5 Easy Ways My Family Goes Green And Saves Money (2024)

Curious to see how this family goes green and saves money in the process? You are in the right place because KJ wrote about this in 2015.

If you do a little research, it’s not hard to see that everyone needs to do their part to make our planet more sustainable. Now, my family and I aren’t total hippies. I mean, we are converting an old school bus into a biodiesel-solar-powered-RV; but really, we’re pretty normal (I promise!).

I am all about convenience, but I am willing to add a few small steps in my daily routine to keep from making the movie WALL-E a reality. Here are a few easy steps that even the busiest family could take to go green and save a few extra dollars too. Here are 5 Easy Ways My Family Goes Green And Saves Money.

No trash bags

I read somewhere a long time ago, that it takes even biodegradable trash up to 15 years to break down when it’s in a trash bag. So why would I take time to recycle and spend extra money on earth-friendly diapers just to put them in a plastic bag and keep them from decomposing?? Trash bags aren’t that expensive, but a penny saved is a penny earned and I can have a clear conscience about my carbon footprint. Any kind of yucky things I put down the disposal, or rinse before throwing away. Also, I have several small trash cans that I rotate and clean when they get gross. Easy right?

No paper towels/napkins

This one is actually the least trouble of all my green efforts. When I got married, I had registered for an obscene amount of dish towels, plus cloth napkins, and I got them all…and no silverware..oops! So I’ve never really seen the need for paper towels or napkins. For really gross messes, I’ll use cotton shop rags from home depot. Plus, there are always cute cloth napkins in the dollar spot at target. I have stocked up a whole basket full in the kitchen, ranging from cute decorative, to paint rags and heavy duty cleaning rags. When they get musty, I wash them in super hot water with baking soda, or boil them with a couple drops of dawn.

** Oh p.s. – an extra little tip for moms: instead of using a bib every time baby eats, let them go shirtless(less laundry)!

Natural cleaners

Pretty much everything can be cleaned with baking soda, vinegar, or peroxide. Seriously, search Pinterest. You can replace every chemical (reuse the bottles) under your sink for a few dollars.

Blinds open, lights off/ blinds closed, fans on

Honestly, my motivation for this is more money saving than planet-saving, but that’s neither here nor there. When it’s cold out, we open all of the blinds letting all of the light and some warmth in. However, most of the time here in Texas, it is blistering HOT, so the blinds stay closed and we have fans in every room and blackout curtains in the bedrooms. This keeps our a/c from working too hard, thus saving us a couple dollars on the light bill. There are a lot of little tricks you can do around the house to keep the light bill down. Some electric companies will actually send someone out to your house to address things that are sucking up energy.

Costco

Costco is new to our area, and as soon as it opened up, I had to check it out. Now I’m obsessed, seriously, I’m like a kid in a candy store every single time. It’s fun, but it’s also saving us some money. We make a trip there once a month, or sometimes every other month, to stock up on staples like meat (their prices on organic can’t be beat), canned goods, dry goods, and lunch box snacks. Bulk shopping equals less shopping trips, less gas, and less chance to buy incidentals (which I am the worst at). Of course, there are some perishables we go to the regular grocery store or farmers market for, but we have cut back. Plus, Costco takes special steps to keep their warehouses and transportation as sustainable as possible…Oh, and there’s always samples.

So there you go, just a few of the stress-free steps we take to be planet-saving-cheapos, what kind of things do you do around your house to help the planet, save money, and/or energy???

Bio:

I am KJ, a Jesus-loving woman, wife, mother, writer, crafter, and decorator. A Baby-wearing, breastfeeding, toxin free, GMO-fighting, gentle-parenting hippie. A firm believer in respect and rights for all. I’m extremely close with my family. I am married to my high school sweetheart, who is probably my biggest fan/supporter, and we have two beautifully, unruly daughters together.

I write to encourage others. To spread LOVE and GRACE especially to young moms who struggle with feelings of inadequacy and emotional overload. To share inspiration that enriches your homes and lives.