Eco-Interview: Heather Hackett of Little Hen Designs

Are you on the lookout for easy to do eco-friendly tips? Well,Heather of Little Hen Designs has scores of impressive ideas up her sleeve. I met Heather through Holly Becker's Blogging your Way ecourse and love her fabulous blog. This will be a longer post than usual for me, so grab your beverage of choice and hang out with me to hear from Heather Hackett -you won't be dissapointed.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and the story of Little Hen Designs.

I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and moved to Los Angeles in 2000 to pursue acting, writing and a creative life in general. I'm also an RN and have worked as a pediatric intensive care nurse for the past 9 years. A crazy combination, but I love both careers! Last spring, my wonderful husband and I welcomed our son, Henry, into the world and my quest to work from home began. I've always been obsessed with decorating our home and love, love, love to take on DIY projects. I started Little Hen Designs as a creative outlet, a way to share my projects and design ideas, as well as a launching pad for a work-from-home business. Blogging Your Way came along just as I began blogging, and it really inspired me to get Little Hen Designs up and running. I'm so excited about it and thrilled to be connecting with creative people from all over the world!

How long have you been living a eco-conscious life? And what inspired you?

I started to live a more eco-conscious life when I moved to California, where there is a huge emphasis on healthy, eco-friendly living. Southern California is incredibly beautiful, but LA is also overpopulated and polluted. I feel a responsibility to help keep it as clean and beautiful as possible, especially now that I'm raising a family here. I want to set a good example for my son and leave the earth a better place for him. I hope that for him green living is less a choice and more a way of life.

What are some of your favorite eco-friendly products?

I buy Dr. Bronner's Castile Lavender Liquid Soap in bulk and use it for everything, from body wash to floor cleaner. It's so fabulous! I also use Seventh Generation and Burt's Bees products quite a bit. I bought a food mill when my son was an infant and made my own organic baby food, which was both fun and economical! I keep a stash of cute re-usable canvas shopping bags in my car (a hybrid!) and find Ecover Stain Remover to be a daily necessity. Seriously, if you have kids you need this stuff! I also save every last bit of left over paint - we use Fresh Aire, which has zero VOCs - in airtight containers for DIY projects around the house. The containers are clear and look so pretty and neat all stacked up on a shelf!

What tips can you offer on creating easy, practical green living habits?

If you have a local farmer's market, shop it! It's a great way to buy fresh, organic, affordable food and spend time outdoors. Keep a recycling bin right next to your trash can; it makes recycling easy and convenient. We recently put our cans side-by-side in the kitchen and were surprised to find the recycling bin filling faster than the trash can. Installing CFL bulbs, programmable thermostats, water heater blankets and energy saving blinds are all simple home projects that can reduce energy use and utility costs. Plants are a fantastic and inexpensive way to reduce indoor air pollution and making your own cleaning and beauty products can be really simple - I highly recommend "Home Hints & Tips" by Rosamond Richardson. Craigslist and Freecycle are the best! If you can buy used and renovate, it's the way to go! It helps reduce waste and it's rewarding both creatively and financially. Websites like Treehugger and The Daily Green are great places to visit for more information and daily tips for green living..

What are you working on now?

We moved into a new home at the beginning of the year, so I've been trying to renovate our old stuff rather than buying new. I'd like to convert a 6 foot bookshelf into two smaller shelves, but I haven't whipped out the power tools just yet! I'm also planning to sand and paint our coffee table (a great flea market find) and a bench I found on craigslist for $25 that's just oozing with potential. I'm thinking about re-upholstering our couch and armchairs, if I can talk my husband into it! At some point I'd also really like to start a vegetable garden. I don't exactly have a green thumb, but it's something I'd love to learn about.. As usual, I have way more projects on my list than I actually have time for!