First read: The number one tip for buying green products on a limited budget

Other ways I’m able to afford green products on a slim budget…

I DON’T USE THE “I HAVE KIDS EXCUSE”:

Kids are so expensive and need so much stuff. We hear it again and again. In reality they don’t need so much stuff. Babies can co-sleep (no crib), breastfeed, and eat homemade baby food. Plus babies find toys boring and free stuff like laundry baskets super cool. Older kids do tend to want more stuff, but it’s all in how you approach it. Kids can be smart green consumers. Kids can also understand that you’ve got so much money earmarked for organic apples and this month an extra toy is out.

So yeah, I have a kid, but I don’t use him as an excuse to not buy green. Cedar’s been taught from an early age that we have green priorities and some of those priorities require some sacrifice. Does he ever complain? Sure, all kids do. Cedar sometimes freaks because he wants some non-green useless product but most of the time he doesn’t. As a parent you need to stick to your priorities and know that a healthy green planet is better in the long run for your child than extra junk they want on a whim. Read How Kids Can Be Smart Consumers for tips on how to get your kids on board.

WE USE REUSABLE ITEMS ALMOST ALL THE TIME:

More often than not we buy reusable and long lasting items over short-term disposable items. When you buy something that needs to be replaced on a schedule it’s a waste of money.

For example, we don’t buy paper towels, paper napkins, plastic wrap, coffee filters, ice pops in boxes, bottled water, water filters (because our tap water is a-ok), store bought cleaners, paper muffin cups, plastic bottles of hand soap, and so on. If there’s a reusable item that can be used instead of a throw-away item we use it. For example, reusable food containers, ice pop molds, reusable baggies, silicone muffin cups, reusable coffee filters, and refillable water bottles. See more reusable items. Reusable items do cost more up front, but since they rarely need to be replaced you’re spending less all the time than if you continually bought disposable goods.

WE TRY TO BE CRAFTY:

Homemade items like organic sugar scrubs and homemade natural cleaners are also greener, healthier, and cost less than store bought. You can make a lot of stuff instead of buying it. For example…

• Homemade Popsicle Recipes & Ideas
• 7 Green Summer Toys You Can Make Yourself
• Eco-friendly & affordable DIY play kitchen
• Homemade Eco Gifts
• DIY Cardboard Dollhouse
• Make Your Own Oilcloth Bags
• And more…

WE EAT MOSTLY VEGETARIAN AND COOK:

We don’t eat any red meat or pork and very little poultry or fish. My son was raised vegetarian and just recently ate chicken about a year ago, so he’s very agreeable to this diet. We also don’t buy many processed or prepackaged foods and cook a lot from scratch. Even meat eaters can learn to love meatless meals – it’ll save you cash and keep you healthy as you lower your eco-footprint.

WE BUY USED:

Used goods are ultimate green. In some cases a used item may not be healthier – i.e. used plastic dishes. BUT you can buy plenty of stuff used that’s perfectly fine like cloth napkins, puzzles, books, and clothing. In almost all cases used is cheaper and save goods from the landfill.

WE MAKE CHOICES:

We all make choices. You can think of green products as expensive and unreachable or you can adjust.

My choices are to follow the rules above plus follow my first rule of buying less overall. Green is too expensive right? Maybe it is. But to me three TV, four bathrooms, or guest rooms in a home are excessive yet I know families who have this and complain that organic foods cost too much. That’s their choice. My choices are different. I’d rather eliminate the unnecessary and buy green. As I’ve noted before, “We don’t buy soda, chips, TV dinners, or tons o’ toys. We don’t go expensive places or even to the arcade – we go outside. I’d rather be able to afford organic apples and bleach free dish washing soap than go out for pizza or have another pair of shoes. It’s a choice.”

It’s your choice too. I’ve been living on a limited budget but we always have organic foods and green cleaners and healthier body care – why? Because that’s our choice of where to spend our money.

What’s your choice? Are green products impossibly unattainable or within your reach with some adjustments?

Later this week (after a little school lunch post I have planned) I’ll give some advice on how to find affordable green products.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Green to me is worth the cost and I’ll just go ahead and put it out there that I also don’t think green products are unattainable – even on a slim budget. Almost anyone can afford green products over conventional with some planning and strategy.

Where I’m coming from: Just so you don’t think I’m spouting total bunk about anyone being able to afford green, here’s my $ situation… I’ve been a single mama for many years now. I’ve been working as a freelance writer for years and income in this sort of job, as you might guess has some major ups and downs. My son Cedar attends a private alternative school which costs a fair amount and before that he was homeschooled so I had less time to work. I live in a fairly expensive area in a fairly expensive urban city. My son’s dad helps out with Cedar’s school costs and occasionally hands over some money, but I don’t get monthly child support. While we conserve resources (obviously) energy and water bills are still pretty expensive where I live and between that and housing there’s hasn’t been too much left to spare over the years.

However, all that said I can still afford green products that we want most of the time. BUT there is a strategy to it and there are reasons why we can still afford green items on a limited budget and the number one reason why we can is because…

WE BUY LESS STUFF:

Green living by nature should mean living on less. I say should, because to me, to my household it does, but it doesn’t mean that to everyone. Some people think green living means only buying green products over conventional, but there’s more to it than that. For example, you may only purchase green products, but those products still require energy and resources to make – if you’ve got three energy efficient televisions, 50 pairs of ethically made shoes, and a stock supply of green toys you’re really not living much greener than someone with two less efficient TVs, a closet full of non-green clothes, and so on. Having less and living simply is green for many reasons…

• You need less space to store junk. Bigger houses needed for people with tons of stuff is less green than living in a smaller home with less stuff. Smaller spaces require fewer resources and less energy. If you’ve got too much stuff, you will need a bigger space.
• As noted above no matter what you’re buying (with some food exceptions) it took energy and resources to manufacture. The more you buy the bigger your footprint.
• Buying less and sticking to basic necessities most of the time allows room in your budget for the more expensive but also more ethically made products you want.
• Having less allows you to focus on more important stuff – like green living. The more you buy, the more money you need. The more money you need the more time you need. The more time you use up working is time taken away from your family, your ability to advocate for green issues, and the time you get to spend out in nature with your kids. Having too many gadgets, books, DVDs, and other material clutter people keep around to keep potential boredom at bay is a great way to cut yourself off from the stuff of life that should matter.

We have one TV, no cable, no magazine subscriptions, necessary but not excessive clothing, and we rarely buy junk like soda or chips. We make choices. AND I’m not talking about always making choices based on necessity. Once in a while we all need something that’s pure want – but if most of the time you buy what you need and what’s not excessive, you’ll have more money to spend on those green versions of products.

Next up more reasons why we can afford green items on a limited budget. Then later, advice on how to find affordable green products.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

In any case, it’s just one tiny drama of the eco-blogosphere, but a not uncommon one. All the time here, and at other green places I blog, people comment on the more expensive products and organic food, saying, “It’s too expensive.”

I get it, because economic times are hard, but we all make choices with our money. When money is tight, when money is plentiful, when we’ve got just enough – we still make choices about where our money goes.

BUT this post is not about being able to afford green products, this post is about whether they’re worth the cost. In a post soon we’ll look at some easy ways to open up your budget so you can afford greener products but for now, let’s see why green products are worth the cost…

Green products are better for your health:

Organic foods are better for your health, the health of the farmers growing these foods, and the health of the planet. Organic and naturally made body care is less toxic and far better for your health than conventional chemically laden products. Riding your bike once in a while vs. driving is good exercise. Healthy indoor air quality due to green building and other green products you buy (shower curtains, paint, and so on) keeps your entire family healthier. This is actually a super long argument – that green is actually better for your health. Also some green products offer more health benefits than others. For example, soy candles are healthier than wax, but in the grand scheme of things organic foods are healthier to budget for than say all soy candles. It’s tricky and since we don’t want to be here all day, I’ll offer you some misc links to check out… BUT this is just the tip of the iceberg.

• Green kitchen pots and pans are healthier
• Dangers of VOCs – which are found in many non-green products.
• Toxic stuff in baby care products
• What’s wrong with cheaper plastics vs. eco kitchen food items?
• Phthalate in Children’s Toys and toxins in their bath toys
• Are We So Clean That We’re Breeding Super Germs?
• Conventional Household Cleaning Products Linked To Childhood Asthma
• Dangers of PVC
• Dangers of Conventional Home Cleaning Supplies
• The FDA won’t protect your health when it comes to cosmetics
• Pesticides in conventional cotton

Green products support your ethics and green ideals and educate others:

If your goal is green living then green products support this lifestyle. By taking the time to research products and make sure they’re actually green, by buying green products, by supporting companies who make green products, you’re making a statement in a private way (maybe you feel you’re doing something you believe in and it makes you feel good). You also make a statement to others. Say you have an ethical wedding ring or use natural non-toxic cleaners. Others who see your actions and ask about it may learn something new and decide that green living is something they want to know more about.

Green products are good tools for teaching kids about green:

Green living topics like global warming, emissions, and health benefits of zero-VOCs are all a little abstract to kids. However, pull out an eco-toy, reusable ice pop molds, or cloth napkins and it’s easy to talk to kids about green living. Kids who grow up with eco-products and who participate in discussions about why we choose green products over another more easily understand green living issues. My son Cedar for instance can’t, at age eight, tell you much about the greenhouse effect but he can tell you why cloth napkins are better than paper or why cheap plastic toys suck from a recycling and value stand point. Eventually kids who are exposed to green products that they understand will also get harder to grasp green topics – i.e. green products are like a gateway drug to green living.

Green products won’t ever go up in availability or down in price if we don’t support them:

Like any supply and demand deal, green products have costs related to their popularity or demand. If everyone bought green school supplies vs. toxic, resource draining, cheap school supplies then manufactures would try to meet that demand with more readily available products and better competitive prices. If people choose to ban non-ethical companies those companies would change their ways. Companies who make products really do make products with their consumers in mind.

If we buy from companies who greenwash to make a buck or who continue to sell lame toxic products, and if we don’t demand better green product standards, of course companies are thrilled – they don’t need to change because consumers just don’t care. As consumers we seriously directly affect the products on the shelves and their costs.

Green products are good for your budget and actually save you money:

Although green products can cost more at first, many save you money in the long run. Reusable products and home efficiency products are the two best examples of this. For example, you can buy paper towels, foil, school lunch sacks, paper napkins, plastic wrap, OR you can buy reusable options of these same products ONCE that last for years and years. You can invest in a solar panel set-up for your home, build a water barrel, or buy more expensive but also more efficient light bulbs and eventually you’ll reap some payback rewards by lowering energy and water costs. At the same time, longer lasting products save you money because you’ll spend less time running around replacing them and for many of us, time is money.

Soon I’ll post about some other ways that buying green can save you money and how to be able to afford green products on almost any budget – so stay tuned.

Do you think green products are worth the cost? Why or why not?

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Like I said in my previous post, I’m willing to make changes in my life so that I can buy green products, even when they’re more expensive. You can omit quite a few products from your life than totally gets rid of the need for green or conventional products – like you don’t need separate cleanser for the tub and toilet. However, there are some products you can’t do without, or at least I haven’t been able to figure out how. Items like toilet paper, soap, dish washing detergent, organic produce, recycled computer paper, and so on are items you may need, and should buy green, but, it’ll cost you.

To balance the costs I’m going to start sharing some green things that will save you money so that you can buy the products that are necessary. I’ll try to include calculations when possible to make it more realistic.

Today let’s start with an obvious one…

Use cloth napkins instead of buying paper – I’ve never bought paper napkins in my entire life, so I honestly did not know what they cost. My mom used cloth, I’ve always used cloth, so I looked it up. You can get 400 conventional paper napkins for $35.99 at Amazon. In a family of four that’s three (at least) meal times a day. In a year the four of you would eat around 1095 meals together. Using four napkins per meal equals 4380 napkins or almost 11 packs of napkins per year. Which amounts to about $400.00 a year in paper napkins. That’s if you only use one each per meal.

Now, if you buy everyone in your family of four enough organic cotton napkins for three days worth of meals you’d need a set of 36 cloth napkins. I’m assuming you don’t want to wash them every day, so I figured in enough for about three days. I found some nice ones for $22.99 which means you’ll spend a total of $206.00 for the napkins. I’ve seen organic napkins for less though, and also you could skip the organic and pick up 36 nice thrift store napkins for about $1-2 each, making your total cost about $72.00 at the most plus gas to drive to the the thrift store.

In one year you can save anywhere from $194 to $364 by using cloth napkins.

However, you also have to factor in usage and water and energy costs.

Personally I think it’s dumb to use the old argument, “But I have to wash them – that costs water and energy!” If you’ve ever washed cloth napkins you’ll know that they use up almost no space in your washer. 36 napkins won’t even amount to a small load. I always throw them in with my other laundry, which frankly, I have to wash anyhow, so water, soap, and energy costs are a moot point.

If you want to argue this though we can. I checked around and there are different estimates on how much it costs to wash one load of laundry on cold using your dryer set on medium to dry. The costs ranged from about 12 cents to 34 cents depending on where I looked. We’ll use the top range; 34 cents.

According to the book The Tightwad Gazette, it takes about 200 napkins in your typical sized washer to make a full load. That’s worth washing your own set of 36 napkins about 5 times, or about 24 full loads of napkins per year, which works out to around $8.00 a year – even if you add in soap costs, it’s clear that washing cloth napkins can’t outweigh the costs of buying paper. You’re still saving a ton of money.

Then you have to factor in the savings from long-term use. I’ve had cloth napkins my whole life, and the typical life span is four to five years of hard core use as napkins, and then I use them for another two years as cleaning rags, which saves the cost of paper towels.

Let’s add it all up:

Four year’s worth of organic cloth napkins for a family of four =

• $206.00 initial cost
• About $50 for four years worth of washing (and I rounded up big time for soap use and energy fluctuation)
• Total cost of nice organic cloth napkins for four years = $256.00

Four year’s worth of disposable paper napkins for a family of four =

• $1,600 ongoing purchase costs
• $143 the extra costs of one extra pack a year, because anyone with little kids is lying if they say they really only use one napkin each per every single meal.
• Total cost of basic paper napkins for four years = $1,743

Savings with cloth napkins over four years = $1,487

In other words, enough right there to buy all the organic apples and bleach free detergent you need.

Don’t forget, I use the cloth napkins for about 1-2 years to clean, which is an additional savings of hundreds of dollars in paper towels. I also calculated using the nicer organic napkins but you can get nice ones for a fraction of that at thrift stores. Also, we haven’t even discussed how many trees I saved using cloth. The actual savings are much more far reaching than simply monetary costs. If you use recycled paper napkins you pay about $600 a year so this is one case where using recycled won’t help you out. Recycled napkins actually make cloth look even better because over four years you save $2,194 by using cloth over recycled.

Whew, I hope someone finds this useful, because seriously all this math has shot my brain. Have I convinced you to switch to cloth napkins or do you have a good argument for paper?

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

There’s good news and bad news. The bad news first? Ok.

Well sadly, green product overall are more expensive across the board. I’ve been buying green products for years and there’s not many that compare to or beat conventional items price wise. Some, but not many. More on why this is later. So the worst news is that you’re not honestly going to find cheap green products.

The good news…

Green products are not that expensive in the grand scheme of things. “BUT… you just said they were!” I know – hear me out.

What you may not like to hear is that we all make choices. We can think of green products as expensive and therefore unreachable or we can adjust. Believe me, this is not something I’m saying lightly. I’m a single mama supporting a son. I blog for a living, which by the way, is not a real rich lifestyle choice. We all make choices.

My choice is to eliminate the unnecessary and buy green. We don’t buy many extras. We don’t buy soda, chips, TV dinners, or tons o’ toys. We don’t go expensive places or even to the arcade – we go outside. I’d rather be able to afford organic apples and bleach free dish washing soap than go out for pizza or have another pair of shoes. It’s a choice.

Now the argument may be, “I already stick to a budget, and green is still too expensive.” That’s a fair statement and I bet maybe even a small percentage of you do stick to a budget. However, I used to think that I stuck to a budget too. But really little things add up. About seven or so years ago I read Your Money or Your Life – a book that pretty much changed my life, which makes me sound like some infomercial, but it’s true. The whole book is a must read, but one tip in particular from the book is what really changed my world.

The tip is, “Write down all income and expenditures.” In 2001 I did this for the first time and it was really hard, even though I’m extremely organized. My partner was on board with saving money, but not so good with the writing stuff down. But since I was determined to find out where our money was going (we had a new baby – Cedar to support) I’d gather all our receipts and each week sit for two hours on Sunday and figure out what we bought. Once a month I’d sit down for about five hours and figure out the whole darn budget.

We wrote down every penny – if we bought a 25 cent pack of gum we wrote it down. It was the hardest but most eye opening experiment I ever did. Also, for those who are really worried about how hard this is, by the third or fourth month it gets a lot easier.

What to write down:

The whole point of this experiment is to see where your money is going. You make necessary categories like food staples, basic clothing, and toilet paper. Then you make extras like soda, extra shoes, renting videos, and meals out. Obviously everyone’s ideas of basics needs vs. extras will vary, which is why I suggest you read the book, because it helps lay these issues out. You have to be honest if you do this. Magazines and chocolate – no matter how stress reducing, are extras. We had a fun category because even if you’re on a budget you need to allow some extra money for a movie once in a while, but mostly we focused on basic needs vs. not.

How we did:

At the end of the year guess what we found out? We added up all our costs for the year. We did ok on stuff like groceries and home products. BUT we spent something like….

• $300 extra on clothing and shoes that were extras (my ex used to be a big clothes shopper).
• $600 on coffee out of the house – I was a college student and my ex worked nights – we both drank a lot of coffee on the go.
• $120 on paper towels – we already used cloth napkins but hadn’t figured out that we should use old cloths for cleaning yet.
• AND the worst – $600 on slurpees and soda.

Thankfully we used our own reusable cups for things like coffee and slurpees but still, we honestly had no clue, because what’s a dollar here and there? Obviously it’s a lot. We had more unnecessary costs on there too, but even if you look at just the above extras, that still around $1,600, which will buy a whole lot of organic apples and bleach free cleaners. Green products seem a whole lot cheaper when you realize you spent $200 in books or unused office supplies over the last year.

“That’s not me – I know where my money goes”:

Maybe? Maybe not. I’ve met a lot of people since then who have done this experiment and it’s always the same. Families are always spending money in some surprise unnecessary category. People tend to be shocked after writing down their expenses so closely.

We discussed this a bit before in this post: As a parent, do you understand the impact of the need for stuff? After my ex and I did that money experiment we knew exactly where our money was going and we were able to actively cut stuff out or make changes. Like we made all our coffee at home and I bought my ex a crushed ice maker and he’d make juice slurpees at home. If you cut out all the extras you end up living healthier, battling the need for stuff, and having more money available to go towards the products you really want to invest in, like organic produce and greener cleaners. You and the planet benefit.

There are exceptions – people already living on a barely there budget. There are greener options for even people with no extra money to spare (we will discuss those later too.) However, in most cases the families I know can cut back on extra stuff. Until you write down each and every penny, and figure it out, you won’t know where your money is going. But like I said we all make choices. That part is up to you.

To learn more visit Your Money or Your Life.

Coming up: How green saves you money and the cheapest green options.

Do you really know where your money is going? How do you know?

Post from: Tree Hugging Family