I’m ashamed to admit it, but I hate doing laundry.  Now I’ll grant you, that’s not a real juicy admission, but wait,  it gets worse.  I loathe laundry.  The real visceral type of loathing where I wouldn’t stop to help it if it were dying on the side of the road and I had the magical power to save its life.  I despise laundry in such a grandiose way that sometimes I daydream about a laundry-less  society where we all where disposable clothing to eliminate the need to launder our clothes.  As a result, I’m lazy about it.

Oh, I’m great at starting the laundry.  I’ll pile it up, separate the dark colors, light colors, whites, delicates, towels and everything else.   But as the spin cycle wraps up I begin to think about all the folding, the hanging, the ironing, and…oh is that Grey’s Anatomy on?  That seems like a much better thing to do than the LAUNDRY.  And after that’s over, it’s much too late to start the dryer or hang laundry up or any of the other mind-numbing laundry related tasks there are.

So it sits until tomorrow.

And then, well, it needs to be rewashed because it has acquired the familiar left-too-long-in-the-washing-machine smell that would simply be mortifying if anyone else were to catch a sniff.  And that’s the problem.  I waste too much energy on washing and rewashing clothing.  What’s worse,  sometimes I’ll think the left laundry will be passable if sent through the dryer only to discover that it isn’t; necessitating another cycle through the washer AND dryer.  Yes, I’m a terrible person.

So, my One Thing this year is to end the endless (spin) cycle of washing and rewashing my clothing and stop wasting water and energy.  I think I need to sit down.

Now that I’ve shared my One Thing, what is yours?

I am pregnant with my first child now and I now find myself navigating the seas of green baby products.  Luckily, new parents like me have so many options for eco-friendly products and deals that have simply never been available before. Here are seven of my favorites:

1. gDiapers

gDiapers are a cloth/disposable diaper hybrid which employ an outer, reusable shell to house their disposable inserts.The inserts are unique in that you can flush them, compost them, or throw them away and they are 100% biodegradable.  Best of all, they’re pretty darn cute!

2. Belle Baby Carriers

Belle Baby Carriers are part of a new generation of businesses committed to doing business in a sustainable way.  They offer four different kinds of organic carriers all manufactured from their headquarters in Colorado.

3. Bumkins Certified Organics Collection

The Bumkins Certified Organics Collection is good for the environment and good foryour baby!  Cutting out harmful chemicals and dyes, Bumkins bibs, cloths, and towels make it easy to be green.

4. Babies R Us Free Tote

Babies R Us is offering a free reusable tote with purchase of any of their eco-friendly toys or natural & organic baby items on Earth Day (April 22, 2010).  This is worth it just for the tote as their selection of designs is downright adorable.

5. miYim Organic Cotton Toy Collections

miYim makes the perfect play-things for eco-conscious homes.  Made with certified organic cotton and lots of love, these collections are great additions to the family.  Can I recommend the Baby Ben Plush Frog (pictured)?  I find it particularly precious.

6. Method Baby & Kids

Method Baby & Kids products are gentle on both the earth and your child.  Method products are very popular in my house and will be my product of choice when I have my new bundle of joy.

7. Born Free Feeding

The Born Free Feeding system is a leak proof BPA-free baby bottle.  That alone might be enough to sell you, but when you add in that they also have a program where they take old products you don’t need anymore and recycle them into new product lines, it’s enough to make you jump for joy.

I hope you find this list useful and wish you all a very Happy Earth Day!