Going GREEN and saving some GREEN too!!

[Chickysmom]

With 2009 here and resolutions in full swing, I thought we could all share things we are doing in our lives to "go green" and hopefully "save some green" at the same time! I'm anxious to hear all of your ideas!

I have two large cloth shopping bags in my van at all times I plan on using for as many shopping trips as possible. This isn't really a cost savings BUT will help the environment.

I am also trying to cook in bulk if at all possible. I am trying to cook/eat more at home (as we eat out all the time!) trying to save money that way but also reducing energy costs dueto cooking...hoping to loose some weith too!

I have a "green" kit at work which includes items going to the donation box that I can use instead of the disposable plastic cups, utensils and paper bowls/plates at work. I have two of everything in case I forget something at home when it gets washed. They supply the office with a water cooler so I can use my 16 oz cup now instead of brining bottles water or usinga plastic up.

I saw many people starting to bring ther own cups too!

Anyone else?

 

[wdwcoltsfan]

This is something that I started toying with last year when fuel prices went sky high. I decided that I didn't want to be part of the "high consumption" lifestyle that has overtaken our society.

Some of the basic things I started with and will continue this year are:

Line drying clothes- when weather permits
Making my own cleaning supplies- there are a lot of great recipes online
Eating at home more and shopping from a list
Planting a vegetable garden. I would like to try fruit trees and blueberries.
I used homemade insect/critter repellant for our garden.
I recycle more and use cloth bags when shopping.

One thing I found is that "going green" can often cost a lot of green. I always thought going green meant saving money, but that isn't always the case if you are purchasing green products or setting your home up to be more efficient in the future.

There are a lot of books and websites on simple living that helped a lot. Some of the ideas border on craziness, but many are helpful.

Good luck with your resolution!


Rachel

 

[magik]

Using white vinegar and baking soda for cleaning as much as possible.

I have a couple of metal water bottles (a Sigg and a couple Klean Kanteens) that I use at work and home instead of buying bottled water. Not cheap to buy the bottles, but cheaper than continuing to buy bottled water from the store or the soda machine at work. I've had them several years now and they are holding up great and get a lot of use.

Using cloth napkins and towels instead of paper napkins and paper towels. More cost at the outset, but less cost overall as you don't have to keep re-purchasing, and doesn't really add too much to the laundry. Plus, it's easy enough to make your own napkins - just get some cotton fabric, cut into the right size squares and hem or serge the edges.

I crocheted several of these cotton dish sponges, and use them as reusable, washable, longer lasting sponges to wipe down counters and dishes. No more buying new sponges when the old ones get gross...just toss these in the washing machine. They weren't expensive to make either. One ball of kitchen cotton yarn from walmart made about 4 sponges the way I crochet. I love the way they work. They aren't good if you have really stuck on stuff - I still use a brillo pad or plastic scraper for that stuff, but for the basics you would use a regular sponge for...really nice.

No more ziploc bags. I have various sizes of mostly glass containers to use in my lunches and for storing leftovers. Cost a bit to buy them upfront, but I haven't bought ziploc bags in probably two years so far.

Obviously, I have an assortment of reusable shopping bags. Occasionally this does save money as some stores will give 5-10 cents off for each of your own bags you use. I know Giant grocery stores used to do this at least, although I haven't shopped there in a long time, so I'm not sure if they still do.

One thing I want to try to do more of this year is using dried beans instead of canned. I'm paranoid about BPA now, and as canned foods have just as much if not more BPA than plastic cups and bottles and stuff, there's only one organic brand of canned food (Eden Organics, I think) that claims to not have BPA in their beans. I use a lot of beans and that brand is significantly more expensive than regular non-organic beans, so I want to try to get bags of dried beans and cook them myself this year. This should be cheaper and avoid the BPA of canned beans at the same time. Beans in general, especially if you cook them yourself, are a fairly cheap protein source.

One thing I've done in the past, but don't know if I'll have time for this year, is being a member of a CSA farm. It can be a great way to get organic or at least local produce for a cheaper price than buying from the store. The farm I was a member of, if you went every week for your U-Pick portion as well as what got delivered each week, you definitely got your money's worth of mostly organically grown fruits and veggies. Plus it was local, which is also better for the environment..no packaging, no high transport costs, etc. You have to be prepared to put in the work for this to save money and be worthwhile though - it doesn't save any money if you don't maximize your share by doing the U-Pick, and it definitely doesn't save any money if you don't either use or preserve/freeze stuff before it goes bad.

When I have an appliance die, I always replace with an energy star appliance if possible. Another thing that is sometimes more upfront cost, but especially if it lasts long enough, can be a good cost savings in the long run.

I had to recently replace the windows in my house as the seals were broken in several, I could only open two in the whole house, and they were just in bad shape. I spent the extra needed to get highly rated energy star windows, and the cost savings in my monthly electric bill have been amazing as well as just the general difference in comfort of the house.

ETA:
Apparently Wild Oats and Albertsons offer 5-cents off for bringing your own bag. Kroger offers 4 cents off per bag. I think Whole Foods offers some number of cents for reusable bags. Ikea doesn't offer a discount per bag, but actually charges you 5 cents per bag if you don't bring your own.

 

[winnapooh]

I used homemade insect/critter repellant for our garden.

Do you have a recipe for the insect repellant? I have been using the insecticidal soap (from Walmart, it's supposedly somewhat green) when I absolutely need to, but I'm still not confident it's okay for my dog. If there is something better, I'd love to try it!

 

[tonilea]

We started using dish towels and now go through about one roll of paper towels in a month, as opposed to going through one a week.

 

[Chicago526]

let's see...reusable grocery bags, vinager and baking soda cleaners, reusable food storage containers vs. ziplock bags and plastic wrap, water filter on the faucet vs. bottled water. Wash most clothes on cold, only full loads (still use the dryer though...). I use half the amount of laundry soap and skip the extra rinse cycle, clothes are still clean and my earth friendly soap lasts longer. CF bulbs in all the light fixtures that they'll fit in. Use fans in the summer as much as possible vs. running the AC. Keep the house durring winter at 68 in the evenings and weekends when we're home and 62 durring the day and when we're asleep, I just use a small heater to heat my home office while working during the day rather than heating the whole house (I work full time from home..which is also green!) Adding insulation to our house as we remodel room by room. Planning on buying bar towels and wash cloths to use for cleaning rather than paper towels, haven't gotten around to that yet.

 

[wdwcoltsfan]

Do you have a recipe for the insect repellant? I have been using the insecticidal soap (from Walmart, it's supposedly somewhat green) when I absolutely need to, but I'm still not confident it's okay for my dog. If there is something better, I'd love to try it!

The receipe I use is:

Combine 1 egg, 1 cup milk, few drops cooking oil and 1 T liquid soap with 1 quart water. Add 1 t chili pepper or red pepper flakes and pour into a sray bottle.

I have only used this in the garden and it worked pretty well. It also helped to spread chopped onion, garlic or red pepper flakes around the perimeter of the garden.

Hope this helps!


Rachel

 

[winnapooh]

The receipe I use is:

Combine 1 egg, 1 cup milk, few drops cooking oil and 1 T liquid soap with 1 quart water. Add 1 t chili pepper or red pepper flakes and pour into a sray bottle.

I have only used this in the garden and it worked pretty well. It also helped to spread chopped onion, garlic or red pepper flakes around the perimeter of the garden.

Hope this helps!


Rachel

Great, thanks!

 

[BeckyScott]

This wasn't exactly intentional, but our dryer died right before Christmas and we haven't replaced it.

Part of the reason was because of the timing . Part of the reason is because we have an old house with small door frames and it is an awful pain to get the dryer out and put a new one in. Especially since it's winter and no doubt would involve our back door being open (probably taken off the hinges) for several hours.

But then I got thinking about it and decided to just hang-dry for a while and see how it works out. So we've saved money not buying a new dryer, plus our electric bill should be lower. (family of 4, so I was running it every day) I can hang outside this summer, but for now I've just got laundry hanging all over the house. The only bummer is maaaan our bath towels really do exfoliate!

 

[minnie1928]

I do everything listed above. But to add to the dryer comments...I've found that if I do one load of wash per day I can dry them on my rack. If I do more than one per day I end up using my dryer more (I run each load through for 20 minutes, then rack dry the rest) or I'll need to go buy another rack. This works out pretty well for us though...

Another thing to add to the list is to do e-payments/statements when ever possible. Saves printing, transporting, etc. Also saves the cost of a stamp too!

 

[timzagain]

My recent efforts at going green:-

1. Cloth napkins and handkerchiefs, both of which I can make quite easily.
2. Avoid using ziploc bags and cling-wrap type products. Sandwiches go directly into a food-safe plastic container. I bought some plastic bowl covers (the ones like shower caps) which I washed and reused. I also discovered that our dinner plates fit nicely on top or just inside some of the bowls I'd normally use for food preparation - no more bowl covers for me!
3. Line drying our laundry where feasible
4. Stop using the TV as background noise during the day. Turn it off and enjoy the sounds of silence.
5. Use rags (cut up old clothes) instead of paper towels for cleaning up spills etc.
6. No more Clorox-type wipe. Fill a spray bottle (a sturdy one from the garden store) with water, add a few drops of bleach and some rags will do the job for a lot less money!