Great question!

I do a lot of 'green' things but when I think about it, not a lot of them save money.

1) I bring my own canvas bags for my shopping (but I've never gotten a discount for it).
2) I try and use green cleaning products but generally find them more expensive.
3) I buy fair trade coffee, again more expensive but worth it.
4) I do not buy products with lots of packaging (which only saves money if I don't buy something else.)
5) I buy energy efficient light bulbs (more expensive but overall savings on my energy bill.)
6) We use a front load washing machine, which again was more expensive up front but saves on water.

I'm interested to hear what others do. I've learned so much from everyone on these boards! :D

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Here is a very specific thing I have started doing recently, that happens to be frugal AND good for the environment.

I have put away all of our towels except for one per person. At the end of the day I might give them a quick 5 or 10 minute fluff but I am no longer washing towels after one use. If the floor needs a quick mop/dry after a bath, I am going to teach my family to use a small hand towel instead of a huge towel!

Using less water, less detergent and less electricity to dry.

Another thing along the lines of saving on water/washing is trying to get everyone to wear clothes more than once before washing. Even kids' stuff, which may have a spot on it. Sometimes you can spot clean an article of clothing and it's clean enough to wear again. It also helps clothes look new longer.

They are doing this more, even at the larger chains. I'm not doing it yet, but plan on bringing in cloth bags. I have 3 right now that are large enough for groceries...New Year's resolution!

We recycle everything! We don't pay for curb side recycling, but we do pay for our trash pickup, so if we have extra bags for trash pickup, we have to pay a few dollars a bag. BUT, if we recycle it, we don't have to pay.

CF bulbs emit less pollutants into the air, because they use less electricity. They also cost less in the long run.

This doesn't really save us money now, but we opt to buy a portion of wind generated electricity. We don't do this for all of our electricity, but just a portion. I think that it will save us later, because of less crap to clean out of the environment.

We walk to the store sometimes, when the weather is good. It saves on gas and gives me exercise at the same time. I also end up buying ONLY the things I need, because who wants to carry a 12 pack of pop 1 1/2 miles? I take the stroller or wagon with the kids and put the bags I get in there. I haven't done it since the 3rd was born, that may put a twist on things since the other 2 aren't big enough to really walk that far! (4 and 2)

DH laughs at me for saving aluminum foil pieces, but if they are still good, why not? When they are too torn or small, I recycle. I also save every sour cream tub, cottage cheese tub or any small container like that and reuse it for sending DH food for work. If he loses it, so what? Cheaper than those disposable Ziploc containers.

Oh, and I just had to add this one, because I just thought of it. I never (or hardly ever) put produce in those clear little bags, unless it is really small or something like loose leaf lettuce. I see people putting onions, potatoes, tomatoes, etc. in those and I have never really seen the point. The cashiers don't always like it because they have to weigh a lot of things, but they can deal.

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Frugal is being wise with your money and resources and cheap is forcing everyone else to.

Check out my blog, I'm starting to add more to it, as I can...vioburn.blogspot.com

Vioburn, that is a good idea (it drives me crazy how many plastic bags get used) but I am somewhat germaphobic and freak out about how dirty the grocery carts/baskets are! Also, each item then rolls along on the conveyor belt -- those things have all sorts of nastiness on them (meat germs and bacteria etc...) Sorry to bring it up, but it's a real reason I use those dumb bags, even though I hate the environmental impact. I really should make a point to bring my own re-usable bags.

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"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." ~ Dr. Seuss

What really surprised us about moving south (from RI and PA) was that in FL and OK there is no state recycling program, whereby they come and pick up your recyclables with your trash pick up. It was shocking. People have the option of taking their recyclables to a drop off point, but chances are they will get lazy and not do that (we know plenty of them). But we do make the effort. We recycle and drop off at least once every week.

I do like a good yard sale and conseignement sale. There is nothing wrong with buying used clothing, toys, etc. I love saving the money on something I know costs more than it should when bought new

I like scouting out thrift stores and Goodwills. You just never know what you might find. I often take a load there and our stuff is fairly nice, so I am sure others who use it have nice things too. Someone's trash is someone else's treasure right?

We try and not buy prepackaged items but nowadays it's tough. So what I do is instead of buying snack items in individual packages, I buy them in bulk and make them into individual servings. I take mozarella cheese and cut it up into squares and put it in plastic containers in my ds' lunch box. I do the same with yogurt, raisons, goldfish, crackers, even make my own lunchables for Ty.

I do have enough canvas bags to use when shopping but I like using the plastic bags for my kitchen and bathroom trash baskets. I guess in a sense that is recycling too ~ but not a very good example!

I use greeting cards twice. Those that are sent to me, I use again and make up my own cards using the fronts of the ones I received. ALl I need is cardstock and I can find that at hobby lobby and Michael's on sale or with my 40% off coupon!

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I do not use totes so much for the grocery store but I also reuse the plastic bags in the bathroom/kitchen as well. Mainly for dirty diapers. I do use a couple of tote bags at the library instead of using theirs.

When I buy cold cereal I use the cereal bags inside the boxes for covers when I heat dishes in the microwave instead of wax paper. (I hope thats a safe move been doing it for years) We recycle our newspaper at the recycle bin at church it raises money for them and helps the enviroment.

My city is big on recycling, however I still know many who just dont do it. Its so easy I dont get it.

We also live in a city of no school busses to me that promotes walking free excersise and less gas omissions around the city. I defintly live in a walking city we walk a lot!

I use a lot of vinegar and baking soda for cleaning as well. I dont use a swiffer which I think is a big old waste, you can go to Walmart and buy some good rags in the auto dept. when your done throw them in the washer.

I like Kims suggestion of wearing something twice before washing as long as it isnt gross. I will be working on that one, saves time and energy for me as well!

When I first read this, I was thinking of totes as in the big plastic storage bins. It reminded me of when I used to ask for a box when I went grocery shopping. I packed my groceries in the box and then when I got home I used it for storage. I started this when I was in the military and moved a lot, but it is a easy way to carry a bunch of groceries or if you need a box. Also, if you don't need the box, but have an easy way to recycle it, the grocery store was just going to recycle it anyway. Just a thought...

We do use boxes at Costco and Aldis, we actually always keep a cardboard box in the back of the van for these very 2 places!

I thought of another one!

I use cloth feminine products along with the diva cup http://www.lunapads.com which saves me $100-$200 every year and saves a lot on the environment. I had to start using those because I was having an allergy to the bleach in the disposables but now I could never go back. This seems way more natural to me now (although I confess I was skeptical at the beginning).

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