How do you pick and choose splurging on green?

[pixiewytch]

For those of you on a tight budget I'm curious about how you pick and choose what "green" grocery items to buy. I'm talking about everything from produce to cleaning products to paper products (if you use them) to toiletries. For example, our Weleda baby wash alone is $10 a pop. Yikes. I also like to get shampoo bars and soap from Lush because it is all natural and zero packaging. Again, $10 a pop though...and I don't think that is much more than the health food store products really.

I'm not sure if the frontier coops save THAT much money on certain things either, especially if you are paying shipping for heavier items.

So how do you pick and choose? I'm not really talking about luxuries here either. I mean, we all need soap to wash with and laundry detergent. I have experimented in the past with homemade recipes for some of this stuff but most of the time the ingredients cost just as much as buying an ecofriendly detergent outright. I'm open to suggestions though.

It is just really important for me to try to support ethical and ecofriendly companies but I'm having a super hard time justifying it lately when we are so broke.

[mamamelia]

i am not a very tight budget, but this is what we buy green:
-natural body wash for the kids (they bathe in it and wash thier hands in it - so this is a top priority for me - no exceptions)
-recycled toilet paper
-natural dishwashing liquid (which i use a little of in the dishwasher too and put some fresh lemon peel/juiced lemon to cut grease and keep everything smelling great) - lemons are $10 a box here so its a cheap and environmentally freindly option. we don't use caustic dishwashing powder which i am quite happy about.

now for the bad part... conventional laundy powder (with no fragrance or colour though). sometimes i grate soap and wash the girl's clothes in that too. i always do a double rinse on top too to wash out any extra residue. so not very green, but i do cut out a lot of the bad stuff from the clothing this way.

have you tried dr bronners? it's quite nice as a body wash and a little does go a long way.

[dogmom327]

I guess I got lucky. I buy that type of stuff through Azure Standard and have been able to get the more earth-friendly products for the same (or less) than I was spending on conventional products. For example, I get the Bio-Kleen automatic dish washing detergent. It does 64 loads but since we have soft water, I can get away with using only 2 t. rather than 1 T. So the bottle actually lasts 96 loads. The bottle costs $6.25 so it's $.065 a load. I don't remember exactly what I was spending on conventional dish washing powder but I know for sure it was more than that.

[SuzyLee]

I can never make my mind up on this, so we are very hit and miss. I switch all the time. I really want to start buying natural shampoos, for example, but everytime I am about to buy, I wimp out because of the price and go back to Suave.

I do justify some stuff by using Frontier. I save up an order until I have 250$ worth of stuff to get free shipping, and then I buy. That means I have 3 spare bottle of baby soap in the closet, but we can afford the one time expense and have room for storage, so I do it.

I am diehard about Organic milk and eggs, and lettuce. But Organic cheese costs a fortune, so I often buy conventional. It is totally illogical, but I hate to spend that much on cheese, so I don't.

[pixiewytch]

Originally Posted by mamamelia

i am not a very tight budget, but this is what we buy green:
-natural body wash for the kids (they bathe in it and wash thier hands in it - so this is a top priority for me - no exceptions)
-recycled toilet paper
-natural dishwashing liquid (which i use a little of in the dishwasher too and put some fresh lemon peel/juiced lemon to cut grease and keep everything smelling great) - lemons are $10 a box here so its a cheap and environmentally freindly option. we don't use caustic dishwashing powder which i am quite happy about.

now for the bad part... conventional laundy powder (with no fragrance or colour though). sometimes i grate soap and wash the girl's clothes in that too. i always do a double rinse on top too to wash out any extra residue. so not very green, but i do cut out a lot of the bad stuff from the clothing this way.

have you tried dr bronners? it's quite nice as a body wash and a little does go a long way.

Yeah, detergent is a biggie. I think the free and clear costs around $3 and seventh gen costs $10. This is the sort of thing I'm talking about. I mean, there isn't a great disparity between regular TP and recycled but some things like detergent and shampoo can be a $5 or more difference.

We are actually using some Bronner's soap now. Just the bar costs around $6 though (I think) and it doesn't work well as a shampoo unless you have dreads, lol. So I still have to buy a baby shampoo. When that is said and done I feel like the multitasking weleda for $10 is really the same as bronner's in a bar and an additional shampoo product.

Suzy, I'm right there with you. I was buying the raw organic cheese for awhile at $6 a pop. If you are just buying for yourself it goes a long way but when a family of four eats it all up in two days it just doesn't seem worth it.

I do the same thing in the shampoo aisle. I will see Johnson and Johnson for $3 and then weleda for $10. It almost makes me cringe to pick up the weleda but then it also makes me cringe to pick up the Johnson and Johnson with god only knows what chemicals that are in it.

[grniys]

I'm pretty hit and miss about what I buy that's green. Right now I'm using some eco-friendly dishwasher detergent, but I hate it so I'll be getting something not green next time.

The only things I always, always buy organic are milk and eggs. Everything else is optional and extra. I would love to be able to feed my family only the healthiest things, but it's not worth living in poverty over to me.

I'd like to find some awesome baby soap for next baby. Maybe something all natural and made by a wahm? I dunno, I'll have to look around. But my toddler hates bath time, so I use color tablets and bubbles and anything and everything I can to keep him in the tub long enough to wash him off.

If I find organics or all natural things on sale, I buy them.

Oh, and I have been using 7th Gen all purpose cleaner and I LOVE it. I think I'll be sticking with that, too.

[TiredX2]

Originally Posted by grniys

The only things I always, always buy organic are milk and eggs. Everything else is optional and extra. I would love to be able to feed my family only the healthiest things, but it's not worth living in poverty over to me.

Ditto. Add butter. We don't use most disposable products (glass storage containers/lunch packing and cloth for cleaning & tp). Dr. Bronners for soap, dishes, & DP's hair (yes, he does have dreads). Organic rice & bagged potatoes. I would love to do Organic Fruit (and have in the past) but I really feel (personal opinion) like it is better for the kids to get more fruit than to have to ration it out like gold.

[grniys]

Originally Posted by TiredX2

Ditto. Add butter. We don't use most disposable products (glass storage containers/lunch packing and cloth for cleaning & tp). Dr. Bronners for soap, dishes, & DP's hair (yes, he does have dreads). Organic rice & bagged potatoes. I would love to do Organic Fruit (and have in the past) but I really feel (personal opinion) like it is better for the kids to get more fruit than to have to ration it out like gold.

LOL! That's exactly how I feel about the fruit, too. I've been trying to add the organic butter to the list of organics, but everytime I go to the commissary they're out so I've just been buying some kind from cow's not treated with rbst or whatever that growth hormone is called.

[Virginia884]

Trader Joes sells their own brand of recycled paper products and their own veggie based laundry detergent. The laundry detergent is around $3 less than the 7th gen stuff that I have been buying. Their personal care products are also cheaper than others and have good ingredients. We will be switching to the TJ brand detergent when I run out. HTH!

[Norasmomma]

Mine has become milk-DD drinks a ton of milk, actually after my being pg with her we all drink a lot of milk. I will get reg milk if it is absolutely an emergency moment, but it is og for us. Many times I go to Safeway(on my once a month trip to the "big" town) and they have it for cheap. I'll buy them all and freeze them. Went to Costco yesterday and bought 6 half gallons and 3 went in the freezer. I do have a backup regular milk in there also for emergency.

I buy pretty much only og veggies, right now our farmer's market is going crazy so I am buying so much yummy stuff.

I also spend a lot on vitamins and supplements, but that's fine with me-it's for my health and in the long term it's an investment. I get my good shampoo very inexpensively because I am a licensed hairstylist, so I recently stocked up on shampoo. I also only like natural toothpaste.

[leerypolyp]

If you have a Whole Foods or the like, you can sometimes get the store brand of shampoo, conditioner, lotion or soap for not much -- I think I paid five bucks for a huge bottle of conditioner with nothing awful in it. We also use Dr. Bronners, and dilute the heck out of it. I can't bring myself to buy California Baby anymore at like $12 a teeny bottle, now that we've discovered DD's hair does best when we wash it with just conditioner.

As for cleaning products, we use white vinegar in a spray bottle for most things (which is dirt cheap), baking soda and maybe a little Dr. Bronners for scrubbing, and Trader Joe's detergent. Not the best option, but at half the cost of 7th Gen it's what we do. Ditto the dish soap (the kind without synthetic fragrance or anything bad). As much as I want to buy the Ecover that's made in a wind-powered green-roofed whatever factory, I need that money for organic butter.

Which brings me to food. Dairy and animal products MUST be organic, except sometimes for goat or sheep products (which don't get RBST anyway). Occasionally I buy just RBST-free cheese, but for the most part it's organic.

Vegetables and fruits, we base it on the pesticide contamination, or whether it's easy to get local IPM stuff.

[pixiewytch]

So most people buy nonperishables in organic. That sounds like mostly what we do too.

I had not thought about the whole thing of rationing fruit but it makes sense because it really is getting to that point. A carton of strawberries or blueberries for smoothies might last a few days around here and then I wait another week or so to buy more. Of course berries contain the highest amounts of pesticides too so that sucks.

We don't have a Whole Foods....only the locally owned health food stores which are very expensive. So these days I do most of my grocery shopping at Publix or Target where they carry most organic brands anyway.

I'm curious about those of you who multitask with Bronner's. I used to do a little of that when I had dreads and used it in my hair all the time. Then they came out with the sal suds product and I bought that off and on. I just felt like for $10 a bottle it didn't go very far when I was using it to clean floors, do dishes, laundry, etc. So do those of you who use Bronner's for everything feel like you are saving much money in the long run? I've always said that if I could use one product and save a lot of packaging I'm all for it.

[lmonter]

For us, it just depends on what and how much.

Soap for washing us down in the shower? I get an entire batch of two varieties made by my soap lady in my old hometown. She doesn't have to package them or anything - just cure, slice into bars, and send my way. And she also doesn't have any leftovers to randomly sell (i.e. I don't really affect her inventory). I think it's like $2.50-$3/bar that way, and it's all homemade glycerin soap.

Cleaning products... depends. If I see something on sale at Fred Meyer, I may pick it up to try. If not, eh.

Dairy... we aim for organic, or close to it. Organic milk for sure, and the rest of our things like yogurt and cheeses and butter are Tillamook or the *really* good stuff from the local deli if I want to splurge with smoked mozzarella or good havarti or something.

Produce... Organic's good in season, especially from the farmer's market or neighbors. I don't do much (if any) organic produce from the grocery stores because a) it's 2-3 times the conventional price and b) it's usually molding right there on the shelf/basket. We've definitely gotten better at eating by the season, and I've become quite good at canning. This year's been a bit of a bust, but next year I don't plan to have a new baby during planting time.
I also refuse to buy a 2lb bag of frozen sliced peaches from the store for $9. I just got a few boxes of peach seconds from my orchard guy at the farmer's market, cut 'em up and froze them. Same with strawberries, blueberries and huckleberries. I just keep aiming to have enough of a stash in the freezer of that stuff to last the year until next harvest time.

Meat... I can't afford the organic stuff at $4-$10/lb. $.98/lb is more my speed, and my freezer gets a workout with my stocking up then. Until I can raise chickens in my front yard, well, supermarket sales it is.

Oh, dishwashing detergent is Electrosol. It's the only one that works in our funky hard water, otherwise we might as well toss the dishwasher and wash by hand. Can't use Charlie's soap except for sometimes scrubbing down the shower/tub, and the only detergent that's been good to us with our washing machine and hard water is Arm & Hammer Dye and Perfume Free.

I do aim for no preservatives and dyes in our food though... I'm mildly allergic to preservatives, and the dyes bring out the banshees in my kids. Which is why I have to make our own jam for the year - no dyes, preservatives or high fructose corn syrup (anybody else want to throw things at the tv when you see that commercial?).

[TiredX2]

Originally Posted by pixiewytch

I'm curious about those of you who multitask with Bronner's. I used to do a little of that when I had dreads and used it in my hair all the time. Then they came out with the sal suds product and I bought that off and on. I just felt like for $10 a bottle it didn't go very far when I was using it to clean floors, do dishes, laundry, etc. So do those of you who use Bronner's for everything feel like you are saving much money in the long run? I've always said that if I could use one product and save a lot of packaging I'm all for it.

We use Dr. Bronners in the reusable "foamy" soap containers. So, it's like one part soap to 4 parts water. One squirt is plenty for dishes, washing hands, anything like that. Because of that we go through it slowly. DP has had a bottle of Dr. Bronners almond in the shower for a *long time*.

[spiderdust]

Originally Posted by lmonter

...no dyes, preservatives or high fructose corn syrup (anybody else want to throw things at the tv when you see that commercial?).

Every. Single. Time. :

Laundry detergent- we really like Charlie's Soap. We buy it by the 5-gal bucket (1280 loads)... it ends up costing us about 10 or 11 cents per load.

[pixiewytch]

Okay, I've looked at this Charlie's soap and I'm not seeing where it is any cheaper. $12 for laundry powder sounds like the equivalent of seventh gen 64 loads...or am I missing something here?

[leerypolyp]

Originally Posted by pixiewytch

I had not thought about the whole thing of rationing fruit but it makes sense because it really is getting to that point. A carton of strawberries or blueberries for smoothies might last a few days around here and then I wait another week or so to buy more. Of course berries contain the highest amounts of pesticides too so that sucks.

Sometimes you can get frozen organic berries really really cheap, even at places like Target and Publix. My rule is, if it's going in smoothies or something, it doesn't need to be the fresh stuff. Also, paying some attention to seasonal eating helps -- right now organic grapes are $2.50 a pound here (east coast, imported from California), so we eat a lot of grapes. Soon it'll be organic apples; then it'll be (probably NOT organic) citrus.

Blueberries, btw, are a relatively low pesticide berry, IIRC. And if they grow locally at all, you can go to a pick your own place and get a gallon bucket full, and just throw them in the freezer.

[proudmamanow]

great thread, we really struggle with this too. We've had some good luck lately buying 1/4 of a cow directly from a farmer and getting a good source & good deal on chickens (10 in the freezer right now).
For veggies/fruit, we try to buy at a local organic farmer's market, but I often can't stomach the mark-up which is largely related to it being in a really upscale part of town. Supermarket organics are becoming cheaper & more widely available every day, which is a mixed blessing (not so good for small producers, I hear).
We don't have Whole Foods or Trader Joe's.
We are also HFCS free as of about 2 months ago which has been challenging but good.

Dairy is such a struggle...I really try to buy organic milk b/c of the amount we all drink, but it typically costs 2X conventional around here, and we drink between 8-12L a week....but we really try to get organic as much as possible. Ditto with yogurt, which I usually have better luck getting on sale. Cheese is harder....we eat a lot of cheese. Maybe I should rejoin Costco.... sigh.

[holidaymama]

I was going to say the same thing about organic frozen berries...I think Cascadian Farms is reasonable...I haven't bought any for awhile.

We are back and forth as well. Alway organic milk...$6/gallon sucks though...when reg. was 2.50 at wally world!

Butter is usually just reg. Eggs are always organic...I try to hit target for these as they have their store brand organic. In general, the Target organics are good quality and price.

I love whole foods, but we moved further out of the big suburbs and it's 20 miles away, so not worth it to me. We also have sprouts and that is a farmers market, but it's about 12 miles, so I may as well go a little further to whole foods.

OH...my FAVORITE thing is at Costco. THey have big 5 lb bags of frozen vegges for $5!!!! We love the corn, broccolli, mixed veggees, and green beans. And the best part about the broc and beans is they bag them individually by pound. Saves on any waste. I enjoy their milk when we go as well.

For cleaners: We use vinegar and water for just about everything. I do have a pledge multipurpose for dusting and mirrors that I just can't seem to give up! I have tried 7th gen clothing soap, and it's great, but SUPER expensive here. I use their dish soap, but I use the little cascade cubes for the dishwasher. I tried an ecofriendly brand, but it was worthless in our machine.

I would love to use organic and natural bath products as the perfumes dry out my skin REALLY bad and irritate my little boy...we don't even use lotion on him anymore because he was breaking out...even from Burt's Bees.


Anyway, bla bla bla, but I know we are all trying to do what's best! Trying to keep a tight budget and still be green is hard!

[happyhats]

Since my budget is pretty tight, I try to focus less on organic and more on other ways of being green. I am going to cloth diaper and nurse the new baby for green and other reasons. I'm switching to family cloth..we use cloth for everything else. I use vinegar and baking soda for household cleaning, though I'll be getting an eco friendly wood polish as well pretty soon. I also use eco friendly laundry detergent and dishsoap, and will probably be using eco friendly dish detergent as well...I feel I can splurge on these things because they last a lot longer. I don't buy organic dairy products or eggs because I'm on WIC which doesn't allow it, but when I need extra eggs I buy from a local farmer that has free range and happy chicks. When I need to buy something I either DIY or make due, buy secondhand, or buy from a mom and pop company before I go to a big box store. I try to buy products with the least packaging possible. I don't know what I'll be doing as far as baby toiletries go, this is the first and I'd like to experiment with what I like.

Basically if something is comparitive in price, or is long lasting I opt for the more natural...this includes kitty litter, cleaning products, some toiletries, etc.