
Deb Harkness “Dr. Debs” is an award-winning wine writer, recognized by all the major wine publications and organizations, yet she spoils us with her free daily tips for finding sensational wines on a Shoestring budget. Her blog’s robust Organic Wine category features fantasticly sustainable sips that are, you guessed it, under $20 a bottle.

Sprouting Off
Food-surplus-swapping site VeggieTrader is one of our favorite resources, and no coverage of eco2 would be complete without a mention. Sprouting Off is the daily blog from founder Rob Anderson and team, featuring fresh and free recipes and farmer’s market tips as well as news and events in the world of gardening and eating seasonally and locally.

DIY

re-nest
The green sister site to popular shelter blog Apartment Therapy, re-nest is like design porn for DIY greenies, featuring reviews of the best new and modern sustainable products plus salvage design and DIY projects using reclaimed or vintage materials. Our favorite feature is the weekly “Scavenger Roundup” featuring finds from Craigslist and other online marketplaces hand-picked by Apartment Therapy writers and editors, all while there’s still time to buy them!

Relax Shax
The daily blog from musician, DJ, author, and DIY darling Derek “Deek” Diedricksen, Relax Shax features a fun mix of “redneck” salvage projects and “who woulda thought of that?!” tips plus Derek’s new DIY home-building series, Tiny Yellow House, where he walks viewers through the finished product of one plan at a time from his book Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats and Funky Forts. From bonfires made out of broken drumsticks he salvage from band practice to his Gypsy Junker, everything that Deek does is fun, frugal, and fabulously eco-friendly.

MONEY

Big Green Purse
We love this blog from Diane MacEachern because it combines our love of eco2 with our love of shifting our awareness of where we spend our money. The One In A Million Challenge, led by Big Green Purse, calculated that if a million consumers shifted at least $1,000 of our existing budgets to environmentally friendly products, we could have a one billion dollar impact in the marketplace. Check out Diane’s Top 10 Ways to Afford Going Green for more tips.

Rubbing Nickels
On the surface, this blog may look like just another frugal living and coupon site, but Rubbing Nickels offers an intriguing EcoThrify section combining tips, coupons, and DIY projects, plus news from the eco2 front like the growing Locavore movement, helping moms and families find easy ways to get involved in going green.

Frugal Yankee
We heart Garen Daly and Louise Reilly Sacco for their commitment to sharing Yankee Ingenuity for living life while spending less — online at FrugalYankee.com, on the airwaves, and regularly on New England Cable News. Their mix of “recession era wisdom” and practical tips were cheap and green before cheap and green were cool. Sign up for their weekly newsletter for articles, tips, factoids, podcasts, and a joke!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Here are a few more of our favorite eco-friendly blogs and sustainable living superstars worth checking out: