Green Living
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Intro =]
Hey all,
I'm new to this board, I've posted a couple of times but thought I would actually introduce myself. My boyfriend and I are trying to convert to a more green lifestyle, me moreso than him, but he's getting there.
One thing that I struggle with is finding more eco-friendly/healthy options that aren't way more expensive than conventional ones. We are a young couple and have two dogs, so it adds up fairly quickly. Any tips that you have would be great!
What kind of food guidlines do you ladies try to stick to? I'm onto all organic dairy, veggies, fruit, and meat. Now it's just a matter of eliminating all of the "convienience" foods that we still use on occasion.
I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone!
Re: Intro =]
Hi and welcome!
I've found that some eco-friendly and healthy products are more expensive and some are way less expensive, so it seems to even itself out. I make our cleaning products which saves a ton of money vs. buying conventional or green cleaning products. Using cloth in place of napkins and paper towels saves a huge amount of money over time. Those two things are actually how I convinced DH to get on board.
The safe makeup I buy is the same cost as the department store brands I used to use. Toothpaste and soap are more expensive but I figure I'm not putting scary chemicals on/into my body that could cause health issues down the line, thus potentially saving money, time, worry, etc. Plus, I'm being good to the environment and don't have to wonder how many animals went through needless tests for my bottle of shampoo.
What worked for us for eliminating convenience foods is seeing how much cheaper it is to forgo convenience and make things from scratch. It also helps that we exclusively shop at a health foods co-op where there are less prepackaged and snack foods than real food.
Maybe our "results" aren't typical but when we plan meals in advance and stick to our shopping list, we spend the same or less than we used to.
Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.
Going to jump on Katelyn's post...
Thank you, all 3 of you! That's really helpful. My FI and I are about to relocate to PA from MI on the 15th, I think that once we are there it will be a perfect time to try and get him more on board with this endeavor, given that the cost of living is said to be 24% higher there, the money saving factor should win him over.
I love to cook, even down to making my own pasta, but I often find I just don't have enough time, or I get home after work and just have no desire to spend the time doing it. So I really like the idea of spending one day of the weekend prepping everything for the week. Do you actually make ALL of it ahead of time, and it doesn't go bad? I've always been a paranoid leftover person/overly concerned about exp. dates, my mother was psychotic about these things growing up and I appear to have picked it up. Our leftovers get to stick around for 3 days, then a bite goes to each dog, and they get tossed. I'd love to hear that I'm wasting money and I can keep them longer! =]
jennyk: what brand of makeup do you use? I've switched over my shampoo/conditioner to Avalon Organics, bodywash to Yes to Carrots, and toothpaste to Tom's so far. OH and face cream to Alba which I LOVE. I still need some makeup suggestions as well as face wash. And can you tell me about making your own cleaning products? That's awesome! I spend forEVER at the grocery store reading labels trying to choose the lesser evils.
supergreen: I tried to start canning/freezing more over the summer when it was available, but I ran out of space!
We live in an apartment, and unfortunately are moving to another one! So I'm going to have to try and figure out how to get rid of/prioritize space so at the very least I have room to store canned goods. The freezing thing is just going to have to be limited no matter what. I suppose I'll just pack the freezer over the summer and let it last as long as it can!
Nice to meet you all!
The first section I bolded: Yes, we really make our food ahead of time. My mother was the exact opposite of yours, to the point of it being a running joke in the family. Depending on what the food is, I'll occasionally freeze it if it's going to be a meal for late in the week. The other 99% of the time our food stays in the fridge for the week and is just fine. We cook on Saturdays and Sundays, although cooking for the week happens on Sundays and lasts us through to friday. I also will double or quadruple recipes and freeze the excess. Every other month we have a week solid of just leftovers from the freezer.
The second section: The only cleaning supplies I have in the house are bulk white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, bulk baking soda, and water. Talk about cheap!
Just remember that you don't have to buy and consume green things. Being green is about simplifying and using less also.
I have been using baking soda and vinegar a lot more lately! I just wasn't aware that you could really replace most everything with them!! I use it in my kitchen mostly, I was amazed at how great of a scouring agent the baking soda is for getting dried food spots off the stove, etc.
I always used to use Mr. Clean with Febreeze in the lavender scent, and I just miss the nice lavender smell after I cleaned. I just never feel like cleaning with soda/vinegar leaves the freshly cleaned smell.
I'm going to try your prepping for the week thing. I have tried planning out menus ahead before and that never sticks for me, so just cooking ahead might be the answer. Hopefully!
Thank you for the advice/feedback!
Well that makes sense. I might try that and see if it has much of an impact.
Thank for the advice and on the Pets board as well!
No problem! Check back over there for some good food recommendations on your post
To answer your makeup/personal care and cleaning supply questions...
Let me first say that I switched products over the course of a year. Whenever something ran out, I switched to a green option. You don't have to throw everything out today and spend a ton of money buying new stuff. Plus you'll feel less overwhelmed and you're more likely to stick with it.
I switched makeup to Zuzu Luxe. The store I linked to is local to me but I thought you might like it because they only sell safe and cruelty free products.
I use Keys Luminous or Lagona Rose Day Cream for my facial moisturizer and Keys Eye Butter. I used to use pure avacado oil which is way cheaper but my skin is insanely dry due to a health condition and the oil just wasn't enough.
For body moisturizer, I use unrefined shea butter. That $12 jar lasts me all winter.
I use crystal deodorant, which is around $2 and lasts months. Deodorant is tough, though, because it seems like certain kinds don't work for some people. You just have to see what works for you.
For toothpaste, I use EcoDent tooth powder. I know it's not for everyone but I love it and it's very cheap per use.
Shampoo/conditioner, again, not something everyone is open to.... I wash with baking soda and water and rinse with apple cider vinegar and water. My hair has never looked better.
When I started making cleaning products, I followed these recipes and adapted them slightly. http://www.care2.com/greenliving/make-your-own-non-toxic-cleaning-kit.htmlTired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.
Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.
Wow girl! That's some pretty serious stuff!
I doubt I could handle the baking soda/vinegar thing. My struggle is I've always been a girly girl so I like the scent of all that toxic business. I found Yes to Tomatoes shampoo/conditioner half off yest. eve too so I grabbed those, we'll see how they work!
I have been doing the switch as you run out thing, for that exact reason, it's way too expensive to just go crazy and replace it all. I tried a Tom's all natural deodorant and it did NOT work. But I've heard about the crystal stuff so maybe I'll give that a try too.
Thanks for all the advice! You were impressively thorough! I'm checking out the makeup as we speak!
We live in a townhouse, so I hear you on running out of space. We ended up buying a small (5 cu ft I think) chest freezer and a stand-alone cabinet to hold our summer bounty. You'd be surprised how easily a tablecloth turns a chest freezer into a side table
We hung a grow light from the ceiling and use the top of the cabinet to start garden seeds indoors, so it does double duty.
To answer your makeup question, I use the Organic Wear line from Physician's formula. You can get it at any drug store. They get good ratings on the cosmetics database.
As far as making everything ahead of time, we don't do whole meals ahead of time like the PP, we make the principle ingredient ahead of time. For example, we made and canned many jars of tomato sauce during the August tomato flood. Now in the winter, we saute a chopped onion and garlic, brown ground beef, mix in the tomato sauce, and you've got spaghetti in 20 minutes. DH and I call it "paying it forward", since we're making use of fresh, local ingredients in the height of their season when they're cheap and abundant.
Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.
I finally got a chance to sit still long enough to read your blog - the Dr. Bronner's post caught my eye - you really can use Dr. Bronner's for all of those things?! I use it for body wash and....yeah that's it. Please enlighten me, you clearly know lots about this product! =]