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5 Easy Ways My Family Goes Green And Saves Money

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Curious to see how this family goes green and saves money in the process? You are in the right place because KJ wrote about this in 2015.

If you do a little research, it’s not hard to see that everyone needs to do their part to make our planet more sustainable. Now, my family and I aren’t total hippies. I mean, we are converting an old school bus into a biodiesel-solar-powered-RV; but really, we’re pretty normal (I promise!).

I am all about convenience, but I am willing to add a few small steps in my daily routine to keep from making the movie WALL-E a reality. Here are a few easy steps that even the busiest family could take to go green and save a few extra dollars too. Here are 5 Easy Ways My Family Goes Green And Saves Money.

Here we have our 5 Easy Ways My Family Goes Green And Saves Money! Learn how this planet-save-cheapos do it and you can too!

Ways My Family Goes Green And Saves Money

No trash bags

I read somewhere a long time ago, that it takes even biodegradable trash up to 15 years to break down when it’s in a trash bag. So why would I take time to recycle and spend extra money on earth-friendly diapers just to put them in a plastic bag and keep them from decomposing?? Trash bags aren’t that expensive, but a penny saved is a penny earned and I can have a clear conscience about my carbon footprint. Any kind of yucky things I put down the disposal, or rinse before throwing away. Also, I have several small trash cans that I rotate and clean when they get gross. Easy right?

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I read somewhere a long time ago, that it takes even biodegradable trash up to 15 years to break down when it’s in a trash bag. So why would I take time to recycle and spend extra money on earth-friendly diapers just to put them in a plastic bag and keep them from decomposing?? Trash bags aren’t that expensive, but a penny saved is a penny earned and I can have a clear conscience about my carbon footprint. Any kind of yucky things I put down the disposal, or rinse before throwing away. Also, I have several small trash cans that I rotate and clean when they get gross. Easy right?

No paper towels/napkins 

This one is actually the least trouble of all my green efforts. When I got married, I had registered for an obscene amount of dish towels, plus cloth napkins, and I got them all…and no silverware..oops! So I’ve never really seen the need for paper towels or napkins. For really gross messes, I’ll use cotton shop rags from home depot. Plus, there are always cute cloth napkins in the dollar spot at target. I have stocked up a whole basket full in the kitchen, ranging from cute decorative, to paint rags and heavy duty cleaning rags. When they get musty, I wash them in super hot water with baking soda, or boil them with a couple drops of dawn.

** Oh p.s. – an extra little tip for moms: instead of using a bib every time baby eats, let them go shirtless(less laundry)!

Natural cleaners

Pretty much everything can be cleaned with baking soda, vinegar, or peroxide. Seriously, search Pinterest. You can replace every chemical (reuse the bottles) under your sink for a few dollars.

Pretty much everything can be cleaned with baking soda, vinegar, or peroxide. Seriously, search Pinterest. You can replace every chemical (reuse the bottles) under your sink for a few dollars.

Blinds open, lights off/ blinds closed, fans on 

Honestly, my motivation for this is more money saving than planet-saving, but that’s neither here nor there. When it’s cold out, we open all of the blinds letting all of the light and some warmth in. However, most of the time here in Texas, it is blistering HOT, so the blinds stay closed and we have fans in every room and blackout curtains in the bedrooms. This keeps our a/c from working too hard, thus saving us a couple dollars on the light bill. There are a lot of little tricks you can do around the house to keep the light bill down. Some electric companies will actually send someone out to your house to address things that are sucking up energy.

Costco 

Costco is new to our area, and as soon as it opened up, I had to check it out. Now I’m obsessed, seriously, I’m like a kid in a candy store every single time. It’s fun, but it’s also saving us some money. We make a trip there once a month, or sometimes every other month, to stock up on staples like meat (their prices on organic can’t be beat), canned goods, dry goods, and lunch box snacks. Bulk shopping equals less shopping trips, less gas, and less chance to buy incidentals (which I am the worst at). Of course, there are some perishables we go to the regular grocery store or farmers market for, but we have cut back. Plus, Costco takes special steps to keep their warehouses and transportation as sustainable as possible…Oh, and there’s always samples.

So there you go, just a few of the stress-free steps we take to be planet-saving-cheapos, what kind of things do you do around your house to help the planet, save money, and/or energy???


Bio:

the-proverbial-house-photo-ktI am KJ, a Jesus-loving woman, wife, mother, writer, crafter, and decorator. A Baby-wearing, breastfeeding, toxin free, GMO-fighting, gentle-parenting hippie. A firm believer in respect and rights for all. I’m extremely close with my family. I am married to my high school sweetheart, who is probably my biggest fan/supporter, and we have two beautifully, unruly daughters together.

I write to encourage others. To spread LOVE and GRACE especially to young moms who struggle with feelings of inadequacy and emotional overload. To share inspiration that enriches your homes and lives.

 

 

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32 Comments

  1. I am with you all the way with the natural cleaners and only recently found a ‘recipe’ for fabric conditioner on Pinterest.

    Angela

    1. Oh there are tons, and so easy to make. If you are an essential oil user there are good recipes 🙂

  2. What do you do with the trash after the can is full? Do you put it straight in the big can for the weekly pick up? Interesting for sure. I know some people who use grocery bags as they degrade quicker, but those are recyclable so it’s kind of a conundrum.

    1. yep, straight to the big can. I don’t how the garbage pick up people feel about it but they’ve never complained:)

    2. There is no point using paper bags “as they degrade quicker” because nothing biodegrades in a landfill. The point above about letting your garbage biodegrade more quickly by not wrapping it in plastic is pretty much moot for the same reason, BUT there is still an environmental advantage in not adding a bunch of bags to the landfill!

      My family does not have an outdoor trash can. That helps to motivate us to keep the volume and smelliness of our garbage at a level we can tolerate inside the house until weekly pickup. We do need to put it out in something, so we use a plastic bag to line the kitchen trash can, empty all the wastebaskets into that, and put out that bag at the curb. We buy trash bags made of recycled plastic.

      1. They aren’t even paper… They’re the plastic ones that are also made from recyclables. At least they are in our area. I don’t really think there is a great answer other than reduce your waste and recycle what you can, which this family already does. Mine, on the other hand, is full of toddlers, and we produce amazing amounts of trash despite recycling. We sure are trying, though.

  3. Reuse reuse reuse. I try to reuse things like paper and plastic to store stuff, mail stuff, and use as crafting materials.

    1. yes, I have a huge collection of glass jars just waiting for the perfect project:) One year I made homemade soy candles(using glass jars) for everyone as christmas presents

  4. We have been using cloth napkins for a couple years now and it’s helped cut out so much trash in our fam of 5. Stopping by from Share the Wealth Sunday and hope you’ll linkup with our Small Victories Sunday Linkup that just went live too!

  5. Another amazing tip is to Reuse ziplock bags! All you have to do if rinse them out. Saves so much during school lunches!

  6. My father has no intention of going green but he’s a tight yorkshire man! His latest tip is to wash silver foil and reuse it! Thanks for linking up with #featurefridays

  7. I’m working on replacing all my disposable things with more permanent options and it seems like every day I notice something else. Trash bags hadn’t even crossed my mind! I won’t be buying anymore paper towels or napkins when I run out either.

  8. Great tips! I’ll need to do this now that we are completely broke from buying a new place. Thanks for joining us on the #CofessionsLinkUp. Hope to see you again next week!

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  10. We are doing most of these, but my MIL gave me a custom made WOODEN trash can that she insists we use, so it has to be lined. I’m on the search for a reusable trash can liner now. 🙁

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  22. These are great tips! I love Costco, too, but there are some things I won’t buy there because they are wastefully packaged. For example, pasta is in 1-pound boxes that are held together in a larger box or shrink-wrap. Instead, I buy 5-pound bags of pasta at Gordon Food Service stores (which are open to the public without membership). Many foods we can buy in bulk in reused containers, which is great for the environment and often saves money–depends on the food.

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