Help! Buying organic and living GREEN!?

Question

Hey all I am a poor college student looking for tips on living more green. I try to buy organic as much as I can but it is difficult with a limited amount of money. Anybody have any suggestions/good finds? Also, any tips on living green?

Answer 1

what the heck does buying organic have to do with being green.  Organic food isn't always the lowest energy use product and has problems shelf life and transportation use.

Organic foods tend to be over watered, high spoilage that doesn't always get back to nature via composting and over rated on nutient value.

Stick with local foods and just save energy via biking and using less electricity.

Answer 2

buying local is better than buying organic. that is all i have to say.......

buy less food that is wrapped in plastic and highly processed

hope that helped ish

Answer 3

-Grow your own

-shop at farmer's markets (Google "Certified Farmers market" + "your town"

- Tofu - it can be dressed in 1000's of different recipes and cost about $1.50 per package. A package lasts my 2 person house 3 meals or so.

- Fruits and veggies are typically cheaper than processed packaged foods

- meat substitute foods for treats only, they're good but pricey

-shop in the dry bulk bins (about 60% savings!)

- buy seasonally

-buy based on good prices and work meals around what's available rather than forcing yourself to buy around a meal plan

-compromise when needed, RTSB free milk may be cheaper than organic. Won't be as good, but still better than regular

-Depending on your area, shop at alternating stores. Some items are cheaper in some stores than others.

-Some stores have organic generic brands

-avoid fast food and cook for yourself more often

Living green tip - assess your lifestyle and for the next day, week, or year ask yourself where you can reduce, reuse, or recycle.

Some helpful sites:

http://www.treehugger.com/

http://www.eartheasy.com/homepage.htm

http://ecologue.com/Default.aspx

Answer 4

The cheapest way to go organic is to grow it yourself, if you aren't in a dorm you can plant several items in planters or a small patch of earth. A 4'x4' bed will grow at least 16 different plants. Look for farmers markets or community gardens. Plan your menu and make a list before you shop and stick to the list.

Going green is easy, there are so many great resources about the subject. My personal favorite is "The Green Book" which has parts of its book online as well at www.readthegreenbook.com.

You can save money by line drying your clothes, if you are in an apartment you can use plastic hangers on the shower rod. Switch to natural cleaners like baking soda and vinegar, they are 1000 times cheaper than 409 or windex.

Remember the 1st principal Reduce, avoid buying unnecessary packaging. Avoid impulse shopping or emotional shopping. Before you go clothes shopping, count the number of tops, jeans etc that you have, decide what you really need to add to your wardrobe.