Friday, May 9, 2008

Living the frugal life

I have been thinking recently... just what are we doing as a family to live frugally, and green at the same time?
Frugality and living "green" do go hand in hand sometimes. In my ignorance I thought being green was just buying ridiculously priced organics at Whole Foods... However, my eyes have been opened and I am compiling a list of things we have been doing to live "Frugally Green".

1. Wash clothes in cold water. Very frugal. Very green. (I would dry them on a line, and believe me they would dry in minutes... however, they would need washed again as they would innevitably be covered in dust!)
2. Drive 65 on the interstate. Saves gas... which obviously saves money, and the environment! Oh, and you wont get a ticket!
3. Incorporate trips to town. Example: If I have an appointment, I will think hard about all the other errands I could possibly run while in town. Combining trips saves gas! (and the environment... getting old?)
4. Use cloth dish towels when possible. We have not done away with paper towels completely, we use them for particularly "germy" accidents. Think: raw eggs, raw meat, baby messes. However, by making use of cloth towels we save SO many paper towels. Which means... less buying of papertowels and very green!
5. Don't run the water while brushing teeth. (an old habbit I have broken!)
6. Turn off lights when not in use.
7. Keep the blinds closed in the Summer. (Sad for me because I love the sunshine... but the air runs so much less!)
8. Make one grocery shopping trip per week. Shop the sales, use coupons, make a menu and stick to it! Less trips means less gas, less money spent.
9. Use canvas bags for groceries. I have not built up my supply enough to use these exclusively, however, when shopping at Fry's I usually only buy the amazing-can't-miss-sale-items, which fit into my canvas bag. Plus they are taking 5 cents off your grocery bill for BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag!).
10. Getting most of our movies free at the library or from Redbox with free one night codes. Not so green but definately frugal!
11. Potty train the little miss before she turns two (a work in progress). We will save so many diapers, which are crazy expensive and awful for the environment. Sorry... I can't even think about using cloth! Hats off to those who do...

What are some tricks of the trade that you are doing to save money... and possibly "go green" at the same time?

1 comment:

Gramma said...

So proud of you for living green and within your budget. You are helping to save the planet for your little one. And yes, one person can make a difference!!