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

skelly01

Hi,

Yes I agree that it isn't easy to be green and organic. What we do is try and grow a lot of herbs, veggies etc. You don't need a lot of space, and its really amazing what you can grow and pretty rewarding (especially when you get the kids involved). Compost all your waste, most councils have schemes where they subsidise or even give you a free compost bin. This is better than throwing your waste merely in the bin and doesn't seem so bad.
Do you have a local farmers market? They are great for local produce and can be reasonable, some have recycling facilities too again cuting down on the trips.
Not much but I hope it helps.

skelly01

Oh and forgot to say use vinegar, borax,soda crystals and bicarbonate of soda for all your cleaning needs. Really costs next too nothing and works way better than any brands.

stenephe

Hi, big thanks to everyone for replying - sorry I haven't been back earlier (children...) It's calming to hear that I'm not going mad and that it's a slow process to getting everything as I'd like. I've bought a stock of bicarb and borax, not sure what to do with it as yet... but hoping it'll be a good way forwards. Will look at the websites suggested as well. Really appreciate your help. regards, steph

Jay1_2

Hi folks. Can I tap your wisdom please.

What is a good cooking oil to buy? I like olive oil but its not the cheapest and I worry about vegetable oil because of the issue of palm oil in it. So...

sue-y

I may be wrong (MSEers please correct me if I am) but pure rape seed oil is produced in the UK so low transport miles. There's organic versions. It can be used exactly like veg oil (but more expensive, maybe half again in price) as it has no taste to it.

Caterina

Just checked the Sainsburys organic rapeseed oil, it says 'product from more than one country'.

Caterina

Aliktren

Dont buy Organic veg from the supermarket, join a box scheme, you get far larger helpings, I dread to think what it would cost to buy the amount of organic purple spouting broccoli from a supermarket that we get in our box

If your are cost constrained, then dont buy organic meat, buy local free range, we just found a local butcher and buy from him, cheaper than a supermarket, 40 quid bought us enough meat for like 20 meals (included a large ham!)

Organic is not always best due to the food miles, so if you cant buy organic buy British

Grow your own...if you start on an organic veg box then grow stuff you dont usually get enough of in the box (tomatoes, basil and onions for us )

We've migrated very slowly to buying everything we can organic, it can be done but you may have to compromise, we've also enjoyed learning to make things go further (current record for an organic chicken was it's use in 5 meals - which made that a pretty cheap chicken actually) - our food/supermarket budget has gone up, so we've compromised elsewhere by cutting back elsewhere and making sure we dont waste food

airgead

We are in a similar rural situation and on a tight budget, so here's what we do. We buy local free range meat, in bulk if possible. If you know a gamekeeper or similar, rabbit and venison are also fantastic! A large freezer is an essential. We just use a little less of it and try to make it go as far as possible, and its so delicious a little goes a long way. e.g. a free-range chicken costs around £6. We joint and freeze it in separate portions, so we get 2 large chicken breasts, 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks, 2 wings, and a carcass with lots of meat on it which makes great meaty soup.

Ecover have a refill scheme which makes things cheaper (and reuses packaging). Check their website to see if there's one near you.

Our local farm shop is very helpful. We used to buy organic flour in the usual small sized packs, then one day I asked if it was available in big sacks and they were happy to order it in for us from the same supplier.

Make a pact to buy as little as possible new. This is cheap and recycling! Whether its ebay, charity shops or freecycle, there's very little that you can't get second hand. I make a point when I do go to town of going round all the charity shops (keep a note of things you're looking out for and also everyones measurements/clothes sizes as a reminder). This year we all had a pact that everyone's Christmas presents had to come from charity shops and ther was a limit of £5. We had a fantastic time and a pile of pressies each.

Living in the country has many advantages too, so we make the most of them. We keep a few hens. Half a dozen supply plenty of eggs for the family, and we sell a couple of boxes a week to neighbours which pays for the grain. (Or we swap e.g. eggs for homemade jam). There's also the advantage with children of having a vast free adventure playground on the doorstep, I don't know how Mums in towns cope!

There's also the community aspect of country living, there will be lots of others around you in the same situation, so there's no need to feel isolated, and there's lots of opportunities in group action, e.g allotments, freecycle. One great idea is to swap, like the eggs example. or swap labour or skills, or share transport. Start amongst your friends and the circle will grow.

I don't want to harp on about "the good old days" (I'm only 36 after all!) But if you think back to our grandparents and great grandparents generation, they had very little money to go round, yet lived healthy and by today's standards, much Greener lifestyles. So I often find myself thinking, what would my Granny have done? She would have made do and mended, she would have cooked simple meals from scratch, and looked within her community for most of her needs. Can't get much more cheap and environmentally friendly than that!

simgranny

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.

Have you tried growing aubergines in the yard? - they do very well in pots and are expensive to buy in the shops. I grow potatoes in pots as well - in those florists buckets that you can get for about 10p each. If I have a potato that is begining to sprout, I just cut off the bit that is sprouting and plant it - I use the rest of the potato as normal.
I've also had some success growing lettuce in hanging baskets (not due to lack of space, but as a way of protecting them from the dreaded slugs!)