Money’s Tight? What Better Reason to Go Green?

Mar 22, 2010 Budget Environmentalism

Times continue to be tough for many families. It’s just hard to bring enough money in. You need to cut back on spending to get by.

Does that mean being green is out? No way!

Having less money is a wonderful reason to be eco friendly. Simply put, many green and eco friendly products cost less in the long run, and sometimes that long run is a pretty short run too.

Packing Snacks in Reusable Bags

Reusable bags can seem a bit pricey upfront, but if you compare the cost to what you’d spend on plastic baggies, it doesn’t take that long to make up what you spent on them. Just don’t get too fancy on your initial purchases. You can buy simple cotton muslin drawstring bags for as little as $3.

This is great for when you’re on the go as a family. Kids often want snacks for in the car or for during whatever activity you’re planning. Plastic baggies may be the common solution, but you’re still going to have to take them to the trash. Not much more effort to take your reusable bags home.

These can also be used when shopping at the grocery store for carrying produce. This may not be a money saver as such, although some stores will give a discount for using your own bags. But you’ll be using much less plastic in your life if you bring a bag.

Resetting the Thermostat

How’s the weather in your area? Are you thinking about the cost of heating or cooling your home?

Change the setting of your thermostat to save money on your bills. It doesn’t take much to make a difference. Just dress a little warmer in cool weather, and cooler in warm weather, plus allow your body to adapt to the temperatures of the season. Human bodies are hugely adaptable to weather, and if you rely less on heating and air conditioning to perfectly manage the temperature of your home, you will adapt to the season in time.

Eat Less Meat

Meat production has a huge environmental cost. It’s also kind of pricey at the store. Eat more vegan and vegetarian meals to save money.

It will take time to figure out what you like if you haven’t eaten many vegetarian meals in the past. Don’t be afraid to experiment. I’ve developed a liking for beans, quinoa, couscous and other ingredients that make for great vegetarian entrees. Vegetables… well, I’ve always liked them.

If you can’t afford it, don’t go organic for most produce. You should not be bankrupting yourself over food.

But you can grow a garden for fairly little money if you behave yourself. Don’t get all fancy about it, buying planter boxes and so forth if money’s tight. Just make a basic garden and grow your family some vegetables and herbs. Don’t forget to compost to make some great, cheap fertilizer for your garden.

Use a Clothesline

Using a clothesline is particularly practical during the summer. The sun will dry your clothes for free!

If you have homeowner’s association issues this can be challenging, as I well know. But you may be able to use a mobile clothes rack that you can take down after use, especially if it keeps everything below the top of your fence. It’s not a problem if no one else can see it!

You can also use a clothes rack indoors. Place it near a sunny, open window if you can.

If you’re concerned about crunchy clothes and towels from line drying, simply take them off the line when they’re almost dry, and finish the drying process in the dryer. You will still have used far less energy.

Make Your Own Cleaning Products

Know that cabinet full of cleaning products? You really don’t have to buy them for the most part. Making cleaning products at home is pretty easy.

The main ingredients you will need are baking soda and vinegar. You can buy these in larger packages to keep the overall cost down. The baking soda provides a bit of grit for scrubbing. Lemon juice can also help.

Keep a spray bottle of watered down vinegar ready for regular cleaning. You can use this for many cleaning jobs around the house.

If you want a little extra action on a tough cleaning job, sprinkle the baking soda on the area first, then spray with vinegar. The two will react, just as they do in the old volcano science fair experiment. The reaction will help you to clean up many kinds of messes.

Buy Used

Thrift stores and resale shops are your friends, and a delightful way to be green. When you buy used products, not only do they cost less but they aren’t using up new resources. They were made, someone else bought them and finished using them, now you can use them.

It’s amazing the quality you can get used. Clothes may be lightly worn or even not worn at all when they hit the thrift shops. Dishes will still work as dishes always do. Same for pots and pans. You can still read the books.

Yet they all cost a fraction of what they did originally.

These may not be the big things you dream of doing for the environment, but they will make a difference. We can’t all go off grid and grow all our own food. Many of us just don’t have the money to even start that process. Do the eco friendly things that fit into your budget and lifestyle, and encourage others to do the same.

Tags: green on a budget, saving money

Is Being Green Getting a Bad Rap?

Feb 9, 2010 Going Green

It always amazes me when people start talking about global warming being wrong. It’s as though they think that’s the only issue that matters… not to mention that they often have a poor understanding of the entire issue. Then they’re sometimes critical of the efforts other make to be green, as though it’s foolish.

I just don’t get it.

It’s foolish to do things than can save money? That pollute less? That use fewer resources?

So many of the easy green things to do have little or nothing to do with global warming specifically. They have to do with recognizing that there are many solid reasons to try to take better care of our planet. There’s kind of a shortage of alternatives in our solar system just now.

Lots of the things you can do that are environmentally friendly are budget friendly too. That’s a pretty nice deal, especially when so many families are struggling to get by. That they’re also less polluting, healthier and create less waste are additional benefits.

Making your own homemade cleaners, for example. Vinegar and baking soda are cheap and can clean many parts of your house. They’re cheap and nontoxic.

It really doesn’t matter to me what you think of global warming. Whether we’re right or wrong on that one, there are other issues to consider. There’s ocean acidification. Ground water pollution. Air pollution. And just where is all that garbage going anyhow? What about wildlife? This planet needs more than us, you know.

These are the things that make being green important, not just global warming. I’d be delighted to be wrong on that one. On the other hand, I’d sure hate to disagree about it and get that answer wrong. Which consequences have the chance of being worse?

No, being green isn’t easy. There are a lot of habits to break, a lot of temptations to avoid. But it can be done.

Think before you shop and again before you buy. Do you really need it? Is it the best option? Will it last? Can you buy it used? Will someone else be able to use it when you’re done with it?

There are a lot of things you can buy where those will be excellent questions to consider. The answers you come up with can really help with the decision process and keep you from buying things that really don’t meet your needs.

Sure, as individuals we’re all “the little guy” but that doesn’t matter. Get enough people together and there is a difference, one that corporations will notice, and that’s where the bigger differences in pollution and similar issues can occur. But it almost always has to start with the little guy. If we regular people don’t care, who else will?

So be green. Be unashamed. And encourage those you know to do likewise. Don’t let the arguments about global warming and such get you down. There’s much more to consider.

Tags: bad rap, global warming, saving money

Is Being Thrifty Bad for the Economy? What About the Environment?

Oct 13, 2009 Budget Environmentalism

Being thrifty became popular again with this most recent recession. Not for any environmental reasons, but because people had to.

But it’s kind of nice to think about how being thrifty also means you’re likely having less of an impact on the environment.

Some people are concerned, of course, that the new popularity of being thrifty is going to slow the economic recovery. And I would imagine they’re right. But I can’t help but feel that’s a good thing some ways.

Just think about how much your average American tends to waste. It’s quite a bit.

If less is wasted because we’re buying less, that’s going to be generally good for the environment.

It’s not perfect. Sometimes the cheapest items aren’t the best for the environment. But there are an awful lot of environmentally friendly products out there that make good sense for people who are really only interested in being thrifty, as they save money over time and on a short enough scale to be interesting.

Tags: saving money, thrifty