I had a conversation with a friend the other day. And her comment, I won't dull you with the details, was basically she couldn't afford to be green. I was surprised because, for me, being green goes along hand in hand with being frugal.

I'm not referring to the green celebrities that you see who completely remodel their homes. I cannot afford to replace every item in my home to ensure that it is bio-degradable or it doesn't produce some noxious gas. Yes, I am taking baby steps, I have an energy saving washer and dryer and now a dishwasher but I haven't started ripping up flooring yet!

I'm talking more about my choices in food and my attempts to cut back on our useage of plastic. My choice to buy bar soap, instead of liquid, not only cuts back on the plastic consumption but also is less expensive. I buy locally grown eggs that are better quality, for a cheaper price, and the money goes to an older couple who are not healthy and don't have a lot of income. I also raise a garden and can items that we're still eating and I expect too for several months to come. Last summer I hardly stepped into the produce section of the grocery store and I don't expect to have to buy spaghetti sauce again until maybe next summer. And I realize that gardening and canning take time and if I worked from home I probably wouldn't have the time or energy to do that. I also realize that gardening requires a bit of property and it is a labor of love!

I also do not buy all organic foods. Would love to but I cannot afford them. I attempt to make an educated decision; I don't buy organic milk but I do buy milk that is produced regionally and uses farmers that do not inject their cows with BST.

These are some things that I do but I'm curious how others perceive this issue. Is being green too expensive or does it work well for you?

For me at first thought I was like there is no way I can be green on our budget...BUT really you can be green for your budget it just won't be as green as others. For instance we don't use disposable diapers, formula or paper in the kitchen. To me that's saving. We do use plastic grocery bags for right now but we recycle them and have many uses for them in our home. As far as food choices, organic is a bit more and we can't afford that bit more. Sad I know but it's really just enough to tobble over our budget. I do think you can eat healthier for cheaper. Make majority from scratch! We use handmade beauty products and those are usually made by us.

So would I say I'm green? Yes, just not as much as I'd like.

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Happily married to my geek
Proud homeschooling, cloth diaperin, attached parenting, slinging, simplier, breastfeedin, sewing mama mades, christian and funky mama

I do think that the larger ticket items used to help conserve energy add extra expense to the families who would choose to buy them. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking of solar panels, a hybrid car, and geothermal heating systems. Organic food is also more expensive.

However, I'm with you, MELSB, there are still things that we can do at the grassroots level that lessen our impact on the earth. Besides the things you mentioned, I try to buy recycled toilet paper, paper towels, and computer paper. In order for businesses to buy into creating products from recyclables, we have to create a market for recycled products.

If we each took a small step toward conservation, we could make a large impact!

Marlene

I think it all depends on your perception of being green.

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~Happiness is a large family~