Girlawhirl loves a good dark jean. No fading, or cat whiskers, just plain dark denim from hip to hem. But no matter how carefully she follows recommended washing instructions, by the time they are broken in, some of the deep dark color has inevitably washed down the drain. Now that she's found a new laundry detergent specially made to take care of her dark denim, she can wash the blue jean blues away...

Maybe it's because last Earth Day was last week, but Girlawhirl's recently noticed many home accessories taking on more natural forms. And more often than not, it's wood or the look of wood that's being incorporated into these items. She can't deny that adding some natural elements to the more typically modern interior of her apartment warms up the place, but it's the chic glass cutting board that looks like wood that she loves the most...

Girlawhirl, like most of her friends, knows that healthy salads – meaning those that don't contain gobs of creamy dressing or tons of cheesy croutons on top – are a great way to get her daily requirement of a whole variety of vegetables. So she makes them a staple, trying to have one for lunch most days of the week...

Even Girlawhirl's appliances dedicated to cleaning – her dishwasher and washing machine – could use a good scrub every once in a while. And in her tiny apartment with her ancient washer, she's noticed that the inside of her machine has a sort of perma-musty-smell. But since she doesn't really have the urge to climb inside her washing machine and start scrubbing, she's very happy to have found a gentle-on-the-earth option to do the work for her...

With the extended sunlight hours of the last few weeks, Girlawhirl can't help but yearn for the warm weather to arrive soon. She absolutely loves that it's still light out when she leaves the office each day. Now, Girlawhirl only wishes it was warm enough to enjoy those extra hours of sun outside somewhere, relaxing with friends and a nice cool glass of iced tea. And while she may still have to wait a bit before the temperature allows for evenings on the patio, she's getting a jump start on picking up fresh new glassware to cheer the new season with...

When it comes to sorting her garbage, Girlawhirl doesn't want it to look like trash. But with multiple bins for separating her waste – including paper, glass, cans and plastics – her tiny kitchen gets easily overwhelmed. But now Girlawhirl's found some sleek options to help her sort and contain all of her recyclables that are easy on the eyes…

As much as she loves the idea of a full-blown apartment re-do, Girlawhirl's taking the makeover of her tiny city space one step at a time. She's spruced up her bedroom, and is constantly changing her living room, but with a long hallway in between, she’s left with lots of wall and not a lot of ideas about what to do...