Saving Money and the Environment: Where Green and Frugal Meet
Published on - April 22nd, 2009 (by J.D. Roth) This is a guest post for Earth Day from Beth H., who writes about saving time, money, and the environment at Smart Family Tips.
Going “green” has a bit of a bad rap. As soon as marketers realized it was profitable to be green, suddenly all sorts of products flooded the marketplace with eco-friendly claims. It can be overwhelming. Is it really necessary to buy all this “stuff” to be green? Are these products really as green as they say they are? We’re in a recession — I can’t go into debt to save the planet!
The good news: At its most fundamental, being “green” is nothing new. It’s actually built around a very old philosophy of consuming less, buying only what you need, using things until they’re worn out, and wasting not. Unsurprisingly, frugality and green-living are closely tied. You don’t have to buy expensive “green” products in order to be environmentally friendly. The real goal is to mind your consumption, and that’s good for your wallet and the planet.
Where to start?
Reduce consumption
Think of all the things you consume in a given day — or a given week. What can you use less of? I’m not talking about self-denial. As J.D. mentioned in a prior post, it may not really be necessary to use two tablespoons of cocoa instead of three. But on a larger scale, can you use less or use things in a different way to avoid waste? Some areas to consider:
- Fewer Disposables. Try using fewer paper towels and paper napkins. I picked up a package of 50 terry cloth shop towels at Costco for the same price as a mega-pack of Bounty paper towels. The shop towels are the perfect size for a paper towel replacement (and more absorbent), and that one-time purchase will last indefinitely. I can’t say that I never use a paper towel for anything, but I use far fewer now than before. We’ve also started using basic cotton cloth napkins almost exclusively. They’re just as easy as paper napkins and far less expensive in the long run.
- No more bottled water. Consider buying a reusable, BPA-Free bottle and fill it with tap water. Most bottled water is tap water anyway. If you don’t like the taste of the water that comes out of your tap, consider an inexpensive filter. Depending on how much bottled water you and your family drink, you could see tremendous savings here — not to mention the positive impact on the environment when you reduce the number of plastic bottles coming out of your home.
Conserve
When you conserve resources, you’re not only helping to ensure there will be resources left for future generations, you’re saving money, too.
- Water. Turn off the faucet when you brush your teeth. If you have children, teach them to do this as well. Install low-flow shower heads. The newer models don’t sacrifice water pressure like the older ones used to. Wash full loads of clothes and dishes. Consider a rain barrel if you have a garden. The benefit: lower water bills and a happier planet.
- Energy. Turn down the thermostat a couple of degrees. Set your hot water heater temperature to no more than 120 degrees. Arrange errands so that you drive less.
- Food. Plan meals so you waste less food and make fewer trips back and forth to the store. Grow your own. J.D. and Kris have written a lot about their garden project. Having your own garden not only saves you money on food, but conserves resources — your food doesn’t haven’t to travel long distances to make it to your table.
Remember that most of the time, being frugal is being green. Reuse what you can, and try to wear things out. When you do buy new products, try to purchase items that are more efficient and have the least packaging. And of course, recycle. Happy Earth Day!
J.D.’s note: For more on this subject, check out this article from the archives: Want to save the environment? Buy less stuff.
This article is about Choices, Consumerism, Frugality
SEARCH FOR RECENT ARTICLES
Reuse and recyle like Sharon said. I am for that. I do a lot of things that people might find silly or time consuming, but I do them like breathing. I open up and rinse the wax paper from inside my husband’s cereal box, using it to seal tins or cutting into pieces and using to cover microwave dishes. I reuse glass jars for our honey (we keep bees) and to share homemade salad dressing and barbecue sauce with others. I recycle plastic bags for bathoom trash cans. Although, I just ordered grocery bags from flylady.net. They get rave reviews and the set includes insulated bags–love that! She also has a great product called the Rubba Scrubba brush that can clean dishes, pick up pet hair, etc. I have several around the house and they are indispensible. For a mop, use a Sh-mop from The Clean Team vs a Swiffer. The cover for cleaning is terry cloth and can be thrown in the washing machine vs the having to be thrown away like for the Swiffer. I do use some bottled water and feel bad about it. Our water tastes like chlorine and also has copper in it. The Brita filters take out the first, but not the latter. I do drink our water, either running it through a filter or lettng a jug sit on the counter overnight so the chlorine evaporates some. But when the chlorine is really bad, I won’t drink it. No clotheslines are allowed in our subdivision so I dry on drying racks and the dryer with several tennis bowls in the load to speed up drying. I do reuse Ziploc bags for most things after washing. If you reuse plastic containers, why not plastic bags? I do like glass for baking, microwave, etc. Plastic is horrid.
We have plenty to improve on still and this post is a great reminder.
One thing that really bothers me though is the earth day/energy saver experts telling me to upgrade to a newer appliance. I see no point in getting a new washing machine and having mine get junked potentially if it’s still working fine. Likewise, hybrid cars make sense, but is it right to junk a fine car and replace it with a hybrid–I don’t think so.
Shirley
loading....
I use virtually all of these ideas in my own home. There is a great book titled, “The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget” written by Josh Dorfman that introduced me to lots of green companies who sell inexpensive products that I never knew existed.
loading....
Reuse and recyle like Sharon said. I am for that. I do a lot of things that people might find silly or time consuming, but I do them like breathing. I open up and rinse the wax paper from inside my husband’s cereal box, using it to seal tins or cutting into pieces and using to cover microwave dishes. I reuse glass jars for our honey (we keep bees) and to share homemade salad dressing and barbecue sauce with others. I recycle plastic bags for bathoom trash cans. Although, I just ordered grocery bags from flylady.net. They get rave reviews and the set includes insulated bags–love that! She also has a great product called the Rubba Scrubba brush that can clean dishes, pick up pet hair, etc. I have several around the house and they are indispensible. For a mop, use a Sh-mop from The Clean Team vs a Swiffer. The cover for cleaning is terry cloth and can be thrown in the washing machine vs the having to be thrown away like for the Swiffer. I do use some bottled water and feel bad about it. Our water tastes like chlorine and also has copper in it. The Brita filters take out the first, but not the latter. I do drink our water, either running it through a filter or lettng a jug sit on the counter overnight so the chlorine evaporates some. But when the chlorine is really bad, I won’t drink it. No clotheslines are allowed in our subdivision so I dry on drying racks and the dryer with several tennis bowls in the load to speed up drying. I do reuse Ziploc bags for most things after washing. If you reuse plastic containers, why not plastic bags? I do like glass for baking, microwave, etc. Plastic is horrid.
We have plenty to improve on still and this post is a great reminder.
One thing that really bothers me though is the earth day/energy saver experts telling me to upgrade to a newer appliance. I see no point in getting a new washing machine and having mine get junked potentially if it’s still working fine. Likewise, hybrid cars make sense, but is it right to junk a fine car and replace it with a hybrid–I don’t think so.
Shirley
Sorry, forgot to add great post! Can’t wait to see your next post!
loading....
This are very good tips! It is funny how this “new” idea is a very old one. If you speak with people from earlier generations this is how they lived everyday. Eating their own food, not wasting what was on their plate, and not throwing anything away, especially those who lived through the depression. The world has become very cluttered and comlicated. It is time to get back to basics!
Thanks for the wake up call!
loading....
“rape the earth and take her granite”?
Good grief.
loading....
FYI: Rain Barrels are illegal in some places (stupid i know, but still good to know)
loading....
All excellent ideas. Cut out processed foods. Many of them are not green-friendly.
loading....
I love the being cheap = being green in general. Doing your part to avoid wasteful consuming means you won’t be using extra physical goods, and it also means you won’t be wasting the labor and energy involved in making, transporting, and selling those good too.
loading....
@Obliviousinvestor
I’m not the first person to answer your question, but… For cleaning dishes, I’ve found out that homemade knitted dishrags work very well. The stitches are loose enough that they grab what’s stuck on the plates, if I’m making sense. Works pretty well for me, better than sponges.
Being frugal and being green are indeed often the same. Sure, organic food costs a bit more, but that’s an exception.
Recently, I found websites (in French, though) about using green cleaning products. For laundry detergent, washing dishes, or washing the house, natural products that cost less and are less harmful to the environment that the brand ones.
And they work, too! White vinegar and baking soda take care of most things (separately, for the most part, although mixing them is, well, funny at the very least), and making our own laundry detergent sure saved us a lot (I’m not sure you guys in North America would have the Marseilles soap that’s needed though. And if you imported it, well, that’s polluting).
The question is how far to go. I’ve been considering using cloth tissues for instance, but a lot of people seem to find the idea dirty. On the other hand, I know someone who uses reusable toilet “paper” (it’s really cloth), and I don’t think I could ever do that.
(Now, using soap and water instead of paper, I could go for. Definitely seems cleaner to me. But, well, you can’t do that elsewhere than home).
Sorry for the “dirty” subject, but these things are part of everyday life, too, even if most of the time we just don’t talk about them.
loading....
I bought this book called “The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget”, by Josh Dorfman and when I opened and read the first few pages, I know this author meant business. There are pages full of awesome websites that Go Green and can help the environment. He really did his research I tell ya!
I try and save as much money as I can, however, if it’s ‘greener’ and a few extra bucks I’ll fork it out. I really am trying to help save this environment, stay green and still have a few bucks in my pocket.
Even if you already know a lot about green living, The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget will surprise you with all of its new ideas and affordable suggestions. Did you know Levis and Billabong have shirts made of organic cotton? I didn’t know this until I read this book, along with a lot more other things! Check it out, it’s really informative and fun to read.
loading....
This is awesome…how great to go green and save green at the same time!
loading....