Rick Diamond/Getty ImagesKristen Bell may have made for one low-key bride when she recently tied the knot at a Beverly Hills county clerk office with Dax Shepard, but she's very particular when it comes to making sure she's leading an eco-conscious lifestyle.
"It's kind of become a fun game about how much I can reduce, reuse and recycle," she recently told E! News. "I can't imagine that doesn't sound like the dorkiest thing you've ever heard but it's actually really fun for me figuring out that I can use the water that I wash my vegetables in, catch it in a bowl and dump it in my plants. It's the little things like that make me feel good."
And the newlywed is trying to get the public to feel good too by adopting similar practices. Earlier this month, the Neutrogena Naturals spokesperson partnered with the beauty brand and the Nature Conservancy to launch the Every Drop Counts campaign, which strives to get people to reduce their water usage.
"We're trying to get people to take very, very simple steps to save water," she explained. "You can pledge on the Neutrogena Facebook page to help save, and there's prizes."
But if you're not into, say, reusing your dirty vegetable water, perhaps you can try some of her new hubby's tactics.
"He always takes very short showers and shuts the water when he brushes his teeth," Bell told us.
Plus, the new mom opened up about other ways she likes to go green, as well as a few of her must-haves when it comes everything from date night with Dax to getting dolled up for the red carpet.
Here's what she had to say:
What's your favorite item in your closet right now?
I just bought a Rebecca Taylor dress that I love. I find that she makes such wonderful little go-to dresses. I also feel like Vanessa Bruno does the same thing. And Vanessa Bruno has some really great blouses for fall, which go with everything.
I have been on this kick of trying to support American-made products and really kind of support American artistry. And I found this company called Pierrepont Hicks. And I bought a pair of shoes from them. They kind of look like moccasins, and they've got a green interior and a suede exterior. They're extremely comfortable and they're made in Maine. They're really well-made. That's definitely my most favorite [recent] purchase. They are comfortable as all get-out.
What are some of your go-to beauty products?
My favorite [Neutrogena] product is the Purifying Cleanser, so throughout the month of October they're donating 10 percent of the Neutrogena Naturals Purifying Cleanser purchases to the Nature Conservancy directly.
In my makeup kit, I always keep dental floss. That's a really embarrassing thing to say but I do. I think it coming from being an actor and being so up-close and personal [and] having intimate scenes, but I really love the toothbrushes by Crest with built-in toothpaste. They seem gross, but guess what? They're not gross. They're absolutely everything you need after lunch.
Do you have any favorite green products?
I have a compost bin in my front yard. And I recently bought some fruit trees. And I think simply having an exposure to that cycle of the fruit tree or the cycle of the turnover of the compost helps me remain aware. That sounds so broad and philosophical, but it's true.
There's a new [snack] bar called This Bar Saves Lives. It's like a "kind" bar. It's started by a friend of mine. They're so delicious. I ate every single sample he produced during my pregnancy. They're so, so good. It's a give-back company, so for every bar purchased a life-saving nutritional packet is given to a child in need.
Do you and Dax have a favorite date night spot?
There's a delicious restaurant called Sage in Echo Park that's actually all vegan but tons of non-vegans go there because the cuisine is so delicious. There's also another really great one that's farm-to-table, and the menu changes day by day depending what's available from the few closest farms in Los Angeles, so they limit their environmental impact. It's called Cortez.
When you stay in, do you two have any favorite TV shows?
We love Game of Thrones and we love Breaking Bad. We're not exactly pushing the envelope in any new television direction. We're kind of standard—we like the good shows. We like the show Naked and Afraid on Discovery where they take two survival experts and they make them survive with no intervention for 21 days. It is a show about watching insanity set in. It's brilliant.
Do you have any favorite websites?
I found the most unbelievable site called TheAmericanEdit.com. I found that a lot of the American-made goods in the research that I've done recently aren't super fashionable. It's just not. I'm not trying to be negative. But this site is very much a curation of really cute, fashionable American items. I've been so impressed. The thing I've had my eye on—I don't know if they're on American Edit—Shinola watches, which are made in Detroit and are handmade and so gorgeous.
Are there any sites you turn to for a little red carpet inspiration?
I kind of do my own thing—it changes minute-to-minute. I really like going on Polyvore. I feel like Polyvore makes fashion really easy, even for day-to-day stuff. I'm decent at it but I've far from perfected the art of fashion, so I still need advice for what balances what. And Polyvore, I find, answers a lot those questions visually.