Even someone who claims to have a brown-thumb when it comes to gardening can achieve green and gorgeous results with these easy gardening tips. Whether it’s digging up dirt in your own backyard or container growing on a sunny windowsill, these simple strategies will help your garden grow.

Gardening Tip #1: Reuse those packing peanuts. Container gardening is popular for folks with limited backyard space, but the large pots can be heavy to move when filled with soil and plants. Lighten the load by filling the bottom 1/3 of the pot with Styrofoam packing peanuts. It’s a great way to reuse the packing peanuts, while keeping the pots lightweight. Added bonus: The packing peanuts help prevent root rot and mildew growth.

Gardening Tip #2: Another use for the Sunday paper.
To prepare an area of the yard for your first garden, don’t spend hours tearing up turf. Reach for a newspaper instead. Place thick layers of newspaper over the section of grass you want eradicated. Place heavy rocks on top and walk away. In a few days, the grass will die off due to lack of sunshine and will make prepping the ground much easier for tilling and gardening. Bonus tip: Pour boiling water onto weeds and grass to speed up the process.

Gardening Tip #3: Plant a smelly sneaker.
Deer and other wild animals may find your vegetable and flower garden to be irresistible. Instead of erecting cumbersome fencing or using smelly sprays, try leaving a very used gym sneaker in the garden instead. The strong scent of humans is a natural way to scare off wild animals.

Gardening Tip #4: Use organic insecticides and herbicides. Using chemical sprays to control insect and invasive weed growth in the garden is passé. Try a natural product that uses a blend of sweet-smelling essential oils to target insects and weeds but is safe to use around children and pets.

Gardening Tip #5: Recycle cans. Instead of pitching used soup cans in the garbage, use the can opener to cut off the top and bottom of the can. Little seedlings can be protected in the garden by the metal sleeve. When the plant has grown large enough, remove the metal sleeve and recycle as you normally would in your curbside bins.

Gardening Tip #6: Use paint stirrers as garden markers. An easy and free way to know what’s growing in your backyard is to recycle free wooden paint stirrers into garden markers. Just write the plant’s name on the top of the stirrer with a permanent marker and insert into the ground.

Gardening Tip #7: Repurpose compost. Use eco-friendly tools like a mulching lawnmower to reduce waste. Repurpose grass clippings and compost to naturally feed the soil in your yard. Mulching (covering the soil with organic or inorganic compost) is a great way to help conserve water and prevent soil diseases from contaminating plants.

By following these gardening tips, you should be well on your way to a bountiful harvest!

The contest winner is #5-Molly B! Please email us at info@crazysexylife.com so that we can send you a 50 load and 25 load bottle of Method’s new plant-based, 8X concentrated, vegan formula laundry detergent!

When I travel around the country and meet people, it’s funny how there are common complaints people share. When gas prices climbed past $2 for the first time, everybody wanted my inside tips on saving gas. As I’ve been trekking around the country to help my friends at Method promote a new laundry detergent, what I’m hearing more and more from people is this: why in this age, where everything can happen at the speed of light, are we devoting countless hours a week to the drudgery of laundry?

I couldn’t agree more. And I’ve tried to find a pleasant way to wash my sheets and clothes. I did the line-drying thing outdoors, thinking it would be like living on a farm with sunny fields and red barns; instead a bird pooped on my sheets. I tossed dried lavender in the dryer thinking it would infuse it with aromatherapy; it clogged the lint trap with what looked like rat droppings. What I really needed to figure out was a way to speed it up, so that I could use my newfound free time for myself.

TIP ONE: IF YOU NEED A NEW WASHER, NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY.

Brand new washers are designed to clean clothes faster, use less water and save money on energy use. The Department of Energy recently allocated $300 million to all fifty states as part of their “Cash for Appliances” rebate program. Each state has compiled different rules and regulations on when their program will start, what will qualify and how you can apply the rebate savings. The overall rule is that only Energy Star qualified appliances will be eligible, so for states that are offering rebates on washing machines, the same rebate will not apply to the matching dryer since no dryers currently qualify for the Energy Star mark. So, if your dryer is working fine, just buy the washing machine to take advantage of the rebate. All programs are starting at different times, from February to April, and will continue until all the funding is used up. Keep track of your state at energysavers.gov/rebates.

TIP TWO: STOP OVERDOSING

One dirty secret of the laundry business is that we’re all guilty of over-dosing. If you’ve ever filled a washing machine with clothes you felt could use an extra boost of cleaning power, you likely add more than the recommended amount of detergent. Believe it or not, this can actually make your clothes…dirtier.

Since washing machines are becoming more energy and water efficient, too much detergent can leave a film on your clothes. Since detergent is designed to attract dirt, wearing overdosed clothing can actually make them dirtier faster…causing you to wash your clothes more often. And residual detergent inside the machine can build up, causing it to work less efficiently and leave a mildew smell.

To “clean” your washing machine, pour two cups of white vinegar and run the machine as usual. This will remove all the residual soap and give you a clean palette.

TIP THREE: CHUCK THE DETERGENT JUG.

One of the drudgeries of laundry is hauling the heavy jug of detergent home from the grocery store. It was only in 2007 that Wal-Mart mandated detergent sold in their stores to be a minimum of 2X concentrated, which led to smaller bottles, a savings of 95 million pounds of plastic resin, and less watered-down formulas, saving 400 million gallons of water. Three years later, a new detergent bottle small enough to fit in your front pocket is debuting, which is 8X concentrated and features a patented precise pump that delivers the exact amount of detergent needed with no messy caps or drips on the side of the bottle. This is from my friends at Method (which is cradle-to-cradle certified) and features SmartClean technology, a 95% plant-based formula that inverts the cleaning molecules to clean clothes faster and better. But here’s the best part: For city-dwellers, busy moms, and anyone who dreads dragging a heavy bottle to the Laundromat or home from the store, this is a revolution in laundry. It’s itty bitty, and a little goes a very long way.

TIP FOUR: LET YOUR HAMPER SORT FOR YOU

Nothing can ruin a load of laundry like a red sock mixed with a load of whites. To speed up sorting through dirty clothes all over the floor or on the table at the Laundromat, invest in a 3-compartment hamper that sorts whites, colors and delicates for you. Each compartment is marked clearly with a sign so every member of your family knows what goes in each bin. For apartment dwellers, 3-compartment tote bags are also available for smaller washes.

TIP FIVE: SPEED UP THE DRYING PROCESS

While a clothesline may be the greenest option, it’s not the fastest or most practical one for most. To save time, try to dry one batch of clothes after another; the residual heat from the first batch will dry the next one faster. Add a DRY towel to a batch of wet clothes in the dryer; the towel will absorb moisture while the clothing dries and speed up the drying process. When drying towels and bedding, throw in two tennis balls saturated with fabric softener; the balls will help fluff towels and bedding to speed up drying and keep them softer and less wrinkly. It also saves money since you do not need to invest in fabric softener sheets.

To help a Crazy Sexy Life reader speed up their routine, I’m giving away a 50 load and 25 load bottle of the new Method Laundry detergent. All you have to do is a leave a comment and we’ll use a random number generator to pick the winner! Good luck!

A couple of years ago, I was given a gift of a one-week stay at Rancho La Puerta, a destination spa in Tecate, Mexico. This is a legendary spa dedicated to fitness, health and wellness, and delicious healthy food. Forget Calgan; Rancho la Puerta, take me away.

To most people, this sounds like a heavenly offer—a free week to spend doing nothing but yoga and pilates, taking glorious hikes up mountains with breathtaking views, enjoying delicious specially prepared meals and unwinding with a pure-bliss relaxation massage. To me, it sounded like pure hell: I was dedicated to my growing business and wanted to spend every waking moment towards developing TV shows, writing books, designing products to just keep growing, growing, growing.

To make a long story short, a year had gone by and I was basically reminded by the gift giver that I had still not taken advantage of the trip. Out of guilt, I packed up my things and went, hoping I would not freak out wondering if I was needed on a TV set, in a production meeting or at a photo shoot. Yes, I was stressed out about going somewhere created to relieve stress.

On Day 1, I thought I had entered my personal nightmare: people said hello to me everywhere I went, there was no television in my room, not a drop of alcohol in sight and my Blackberry only worked when I illegally tapped into the ranch’s wifi. What I wanted was to be left alone to watch TV, check my email and have a glass of wine. That’s what we call getting off on a bad start. I called a friend and said, “Help. I’m at Promises Rehab Mexico. Send. Wine.”

But as the week progressed, I noticed something about myself. Out of boredom, I took yoga, mat pilates, stretch and cardio circuit training classes. I never looked at my watch during these classes, which I normally would do back home wondering if I had enough time to get to a meeting. Yes, I am that person who leaves yoga class right before the meditation part of the class. Instead, I could basically enjoy the moment and focus on the activity at hand. I met interesting and friendly people at breakfast, lunch and dinner, and never felt hungry. I relished my 8PM massages, staggered back to my villa in a stupor and had the best sleep of my life.

I didn’t miss my sugar-free Red Bulls, my evening glass (er, glasses…) of wine and most importantly, my Blackberry. What I experienced was something I hadn’t felt before: bliss. And I lost weight (about 7 pounds) that I didn’t even know I needed to lose. I felt great.

The day I checked in for my third visit to Rancho La Puerta, I saw a sign with names of guests who had been there multiple times.  I noticed that film critic Roger Ebert had been a guest more than 30 times. The first time I saw this, my reaction was “crazy people.” Now, being a three-peat guest, I think “it’s crazy I don’t come here more often.”

The lesson I walked away with goes beyond bettering my fitness regime, getting cooking tips or losing those extra pesky pounds. Instead, I realized the investment I make in a one-week retreat towards myself is re-investing in my business: if I’m not living my life at optimum health, I can’t perform well in all aspects of my business. My whole life, I’ve been using a mantra that it’s the quality of the work that matters, not the quantity. Rancho La Puerta has taught me that the same philosophy applies to myself as well.

One of the #1 complaints I get from people is that it’s not so easy to run out and “just buy a hybrid car” as way to be greener and save money at the gas pump. And I tell them: not all hybrid cars are actually better or greener for the environment. In fact, many standard cars today actually achieve comparable or even better miles per gallon than many “hybrid” automobiles.

The fact is that the Miles Per Gallon (MPG) averages are based on best -case scenarios and are not the reality of what car’s true performance. American drivers perform bad “eco-habits” that reduce a car’s average MPG and many drivers are completely unaware they are even doing these habits to begin with.

By breaking these bad eco-habits, you can increase the fuel efficiency of your existing car by up to a whopping 20%. So, instead of scrapping a perfectly good car for a new one, just try to change these five little habits to save money and save the environment.

BAD HABIT TO BREAK #1:
It’s a drag. At highway speeds, more than 50 percent of engine power goes to overcoming aerodynamic drag. Try not to add to the drag by carrying things on top of your vehicle. A loaded roof rack can decrease a car’s fuel efficiency by 5 percent, or a savings of $107 annually. Even driving with empty ski racks wastes gas. In addition, on days you need your air conditioning, it’s better to USE air conditioning at a low setting when driving at high speeds on highways than to keep the open windows. Open windows decrease your car’s aerodynamic drag.

BAD HABIT #2:
PROPERLY INSTALL A GAS CAP. Can your gas cap increase fuel efficiency? Yes, it can. In cars with sealed or evaporative fuel systems (most cars built after 1970), check to make sure that the rubber seal or gasket on your gas cap is not deteriorated or falling apart. If the gasket is not forming a good seal or if your gas cap is missing altogether, then gasoline is evaporating out of your tank. Also, make sure you twist a gas cap tightly, so it clicks at least THREE times to ensure a proper seal.

A car that sits in the sun with a loose or missing gas cap can lose half a tank of gas in a week by way of evaporation. It is estimated that 147,000,000 gallons of gasoline are lost each year to evaporation from bad gas cap seals or missing gas caps. Gas caps are cheap and available at any auto parts store. You can save about $35 annually in stopping evaporating gas.

BAD HABIT #3:
Remove Excess Weight. Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your MPG by up to 2%. The smaller your car, the more fuel efficiency you lose with extra weight.

If you live in a metropolitan area where you commute to and from work is always on busy roads, consider leaving the spare tire at home. A spare tire weighs on average 30-40 pounds. For those long road trips or weekend trips down bucolic country roads, that’s when you can reload the spare tire for added safety. Keep a can of fix-a-flat tire sealant/inflator on hand to temporarily patch a flat tire, so you can drive to an auto center to get it replaced.

Empty the trunk of all unnecessary items and resist the temptation to turn your car into a “mobile office” with files, books, etc. Make it a habit to always load and unload the car of everything you have. For each 100 lbs of excess weight removed, you’ll earn 1-2% extra fuel efficiency, which averages $42 in savings each year.

BAD HABIT #4:
Watch the tires. Keep your tires properly inflated. Under-inflated tires require more energy to roll, which not only wastes fuel but also wears the tires faster. According to the EPA, a tire that is under-inflated by only 2 pounds per square inch can cause a 1 percent increase in fuel consumption. Under-inflated tires can also build up excess heat, which can lead to tire failure.

If you are unsure how to check your tire’s pressure, have it checked during your routine oil changes by a service professional. You can find your car’s recommended tire pressure on a label inside the car: it’s usually in a door jamb or inside the glove box lid.

BAD HABIT #5:
Stay tuned. One of the biggest gas hogs is a simple maintenance procedure most driver’s don’t bother to do or even know needs to be done. A car’s air filter is designed to trap dirt and particulates from the a ir, preventing impurities from damaging your engine and inside your car. A clogged air filter can cause a 10% increase in fuel consumption, or $215 in wasted gas annually. When you replace the oil in your car, check to see if you the air filter should be replaced too. On average, the filter should be replaced every 15,000 miles. Keep a small removable sticker in your car that has the actual mileage your car next needs an air filter changed.

BAD HABIT #6:
Lose Weight. After losing the car’s spare tire, you may want to consider losing your own excess weight. Americans are spending more money on fuel these days in part because ad ult men and women on average are at least 24 pounds heavier than their counterparts were in 1960. The average man weighs 191 pounds, 25 more than in 1960. The average woman weighs 164 pounds, up from 140 in 1960.

Collectively, today’s automobiles are burning more gasoline to haul all that extra weight around — about 1 billion gallons more annually, in fact, than they would if drivers weighed the same as they did in 1960. Each pound gained by the average person collectively leads to the consumption of 39 million extra gallons of fuel a year, the study found.