Living off the grid can be quite a challenging lifestyle to adhere to, and what happens when there is a massive power outage for weeks on end in the event of a natural disaster or calamity? There is always room for clean clothes, and this is where the Hand-crank washing machine comes in handy. The washing cycle takes as little as 10 seconds and could be as long as a couple of minutes to keep your laundry fresh and clean, although we’re sure it won’t be able to do a bang up job as that of a dedicated washing machine. Still, it is better than wearing stale-smelling clothes even at the end of the world, eh? This portable washing machine will retail for $49.99.

Product Page via Book of Joe

Have you ever tried to take a shower in the dark, like during a power outage? Not a lot of fun, isn’t it? Imagine if you had a light in the shower that is not powered by batteries, but hydroelectric power.

That’s right, the ECOlight is powered by the running of water in your shower. It’s like having a dam on your showerhead! I didn’t take that from the Sylvania Press Release, I swear.

Not only does the shower light give you a bright LED, but it also has an illuminated ring that will change color depending on the temperature of the water. I’m not certain how it works, but the light will be blue if the water is less than 78 degrees Fahrenheit, and red when it is warmer than 105.8 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Every once in a while, some DIY tech from a site called Instructables displays some homemade tech that should have been created by major electronics companies and not the people at home.

Today, it is a Solar Powered Nintendo DS Lite. Yes, someone other than Nintendo has figured out that affixing 60 x 60 millimeter solar panels to charge a power draining device is a good idea. They can create 6 volts of electricity, which is just enough for playing in the sun.

Why didn’t Nintendo think of this when they created the DS Lite? I mean, most pocket calculators are solar-powered, so shouldn’t we put solar panels on other portable electronics? That is, if it works.

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If you’re working hard to make your household chores a bit more eco-friendly, you might look into the Wonder Wash.  It uses even less water than if you were to hand wash a garment and uses a great deal less power than a washing machine.  It’s not going to hold anywhere near as much as a washing machine, so it will take longer to do the laundry.  However, if you’re committed to doing things the earth friendly way, this would be a great way to do it.  Even if you aren’t really big into green living, this would be a more efficient way to wash your delicate clothing.

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We’ve all seen the various wooden gadgets that have come out, well now there’s even a wooden flashlight.  The flashlight, I have to say, is looking a bit plain, so it’s most definitely for those that love nice clean lines and no extra frills.  Oddly although this is wooden, it claims to be actually eco-friendly.  It doesn’t much explain why it is able to use such a title though, that is besides using an energy efficient LED bulb.

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The Sanyo Eneloop range is always famous for its long-lasting battery life, and here we have with another Eneloop device known as the Sanyo Eneloop Solar Light. As you can tell by its name, it receives its power from the sun, outputting lights in arranged LEDs for rooms/emergencies by functioning as a flashlight. In addition, the USB port works great to juice up all your other phones and gizmos that rely on USB connectivity without letting you waste a single cent on disposable batteries as long as you rely on clean solar energy. Depending on the amount of lights used, this will release around 9 to 50 hours of light from a full tank.

I always highly appreciate Skullcandy’s variety of color choices when it comes to their earbuds.  Granted, I still bought the black pair of earbuds, but I still like that I had the option to go for lime green or pink.  Well now Skullcandy has created a different style of earbuds, this time in wood-grain.  Making them one of the many to join in on the wood technology trend, which I will never understand no matter how hard I try.

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Want to have a toy that goes on and on and on without the use of Energizer or Duracell batteries? That’s not a problem with the Solar Powered Orangutan, although it does look like a carved out piece of Lego from certain angles. All you need to do is set this Orangutan on a piece of string, expose it to some light and voila – it will get to work, climbing up to the very pinnacle according to its ability. You will need some assembly with this toy though, and it will take you approximately 20 minutes to complete the whole setup. The only tool you need? A simple screwdriver. $14.99 is the asking price for this piece of mindless fun.