Being Green AND Frugal

Going Green is quite the movement nowadays. I think much of it is genuine, and with anything that's popular, there is a following of doing it because it's "cool" or "in" right now. Growing up in a family that wasn't even the lightest shade of green, it's strange that I possess some "inner hippy-ness", and have always thought "tree huggers" were cool (okay, SUPER cool). So what is my reasoning? It's both genuine and cool to me. Granted, I have a very strange ideas of what it means to be cool... because another group of people that are cool are... that's right... frugal people. It's really wonderful.

So how do we reconcile being green and being frugal? Organic food costs more. Hybrid vehicles cost more. Green cleaners are starting to come down in price, but are still more expensive than regular cleaners.

Well in any ways, being green and being frugal go hand in hand. Here are some ways we have found and incorporated:

1. Our most recent change was the switch over to cloth bags. vs. plastic or paper. How is this frugal? Our grocery store gives us $.05 for each bag that we use, each time we use it. Not significant, but when you're frugal...

2. Recycle!!! It has cut down on our garbage so much - who wants to pay a lot for trash?! When were going through one large trash bag a day before we started recycling... now we are down to one incredibly small bag. Huge difference.

3. Switch over to baking soda and vinegar for cleaning supplies. It DOES disinfect and it DOES clean. Use a splash of essential oils or lemon juice to mask the vinegar scent. I use both this and conventional cleaners, since I'm trying to use everything in my cupboards.

4. We wash (almost) everything in cold water. It saves on energy and on money. At the moment, we don't have to pay for utilities, but the habit has stuck.

5. Use cloth diapers. We use hot water for these. :) We cd part time. Though it can be a high cost up front, it really pays off quickly, in my opinion, especially when used for multiple children.

6. Walk vs. drive whenever you can. Living in town has made this easier for us to do. Saves on gas, which is ridiculously expensive, and doesn't pollute the air.

7. Plan your outings when you need to drive. I generally drive to the health food store once a week, which is 20 min. away. I try to get as much done on that trip as possible.

8. Use smaller vehicles. Our trusty ol' saturn gets us where we need to do with much less gas than other larger vehicles.

9. Switch to cloth napkins (buy cheaply from second hand shops). This has helped us cut down on our consumption of paper towels.

10. Switch to cloth when cleaning.

11. Buy in bulk whenever possible. This is generally cheaper and cuts down on packaging.

12. A friend recently turned us on to oatmeal baths vs. body wash products. The babe was battling a nasty diaper rash (thank you, kiwis) and that oatmeal was gentle on her body. Plus, it made her skin soft. Oatmeal is cheap in bulk!!

13. Line dry. Our last house had a clothesline, and this one doesn't, but hopefully we can put one up in the summer?

14. Have your own vegetable garden. We are hoping to do this this year. :)

15. Make do with what you have or buy second hand.

There are others, but these are many ways that we "go green" and stay true to our frugal mindset.