Going Green Without Going Broke??

Question

Ok I'm trying to go green and be more friendly to the planet, I do actually care. But everything green is so expensive!! I've switched to a few green things, cleaning products mainly. But I see that biodegradable recycled paper towels are $3 a roll when I can get regular ones for $1 a roll. As eco friendly as I'd like to be I can't afford to start paying triple for things.

I see some people have gone 'off the grid' as they like to call it. I wish I had the money and land to set that up. But all I have is 4 acres and with 2 horses it's not like I can start a huge garden and farm my own food animals.

I'd love to hear from anyone who can help me be as green as possible, but on a budget and with only a very small amount of land.

I already know about conserving electricity and water. I'm on my own well system but still have to use government electricity since installing solar is so ridiculously overpriced.

Any ideas?

Thanks guys!

Answer 1

The leading edge of technology can be the bleeding edge in terms of cost. Often but a short time after a technology arrives it is greatly refined so that not only its cost goes down, but its effectiveness goes up.



We got photovoltaics going, and people have implemented the technology. Here in Ontario we even have a purchase price for excess solar power that actually makes one a profit over the expected life of the panels... all great but nothing compared to announced developments in the field that can reduce cost per watt below the cost for nuclear or coal...  This is really going to burn the early adopters!

I notice that in our supermarket I see toilet paper labelled as 'green' right alongside cheap stuff.

They each have, by label declaration, at least 80% post consumer waste, both are labelled biodegradable, both claim to have no bleaching agent... I use the lower priced one.

I have no idea what kind of land you have, but on less than 2 hectare of land I am able to be a commercial walnut grower, grow most of our vegies, cherries, and of course flowers. But I don't have horses.

Green technologies have been put on the market priced for the early adopter.  The next wave has to be dedicated to bringing costs down to where everyone will insist on using it.

Answer 2

You use paper towels??? Why??? Don't you have sponges or cloth towels? You have four acres and aren't growing your own ethanol? Why not? I was going to suggest you recycle your glass and aluminum containers to get money to buy cfl's, but i'm not sure you'd know what i meant.

Answer 3

Don't buy into that democratic hype. Brand new paper towels can be recycled just as well as recycled ones. Besides, trees are renewable, and for every tree companies tear down, they plant 4 more! And as far as water conservation, why? There is no such thing as conserving water, you think when it goes down the drain it dissapears? NO, it goes back into the water cycle to fall as rain sometime again.

Answer 4

You're going about it the way corporations want you to.   Going green should save you money, not cost you more.   Use cloth instead.    A small decorative windmill can be made to pump water with a little ingenuity.    It doesn't pump much, but if it goes whenever there is a little wind, it will do well during the day.    A hand pump can be used when the wind doesn't blow.   Forget about feeding yourself completely, start out small and add more when you feel up to it.    A couple high bush blueberries are much cheaper than buying them in the store at $1 per oz.    A cherry tomato plant in a pot will pay for itself many times over in a season and can be taken indoors and be manually pollinated all winter.

Answer 5

Instead of using disposable paper towels (if it's desposible it ain't very green) use cloth towels. Same with napkins. I don't believe i have bought or use paper towels in 10 years.

On 4 acres you could start a huge garden and raise chickens at least. I make my living growing a 3 acre sustainable market garden and raising a few hundred pastured meat chickens each year on less than 4 acres. You could probably have a goat or two as well for milk and meat. Growing your own food can save you thousands of dollars on your food bill and your will eat far better quality food, though it is a lot of work.

Going green means using LESS so start buying used. Join your local Freecycle email list (http://www.freecycle.org to fond a local list or 4 ) and see what you can get and give through that.

Answer 6

Switch from paper towels to reusable rags.  Get some chickens or rabits for meat.  Convenience is almost never green.  Unfortunatly living at a fist world standard of living isn't either.

Answer 7

You can make your own cleaning products, way cheaper then buying anything.

vinigar and lemon juice with a little dish washind liquid will clean almost anything, you can use vinigar and baking soda for harder things like tubs and ovens.

Plant some trees on your property, grow some vegtables in a small garden, this will save shiping to grocery store and also they will be organic.

Just recycle as much as you can, be mindfull of what you are using, and make your own cleaning products.

Answer 8

I think if you take steps to be more "green" it has an impact.We are all facing an economy that is difficult so doing the things that you can afford to do will have an impact, the more folks who take your approach the better.

Answer 9

Here are a few things that you also could do:

Instead of plastic bags when you go grocerry shoping switch to paper or get those reusable bags that are $1 a bag but 1 can fit to gallons of milk in it unlik a platic bag that can only fit one

Use a clothes line so that way u wont be using the dryer to much also switich to those new energy affecient bulbs the conserve energy which is goo and they last up to five year you can get like six of them for like 7 or 8 dollare at your near walmart

Recycle all the things you are suppose to recycle

if a bike use it more than your car it is also good excersise for your body

im trying to help this planet as well so please take my advice

EDIT:

also when you throw food out it helps the soil

dont leave  unnessary lights on to

Dont throw trash on the ground

hairspray and plastic plates each kill 100,000 cells in our ozone layer one spray of hairspray does that and so does 1 platic plate

Answer 10

As a few people have pointed out, going green should save us money and not cost us more (a dead planet is the real ultimate price!). There are some good suggestions here already (except the person who implied it was ok to waste water and trees) but I have some more cheap solutions.

Give up driving/flying and instead walk/cycle/use public transport. Share a car if you really need to use one. Saves money on vehicles, fuel, tax, insurance. Not to mention less air pollution!

Wear warm clothes instead of heating your home (to a degree anyway). A good jumper costs less than heating your home through winter.

Reduce meat consumption. This is a huge waste of resources and consequently expensive. If it's not expensive then it has inevitabley been factory farmed. Even if you don't care about animal welfare, you should recognise how damaging meat production is to the planet.

The main thing is BUY LESS. If you have 4 acres that's enough to grow quite a lot of food, but it's a huge time investment. However growing some basics like potatoes is really easy, greener than buying them from agribusiness, dirt cheap and most importantly, tasty!

Answer 11

Ditch the paper towels all together and get some cloth napkins and washcloths for drying hands in the bathroom.

I live in the suburbs of a big city with a small yard and grow my own veggies in containers. Container gardening is very easy!

Check out this blog for more info on going green cheaply:

sustainablesundays.blogspot.com

Answer 12

Why would you spend triple the price for something you're going to dispose of?  Paper comes from FARMED trees, grown specifically for paper and wood.  No rainforests.  Tree farms.

Paper towels can be recycled.  Going Green = $$$ for companies.  Going Green is the latest trend, something takes our mind off the real issues and and offers an outlet to spend our surplus cash so we don't feel so guilty.

Water conservation???  DESALINIZATION  PURIFICATION

You cannot run out of water, it just goes back into the sewers and gets processed all over again to be drinking water.  Also, plastic bottles are 100% recyclable.

Answer 13

How about a tread mill

Answer 14

One of the best sources is the library. You can find books on so many things. Instead of buying a book you can go to the library and check it out and if they don't have it they can probably get it for you. There is also sewing. Instead of throwing things out try to find different uses for them. For instance you can use your old t-shirts to make pillows. Stuff them with the scraps left over. Make bean bags for drafts under doors, paperweights, games etc.... Each of us has talents, just try to use what you know and like and teach others how to do what you do or enjoy, and try to use things you have instead of buying things. Books are the key. They don't cost anything to check out and almost everything you want to learn to do, places you want to go, entertainment, everything is in a book. Internet is great but it sure is good to take the time for a book.

Answer 15

I'm having the same dilemma as you are.  a few things I have changed is using regular towels and rags instead of paper towels for cleaning and wiping up spills.  I gather these into a separate laundry basket and when I have a full load I wash them.  I carry light weight fabric shopping bags with me wherever I go and wash my baggies out to reuse.  Just cut back on water and elec usage as much as possible and know you are doing the best you can. Good luck!

Nancy H

Answer 16

Great that you are motivated! Lots of little things you can do which will help you save energy, build your momentum and conviction to be Green, and influence those around you. I've personally gone from buying organic bananas only when they were cheaper than regular to buying 100% organic, fair-trade for coffee/chocolate/tea and using less resources in my personal and work life. But change is slow so be patient with yourself and just ask what you think is reasonable and fair while still holding yourself to high standard.

reusable bags at grocery stores are great. Also try skipping produce bags. I put all my produce stickers on the back of a box of cereal (or whatever I'm buying) and then I don't need the 10-15 bags from produce (they make your veggies get slimy quicker anyways).

and don't forget to ask for no bags at other stores as well. You can OFTEN pile your purchases inside one another or stick them in your purse. Think about how many times you get a plastic bag for a pack of gum, a bottle of water...once I got one for a basket. Make sure to tell the folks you don't want to waste the bags.

I shop sales for organic and fair trade foods. My grocery bill is about the same as pre-green me when I pace things out and buy stuff when it is on sale. Mainly this is because we have stopped throwing away food. If we have food that needs to be eaten, we don't go out. Every now and then we eat a kinda boring meal just to kill the leftovers, but mostly planning ahead and not overbuying prevents us from wasting any food.

I save veggie scraps in a plastic bag in the freezer (labeled so I can reuse it-just leave it in the freezer to store and wash every 6weeks or so) then about 2X a month I throw all the frozen scraps in a pot and make stock (easy with a little boullion)

I also pack leftovers in lunch containers or freezer containers so they are ready to grab or save for later meals.

You can dry laundry on racks to save dryer heat, unplug appliances instead of just switching them off, and only turn on hot water if you need it to get hot.

Finally, remember that some folks are working hard to make green products, some farmers are working harder to farm without pesticides, and that sometimes this will cost a little more. When it's trendy green canvas bags I take a pass, but I don't mind paying 3X the price for chocolate when I know that there was no slavery or human suffering for the workers and that there is not a cheaper way to make it without cutting environmental/social corners.

Good luck on your path. I'm sure the grass will keep getting greener the further you go!

Mrs.E

Answer 17

1don't use CFC products

2plant more trees

3don't throw trash anywhere

4make other people more aware

5if your a smoker quit now...also don't burn plastics...the smoke is bad for the ozone

6avoid Styrofoams...when you break them, there is some kind of invisible gas that floats up and weakens the ozone layer

i hope this helped

Answer 18

4 acres? Are you kidding? I live in urban LA county on 1/3 acre (huge by local standards). The house, driveway, and swimming pool (it was here when we bought the home) take up about half of it. On the rest I have 5 free-range chickens, 250 square feet of raised-bed garden space, an edible front yard, 26 fruit trees (only 10 are old enough to bear fruit yet), and half a dozen blueberry bushes (yes, there are varieties that will fruit well in southern areas). We went solar last year, this year we started rainwater/graywater harvesting, and next year I will build myself a greenhouse (I am woman hear me roar...) I don't come anywhere near actual independence, but I spend my time working on what I can do, not worrying about what I can't. So get planting, and keep looking for ways to improve.

Answer 19

what kind of green cleaning products are you using?

How expensive are they?

Answer 20

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/