22 March 2009

Living Green and Saving Money

For us, living green and living on the cheap are intimately intertwined. In case you missed the memo, I'm a single mom, and I'm poor.

Green things that save me money:
*My mom keeps chickens, and ensures that our whole family has fresh, organic eggs.
*I also poach a good deal of produce grown organically by my parents, most often avocados and apples.
*I pay all of my bills online, which not only cuts down on paper, but saves me the cost of stamps and checks.
*I take the bus to and from work. This not only cuts down on gas use, but saves me the huge cost of the $60/month parking permit I would need to drive.
*I use rags instead of paper towels.
*I refill my ink cartridges. Refilling your cartridges ends up being significantly cheaper than buying costly new ones every time the printer runs low.
*When Gabriel was in diapers, we used cloth.

There are also some things I do for the planet that don't necessarily save cash:
*Reusable shopping bags.
*Recycling.
*Natural cleaning products (such as Nature's Source Cleaners), detergents, shampoos, soaps, etc.
*I buy fair trade and organic whenever possible.

Hey I was raised by a couple of hippies in Northern California, this stuff is second nature to me.

What do you do?

Let me know, and let the Parent Bloggers Network know. You could win a $250 VISA gift card.
Posted by Labels: , ,

4 comments:

  1. I also use rags/sponges instead of paper towels. I use the re-usable grocery bags, as really they're easier to cart up a flight of apartment stairs than carrying 3 times the number of bags. In addition, I use the farmers market during the season. Oh, and I installed a newer thermostat in my apartment. It has 4 settings a day for each day of the week. That way I can make sure that I'm not cooling or heating my apartment when I'm not there. YAY!
    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm right there with you, girl, except the cloth diapers. Oh, and the bus. Ain't no busses 'round here, except the yellow ones full of screaming children.

    Don't you wish they would make the all natural stuff less expensive? It's costly to live green in a lot of ways, especially food ;(

    Recent blog post: "Normal" By Day, Crazy By Night...
    ReplyDelete
  3. You know I don't think of myself as a 'green' person... but several things on the list I do, recycle cans/ bottles, use rags instead of paper towels, re-use plastic bags.... have not been able to convert to reuseable bags.... I pay my bills online...

    But I cannot say that any of those are significant, in fact I feel inadequate in that department but have not done much to change either....

    Recent blog post: Weekend Ramblings
    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm BACK. Did what you said and I can access you again! Thanks.

    Um, I certainly turn off the water when I'm brushing my teeth or washing my hands - don't let it run for no reason. I make my husband do the same but he thinks I'm a nerd.
    I recycle like a madwoman.
    I reuse any plastic bags in my diaper genie (sorry, couldn't do cloth diapers - cudos to you!)
    ReplyDelete

I live for validation.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)