I’m excited to be participating in the Go Green & Save Green Series with several other green bloggers this week!  We’ll be talking about different areas of green and natural living, showing you how to go green while saving money at the same time!  Be sure to check out the great links at the end of this post!

There are plenty of ways to save money by going “green” in terms of food. Even buying truly healthy, good quality food is not impossible if you purchase and store foods carefully.

Buying and if possible, preserving, food that is in season is the absolute best way to start saving money while doing a favor to the earth. Not only will the food be less expensive and more nutritious, but it will not have the added to the great transportation costs of food grown far away.

Farmers markets and roadside farm stands often offer very reasonable prices for what is truly the best quality food available. Even if I can’t always find something grown organically, I am still very happy if it was at least grown locally.

Preserving the fresh, in season foods bought at a great price is another way to further save money in the off-season months. If you preserve by canning, the glass jars can be used over and over again as long as they are well cared for. They are essentially a one-time cost and do not add to landfills each time a regular can is opened and not recycled. Freezing foods is another great option and often times much quicker than canning if that is something you require.

Buying in bulk is another great option for saving money as well as packaging materials for small containers. This does require a little bit more money up front, but for things that store well such as flour, oatmeal, etc. it can be a really great option if you find a good resource.

Making sure to store all of the food that you purchase properly (and remembering to use it in time!) is also important. Meal planning helps as you can make sure to use up all perishable foods before they spoil as well as plan to eat up leftovers. I am always bummed if I have to toss something out that sat in the fridge too long and was forgotten- not only was it a waste of space but also a waste of money!

Proper storage can also apply to how you store foods in the fridge. Often times, if I’m not sure how to store a particular food to make it last as long as possible (with only 2 people in the house this is definitely a requirement) so I do a quick check on Google. I have learned to keep tomatoes at room temperature and that lettuce in a crisper from the store can actually last for weeks. This can really help to stretch food dollars and make sure that nothing goes to waste.

Do you have any other tips for saving money on food and going green at the same time? We’d love to hear them!

Check Out These Other Great Posts in the Go Green & Save Green Series:

A Delightful Home: Grind Your Own Wheat

Live Renewed: Cooking a Whole Chicken & Making Chicken Stock

I’m excited to be participating in the Go Green & Save Green Series with several other green bloggers this week! We’ll be talking about different areas of green and natural living, showing you how to go green while saving money at the same time!

Each day will have a different theme:

• Monday – Personal Care Products/DIY Beauty
• Tuesday – Cleaning
• Wednesday – Reducing & Reusing
• Thursday – Food
• Friday – Natural Remedies/Natural Living

So it wasn’t until recently that I realized that there is another “R” when it comes to reducing waste. We all know the big three- reduce, reuse, and recycle, but I also recognize now that refuse is another one- and potentially it’s even the most important! I think this is the case because you can decide up front if you agree with the packaging or item and choose whether or not you want to buy it and bring it into your home.

I learned about this concept on a really interesting website called The Zero Waste Home which offers many tips from a family of four living an extremely environmentally friendly lifestyle. I first saw one of their videos here and it’s oh-so inspirational if you have a couple minutes to watch it! The family walks through the rooms of their home and shows how they store food and other household necessities in the most eco-friendly ways possible.

The refusing makes a lot of sense to me because by not using excess packaging or items that can’t be recycled in the first place, there is no need to reduce or recycle. And the recycling process takes a lot of energy in itself and there is even cost money to have pick-up from your home so I can see why lots of people really do use recycling as a last resort.

While there’s definitely plenty to consider here, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not perfect. I set goals for myself and do try to avoid buying things with excess packaging (although currently I don’t have a whole lot of local options that I’ve found for bulk foods and personal items). However, it could be years before I get to a zero waste point like this family (and that includes time spent convincing my husband! :) ). In the meantime, I’m doing the best I can at home and will work to improve slowly but surely!

So you may have a few of these yellow beauties (yes, hear me out! :) ) popping up in your lawn or field so I thought I’d share a few things that you might not know about dandelions. First, and foremost, my grandmother used to make an amazing dandelion jelly. Who would have thought, right? She sold it (among other kinds) at craft shows and what a hit it was! Us grandkids were even lucky enough to help her pick them.

So if you didn’t know that dandelions are edible, well, here’s the scoop. Mother Earth News states that all parts of the dandelion are edible. The roots can be eaten raw, cooked, or dried and the flowers can be added into salads or made into jelly or wine (mmmm). The greens can also be added into salads, but should be picked before the first flower blossoms. The leaves actually contain lots of Vitamins A & C, potassium, and antioxidants.

Before you decide to eat any though, it’s best to make sure they are from a wild, pesticide/chemical free location. Here’s a link to a few recipes including battered and fried dandelion blossoms! Also, if you are feeling extra adventurous, why not try this delightful dandelion lip balm? Perhaps we can share in a new appreciation for the many uses of dandelions and maybe even stop trying so hard to get rid of them!

Photo By: emoedgars

A great way to save on energy (and money!) in the summer is to use a clothesline instead of a dryer. I’m still trying to figure out how I might be able to rig one up in our backyard (which isn’t too flat), but in the meantime I’ve been keeping a list of tips for when it’s ready. Some of you already getting clothes outside on the line might also find these helpful.

One of the things I love best about line dried clothes is the fresh, outdoor smell. I also like the crisp feeling when it comes to line dried sheets, but I’m not a huge fan of crispy-feeling jeans. To soften clothes in the wash a bit more for line drying, store a gallon of water mixed with a cup glycerin in the laundry room. Add 1/2 cup of the mixture to your wash or rinse cycle for every load.

Next, to make washable blankets nice and fluffy, try adding 2 cups of white vinegar to the last rinse cycle. This should also help to get rid of any lingering soap residue.

For grass stains, blot with a mixture of 1/3 cup white vinegar to 2/3 cup water. Remove as much of the stain as possible and then wash as usual.

For items that need to keep their shape, hang them on a non-metal hanger (you don’t want rust marks on your clothes!) first and then hang it on the line, securing with a clothespin if needed. Also, to get socks to dry faster, hang them by the toe with a clothespin instead of just folding them over the line.

If you have any other simple laundry line drying tips, please feel free to share them!

Photo By: cpriest

Today I’m participating in the Ultimate Blog Swap. You’ll find me posting over at 1 Mom’s Mission about Healthy Cookout Foods, and I’m excited to welcome Lisa from Granola Catholic to openeyehealth:

Where Did the Lawn Come From?

Did you know that the modern lawn got its start in Europe? The moist mild climate there made it possible to grow large open grassy areas.  The original lawns were probably grassy enclosures within early medieval settlements used for communal grazing of livestock. The livestock would graze and keep the grass cropped short while fertilizing at the same time. Talk about a sustainable lawn! Flash forward to manor houses of 17th century England. Rich land owners wanted a bucolic look, so they paid an army of workers to cut grass by hand with a scythe. Expansive lawns were the reserved for the extremely wealthy.

So how did the lawn become soon widely popular here in the United States? The growth of the suburbs in the 1950’s led to the development of the modern lawn. Cookie cutter houses on a small lots came complete with a front lawn. The lawns of these developer were meant to be weed free and kept cut short. Luckily for all those chasing the American Dream at this time they had help. The 1950’s gave us among other great inventions, the first rotary lawn mowers,  and mass produced effective pesticides and fertilizers. Up until this time dandelions and clover were considered beneficial plants.

While lawns may have worked well in a temperate climate like the mid-Atlantic, the rest of the country is different story. Yet as I said, everyone wanted a piece of the American Dream, a little house of their own with a front lawn. People began to devote more and more time and money to the upkeep of their lawns.

Reasons to Reconsider  Your Lawn

• Per acre, it costs more to maintain a lawn than it does to grow corn, rice or sugarcane. More than 40 billion dollars are spent on the lawn in North American each year.
• 10 times more herbicides per acre are dumped on lawns than on the fields of agribusiness.
• Phosphorus run-off from lawn fertilizer causes algae blooms that suck oxygen out of lakes, asphyxiating fish.
• 30% of the water used on the East Coast of U.S. goes towards watering of lawns. A single golf course in Tampa, Florida uses 178,800 gallons of water every day, enough to meet the daily water needs of over 2,200 people.

So What Can You Do?

• Have a combined use yard, with perennial grasses, flowers, herbs and vegetables
• Plant a  kitchen garden – mine is in my front yard so it is close to the house
• Xeriscaping
• Encourage native plants to grow back
• Plant a variety of low  ground covers such as creeping thyme and chamomile
• Try a meadow
• Use native plants
• Plant a habitat gardens
• Put in a courtyard a la paved Spanish style
• Try a wildlife garden

For more information check out American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn

I decided to purchase this set of 3 reusable ChicoBags (produce bags) a couple of months ago on Amazon and I couldn’t be happier with them so far. They roll up into the cute little sleeves that you see above, but are actually 16″ x 12.5″ each and hold a lot of food! They are also machine washable and you just hang them out to dry (which happens very quickly!).

I’ve used these at my local grocery store and farmers market and it’s very easy to always have them with me since when rolled up they (all 3) fit easily in my purse. While this particular type of ChicoBag I bought says they’re perfect squash, broccoli, carrots, and celery (since they’re supposed to lock in moisture and restrict air flow), I have used them successfully for MANY other things including potatoes, beets, fruit (although I’m not sure how great they’d work for berries).

I think if you are planning to store food in the reusable bags then it’s more important to pay attention to those characteristics since they are supposed to help keep those veggies healthy and fresh. Once home though, I usually wash most of my fruits and veggies right away and set them out or store them in other reusable containers.

The other types of produce bags offered by ChicoBag are hemp-cotton and rePETe mesh bags. The hemp-cotton ones are meant to restrict air flow and absorb extra moisture, making a good environment for grains, green beans, and leafy greens. The rePETe mesh bags are meant to allow ethylene gas (emitted by foods like apples, pears, avocados, cantaloupes) to escape and stop early spoilage or over-ripening. I haven’t tried these ones yet, but if I expand my collection, they will be next.

I love that my current bags are made 99% from recycled plastic bottles- what a great second use! Not to mention they are totally cute and really wash out well. ChicoBag also carries a variety of other types of bags- I’m afraid that I’m going to have to have one of these cute reusable shopping bags that are also made from 99% recycled materials. I love when going green can also mean functional and stylish (and of course fun!).

So if you own a pair of TOMS, you know that they are pretty cool, but also pretty smelly even if you don’t generally have super stinky feet (and especially if you walk in any water). TOMS are meant to be worn without socks and comfortable enough to wear all the time, but can thus create a need for more odor control. Before we get into some natural cleaning solutions for them, here’s a little background in case you haven’t heard why TOMS are so neat.

For every pair that you purchase, another new pair is donated to a child in need somewhere around the world (as of last year over 1 million pairs of shoes were donated!). It might not seem initially that shoes are an extremely important human need, but this donation actually protects children’s feet from burns (in hot parts of the world), cuts, infection, bacteria, sewage, etc. They even make it possible for some kids to go to school if they can’t afford shoes, but are required to have them to attend.

TOMS also takes the environment into account as you can choose to purchase vegan shoes (no animal products used) as well as Earth-friendly ones made with sustainable and recycled materials. The shoes most environmentally friendly are specified on the web site and are still really great looking.

So now on to the cleaning part. The instructions for cleaning on the website state to hand wash using cold water and a mild detergent and air drying. They state that washing with a machine “gentle” cycle works, but never to put TOMS in the dryer. Some people suggest washing the shoes and then drying them in the sun (which is a great way to kill bacteria), but the website states that this can cause fading (although not affecting the durability), so be aware of this potential issue.

Another suggestion is to wash them on your most gentle machine cycle using detergent and then adding them to the dryer (on low or no heat) with a bunch of wet towels. Wearing them again afterwards is supposed to stretch them right back to normal.

Some other ideas include wiping down the insides with rubbing alcohol (perhaps try that in a small spot first), stuffing them with paper (which can be reused) to help absorb moisture after wearing, sprinkling baking soda in them which absorbs odors (leaving overnight if necessary), and placing them in a freezer overnight to kill bacteria.

If you decide to take the baking soda route, you can also try making this natural odor killer with essential oils by shaking in a sealed container 1 cup baking soda with 4 drops tea tree oil, 3 drops lavender oil, 3 drops rosemary oil, and 2 drops peppermint oil. These essential oils together offer disinfecting, antibacterial, and antifungal properties which should greatly help with odor when sprinkled regularly in the shoes. Hopefully this solution could increase the time needed between washings.

Now last, but not least, I’ve even heard of some people using Efferdent (denture cleaner!) for odors in certain shoes, but that could be an especially risky trial- since it’s blue. ;)

Although I don’t usually like showing off my household dirt, I just had to share how great my reusable swiffer wipe works. I purchased it last year at a local artisan’s market for about $5 and it not only picks up everything on the floor extremely well, but also washes out like new every time.

And I’m embarrassed to say this, but it wasn’t so long ago that I was purchasing the one-time use swiffer wipes, both the wet and dry. Very UN eco-friendly, but of course very convenient. But now I’ve replaced both types and will never go back. In fact, I realized that after starting to use this dry reusable wipe, things actually got MORE convenient.

I sweep around the rooms quickly as always had, but this one covers a much bigger area than store-bought wipes so I can be done with the floor even faster! I also don’t notice it leaving any dirt, dust, or cat hair behind. Once I’m done cleaning with it, I simply remove and shake it out well outdoors before tossing it into the laundry basket.

I wash it in warm water and then hang it out to dry. It’s put back in my cleaning closet before I need it again and produces no waste (since it hardly adds anything to my laundry)! I also love the fact that the seller mentioned that my wipe is actually made out of scrap material from her other projects.

In addition, I’m actually saving money by not purchasing the disposable ones (1 box costs almost as much as I paid for the wipe). And I’ll never run out of them again! Now, in case you’re wondering, what I did to replace the wet wipes is simply switch to a solution of vinegar and water and use a regular mop to clean my linoleum. It works great and also saves money since vinegar is so cheap.

Luckily, a friend reminded me of the local vendor I purchased my dry wipe from and her online shop is here. If you’re feeling really adventurous though you can look into making your own or check out some of the other styles available on Etsy. It’s one more easy way that we can help the planet!