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Top Ten Steps in Saving Money, Living Green and Eating Healthy


I'm not a coupon clipper, although the thought intrigues me. It seems when I do look for coupons I only find coupons for processed foods. I'd rather save my money in other ways. I've also found that being frugal can naturally lead to living green and eating healthier.


1. No paper products except baby wipes and toilet paper because, to put it into simplest terms, I don't like dealing with poo. Which means I still haven't switched to cloth diapers for my daycare babes. I use cloth napkins and washable hankies made from old t-shirts.


For day care licensing the kids are to have "single use" towels to use after washing hands. Instead of using paper towels I have a basket of wash clothes that are used for "personal" hand towels. If I entertain for a crowd larger than my supply of dishware, I do buy paper plates and napkins but otherwise I try to make do with my washable stock.


2. No canned foods (or limited). I make my own "cream of" soups and use dry beans. 

3. No margarine. Butter bowl left at room temp makes the butter soft for spreading on bread.

4. No cleaning products - use microfiber cleaning cloths and water. I also use borax, baking soda, vinegar for different cleaning recipes.


5. No chemically laden "beauty products". Most are homemade or consist of one ingredient (facial moisterizer is simply jojoba oil). I use diluted castile soap for shampoo. Homemade deodorant and lotion.




6. No plastic bags/ziplocs. Bread bags, if we happen to have any, are occasionally reused otherwise reusable containers are used for food storage. I use glass canning jars for storing almost everything!

7. No canola oil. Eww. Instead I use only butter, coconut oil (my personal oil of choice), grapeseed oil, and olive oil.

8. No chemicals, no highly perfumed products in the laundry room. Fabric softner sheets have been replaced with homemade, wool dryer balls. Laundry soap is homemade.



9. Avoid plastic shopping bags. I'd love to say "NO plastic shopping bags" however occasionally I forget. Over the years I've collected many cloth shopping bags. I try to leave these in the van so I always have them with me.

10. Stretch meat. Meat is spendy so I've learned how to add "fillers". Instead of using one pound of hamburger for one meal, I add veggies and grains to make stews and casseroles. I base my menu plan around meat that I find on sale. 

Hearth & Soul Hop

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