How do I keep it green/organic and low cost? Help appreciated

stenephe

Hi, I'm in need of help and just can't work out a way to move forwards - so I reckon the collective knowlege fo the MSE people is the place to ask...

We're a family of four (two toddlers) with an extra toddler with us more than half the week. In an ideal world I would buy only organic meat, veg, dry groceries and obviously only organic household/personal product.

However, I also need to reduce what I spend (part of that will be facing up to do a breakdown of spend and income). Please can you wise people please give me a good guide as to what to do? To date I have a stack of ecover products in the cupboard (bought on 3 for 2) and a stack of nappies from the bambo/nature baby ranges. Previously I've used washables, but my girls are nearly 3 and 2 plus my extra 2 y.o. so I now struggle to still use them. I've also swopped over to asda's organic (SLS/Paraben free) wipes and Green People products for me and the babes. I've also been using a local veg/fruit delivery, but am having a month off from it (only because of costs, as I believe being 'prompted' to use the veg/fruit was invaluable).

Help. How do I reduce our spend and keep fuel costs down (we're in a village) and keep it in line with what I believe is right and good (chemical free, healthily produced and where possible, organic).... and save money? I really feel completely confused!

stenephe

otterspasm

Hi there,
I am struggling with the same problem really and I have come to the conclusion that its not possible to do all of these things at the same time fully ie. be green and cheap and organic. I may be wrong and maybe some other MSE-ers will prove me wrong...hope so

I compromise. If a product comes from an animal I aim to only buy organic. So cheese, milk, yogurt and meat are almost always organic. I just buy and eat less of it and make it go further. I buy Ecover (Tescos have Ecover non-bio washing powder on at £2.95 at the mo so bought loads!) products when on special offer.

For the babies I use washable nappies (but only have one now in nappies so pretty easy) and cut some old towels up into large hanky sizes to use as baby wipes....I wet them with warm water when changing nappy and swill in the loo before soaking and washing with nappies. This means no baby wipes to buy. I only use water and flannel for any washing actually including myself.

I find box systems a bit expensive and live in a village too so I tend to save up all of the jobs which need doing in town and do them all on a sunday (take DS1 to Socatots, Tescos, B&Q, whatever) to save fuel/carbon. I do have a small shop in the village though which does have organic milk and a few other organic bits, not much, whioch I can top up with in the week.

Making my own bread (BM) means if I stock up on flour on sunday we don't run out....can buy organic flour in bulk on the internet for home delivery if this is easier.

Otherwise, as our budget is tiny, we eat value veg. In the summer (no garden) we grow peppers on the window ledge...these grow really well and we have all of the peppers we need from 4 plants...they are expensive to buy so a good saving. And tomatoes and courgettes (in tiny yard). If I had a garden I would certainly grow lots of veg/fruit as it is a cheap and easy way to have organic grub on tap.

I hope some of this helps and that I haven't wittered on too much

Good luck and I'll keep reading for tips myself:p

Tess

ecoelle

I think you can only do as much as you can. Don't tackle it all at once. My advice would be to make a list of things you want to do eg, buy organic meat, only use the car in emergency basically everything you couyld do in an ideal world, even small things count remember so using energy saving bulbs, not wasting water. Then, once you have the list, tackle them one by one. So start with the one you are most bothered about, then move on to doing others when your budget/time allows. To live fully green lifestyles are not easy, i've been striving since leaving home at 18 and i've still got loads i could try and do. So take it slowly and keep the list as a reminder of all of the things you have already started to do and it will maybe make you think of things you can do that don't cost much.

squeaky

Use the other boards too.

Keep an eye on:-

Freebies (no spend required) Board (for free samples of any organic products that catch your eye)

Shop but don't drop (Lots of shopping help here)

Quick! Grabbit while you can (All sorts of quick tips on the latest best offers)

Discount Codes 'n Vouchers (online & offline) (does what it says on the tin)


And finally - the board that's most likely to help you in your quest...

Green and Ethical MoneySaving

hardpressed

I find that washing up liquid can be diluted almost half and half makes it go further as it's hard to give a tiny squeeze. I don't know if washing soda is something you'd consider using but again mixing that half and half with washing powder helps it go much further and the soda softens the water as well.

more_money_for_me

We buy many of our grocery items in bulk from Suma. They do a huge range, with organic foods, nappies and also ecover and bio d in all sorts of sizes. Minimum order where we are is £250 but this varies for area. This works ok as we buy with friends and it is quite a sociable thing to do. They deliver the order and then we split it up, always think it is better to have one big order than lots of small ones. Definately works out cheaper, but also gives us access to products we couldn't get locally. May not suit everyone but works for me.

arkonite_babe

more_money_for_me wrote: »

We buy many of our grocery items in bulk from Suma.

I don't think I will be ordering from them.........

Area 3 - (Northern Ireland)


Minimum Order Value: £375
Orders between £375 - £474 - Handling Charge: £45
Orders between £475 - £575 - Handling Charge: £25
No Handling Charge for orders over £575
Delivered by our carriers. Delivery usually takes 2-3 days.

:eek::eek::eek:

Caterina

Arkonite babe, you will be surprised how quickly it is possible to order £375 worth of stuff if you get a few families together. I get stuff from Infinity foods, started as a business and now it is practically a buying group! Min. order is £250 but four families always manage to order up to £500 - if you buy long-term and have storage space it is the best and cheapest way to buy organic and green!

Caterina

arkonite_babe

That's my problem Caterina, the storage space. It would work out an awful ot cheaper for me in the long run if I could bulk buy

Hizz

Caterina wrote: »

Arkonite babe, you will be surprised how quickly it is possible to order £375 worth of stuff if you get a few families together. I get stuff from Infinity foods, started as a business and now it is practically a buying group! Min. order is £250 but four families always manage to order up to £500 - if you buy long-term and have storage space it is the best and cheapest way to buy organic and green!

Caterina

My sister does this with Suma. She has got together with some friends and they get food at wholsale cost delivered to their home. Seems to be quite a social event when they get together to collect their orders. Any excuse to get the bottle(s) of wine out if you ask me;)

Ben84

I've swapped most my cleaning products for soda crystals as they have little environmental impact, clean very well and don't cost much (about 50p a kg). I use them to clean the toilets, bath, sinks, floors, fridge, cooker, walls/tiles, sometimes washing up and to descale the kettle. They can also be used as water softener in the washing, so I only need to use the reccomended detergent dose for soft water.

Not spending a lot on cleaning means I have more money in the food budget.

Reducing food waste (almost none is possible), and avoiding recipes that use expensive ingredients can also save a lot. I also buy large packets of anything that lasts well. Coffee, pasta, washing powder, rice and flour are all bought in big packets now as it reduces the price per kg, and because of the long use by date we consume them long before they expire anyway. Some things you can buy a big packet and freeze what you don't use for later, I do this with passata. I've figured out the best measurements for things too, for example half a coffee cup per person of dry rice and 100g of dry pasta. We rarely have plate scrapings to throw away.

I also check the Sainsbury's web site for offers before I go shopping. Although they're advertised in store too, I find they're easily missed. Those little red tags on shelves don't always stand out unless you know to look for them. I find significantly more special offers now I do this.