These are my top five ways I have found to live more green and save some green.
1. Stop buying expensive cleaning supplies for your house. All you need is this all natural multi-purpose cleaner. I use it for everything in the bathroom and kitchen and love it! 2 cups water, 1 cup white vinegar, and 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide. Safe to use around kids (great for the highchair tray) and pets.
2. Compost your food scraps. I just started composting a few weeks ago. I always felt ok about throwing away food thinking that its biodegradable and that it wouldn’t affect the environment. Duh! If you put food in plastic bags then it doesn’t break down quickly and releases gases harmful to the environment. I got a stainless steel pail with a lid that I keep right next to my kitchen sink. It looks fancy so you would never guess its a compost pail. It holds about two days of food scraps and then I take it out back to my compost garbage pail. I took a regular garbage pail with lid that secures, drilled rows of holes in it and voila. I add dried leaves and grass clippings as well as all the food scraps, coffee grinds, and egg shells. Since I have to pay for garbage pickup it makes sense to have less of it and it saves me more trips out to the garbage pails.
3. Organic goodnight. I always wanted to have all organic cotton bedding and sheets but could never afford it. Its just so expensive. So instead I decided a more budget friendly alternative would be to buy organic cotton pj’s so at least my skin is covered in organic cotton even if my sheets cant be. They are still a little expensive but for a tank and pj bottom it would be around $35 and the organic bedding is hundreds.
4. Reuse and recycle. I always try to save furniture and old bedding because you can do so much with it. Especially when you have kids its great to repurpose an old lamp into a fun kid lamp with a few accessories from the craft store. I looked at the fabric clearance table the other day and I got two yards of “thomas the train” fabric for $4 total. I had two old picture frames that I used to frame the fabric and now my son has two large framed thomas pictures for $4!
5. Spend organic smart. I know I’ve said it alot but if you have to stick to a budget then use your money wisely to get the most organic bang for your buck. Buy dairy, meat, and fruits and veggies that are high in pesticide organically. I always buy strawberries, peaches, apples, peppers, spinach, and potatoes organic. I rarely buy organic onions, blueberries, or watermelon because they are very low in pesticides.
Post some of your favorite budget organic tips!
