It's Cheaper To Go Green.
Whaaaaaat?!?!
Yes. You read that right. It's cheaper to go the "green" route in life. How so? Allow me to explain...No. There's too much. Allow me to sum up.
Buying organic: How does one do that on a budget? Well, If you're not already reading Crunchy Savings - you should be. Lindsay has some AMAZING tips. How do I do it? I make most everything from scratch. You need to watch prices and shop by season. Farmer's markets are your new best friend. We also have a huge garden and I can a lot of what I get out of it for the winter. Soon - We'll be pulling the last of the squash and cucumbers from the garden and planting fall crops in their places. We will have our own meat here soon from our beef cattle and our hogs, however, even with buying organic meat at an organic food market we spend less than we would buying processed, chemical ridden junk from the supermarket. You just have to shop smart! The simple truth is: yes, it does take a lot longer and is a lot more work to do things from scratch. The pay off is much greater though. Plus - the food just tastes better!
Chemical-Free Cleaning: If you're spending tons of money on store-bought green cleaners, I'm about to make your life (and wallet) happier. You can make your own green cleaners for LOADS cheaper. I make all our cleaning supplies. I use vinegar and water to clean most everything. I add tea tree essential oil, lavender essential oil, and lemon juice to the vinegar and water for a cheap green all-purpose cleaner. I mix vinegar, rubbing alcohol, water, and lavender essential oil for my window cleaner. I make our laundry soap using fels naptha, washing soda, and borax. I make our bathroom sparkle with the same all-purpose cleaner. Recently, I learned how to make a soap scum busting cleaner using vinegar and plain blue Dawn dish washing liquid (thanks Pinterest!) I make our deodorant from coconut oil, baking soda, essential oils, and zinc oxide powder. Oh, how I loooooove coconut oil! I use it as a moisturizer, diaper rash cream, in cooking...It has so many uses around the house. Same goes for blue dawn,vinegar, and baking soda! Just look at these links:
1001 Uses for Vinegar
75 Uses for Baking Soda
122 Uses for Coconut Oil
Alternate Uses for Blue Dawn Dish Soap
WOW!
Other ways we save money: I line dry a lot of things. I cloth diaper. Ask me about it! It's not as hard as you think, and there are lots of cloth diapering options out there now. We use kitchen towels and cheap hand towels in place of paper towels. I'm about to get real serious about using cheap cloth napkins during the week in place of the paper kind. I have been slacking since Raspberry's birth. I already mentioned that I can a lot of things now, but I also freeze a lot as well. I have three gallons of peaches and 5 gallons of squash frozen. I have maybe a gallon of peppers frozen. I'm loving this preservation process. It's hot work, but it is fun knowing you have tons of yummy food items to feed your family that are BPA-free & chemical free!
Honestly, I started the going green process not because it was green, but because it saved us a TON of money. The green bit is just an added bonus!
Yes. You read that right. It's cheaper to go the "green" route in life. How so? Allow me to explain...No. There's too much. Allow me to sum up.
Buying organic: How does one do that on a budget? Well, If you're not already reading Crunchy Savings - you should be. Lindsay has some AMAZING tips. How do I do it? I make most everything from scratch. You need to watch prices and shop by season. Farmer's markets are your new best friend. We also have a huge garden and I can a lot of what I get out of it for the winter. Soon - We'll be pulling the last of the squash and cucumbers from the garden and planting fall crops in their places. We will have our own meat here soon from our beef cattle and our hogs, however, even with buying organic meat at an organic food market we spend less than we would buying processed, chemical ridden junk from the supermarket. You just have to shop smart! The simple truth is: yes, it does take a lot longer and is a lot more work to do things from scratch. The pay off is much greater though. Plus - the food just tastes better!
Chemical-Free Cleaning: If you're spending tons of money on store-bought green cleaners, I'm about to make your life (and wallet) happier. You can make your own green cleaners for LOADS cheaper. I make all our cleaning supplies. I use vinegar and water to clean most everything. I add tea tree essential oil, lavender essential oil, and lemon juice to the vinegar and water for a cheap green all-purpose cleaner. I mix vinegar, rubbing alcohol, water, and lavender essential oil for my window cleaner. I make our laundry soap using fels naptha, washing soda, and borax. I make our bathroom sparkle with the same all-purpose cleaner. Recently, I learned how to make a soap scum busting cleaner using vinegar and plain blue Dawn dish washing liquid (thanks Pinterest!) I make our deodorant from coconut oil, baking soda, essential oils, and zinc oxide powder. Oh, how I loooooove coconut oil! I use it as a moisturizer, diaper rash cream, in cooking...It has so many uses around the house. Same goes for blue dawn,vinegar, and baking soda! Just look at these links:
1001 Uses for Vinegar
75 Uses for Baking Soda
122 Uses for Coconut Oil
Alternate Uses for Blue Dawn Dish Soap
WOW!
Other ways we save money: I line dry a lot of things. I cloth diaper. Ask me about it! It's not as hard as you think, and there are lots of cloth diapering options out there now. We use kitchen towels and cheap hand towels in place of paper towels. I'm about to get real serious about using cheap cloth napkins during the week in place of the paper kind. I have been slacking since Raspberry's birth. I already mentioned that I can a lot of things now, but I also freeze a lot as well. I have three gallons of peaches and 5 gallons of squash frozen. I have maybe a gallon of peppers frozen. I'm loving this preservation process. It's hot work, but it is fun knowing you have tons of yummy food items to feed your family that are BPA-free & chemical free!
Honestly, I started the going green process not because it was green, but because it saved us a TON of money. The green bit is just an added bonus!
Love that dawn and vinegar cleaner...it works great!
ReplyDelete