There are a lot of compelling reasons to live a green lifestyle. For one thing, it protects the planet by conserving resources. Living organically also contributes to good health and can actually save you money. Growing your own food and avoiding processed foods are a couple of money saving ways to live a simpler, healthier life. Many items that we buy at the store, like cleaning and beauty products, can easily be substituted with ingredients available at home. And using solar panels is a great way to save money with clean, renewable energy.
Here are five tips for going green and saving money at the same time:
Contents
Grow a Garden
Having a vegetable garden is a great way to supplement your family’s diet and save money in the process. In the midst of the Great Depression, a lot of people planted ‘kitchen gardens’ to supply fresh produce for their families. In those days, it was a necessity that was often the only alternative to doing without. Growing your own food is just as relevant today. Not only are organically grown vegetables better for you, but the taste of ripe vegetables fresh from the garden is something that can’t be duplicated.
Choose Food Wisely
Processed foods not only cost more than fresh food, but they are actually bad for the environment. They have more packaging and often have to be kept frozen, which uses fossil fuels. Besides, so-called ‘convenience foods’ usually contain more salt and added sugar than necessary, making them an unhealthy alternative. Processed beverages like soda have to be carbonated and bottled at a plant and then trucked to grocery stores, using oil and gas along the way. Cooking at home and making your own lemonade or iced tea is healthier and costs less.
Make Your Own Cleaning Products
Did you know that it’s not really necessary to buy window spray, detergent and other products to clean your house? Vinegar (a natural disinfectant) and baking soda are two cheap products that will tackle just about any cleaning job there is. You can also save a lot of money by making your own laundry detergent with soda, borax and soap. You know that ring around the tub? You don’t need cleanser to get rid of it – baking soda will do the job just as well.
Try Do-It-Yourself Beauty Products
If you really want to save money, stay away from store-bought cosmetics as much as possible. They contain dyes and chemicals, and the price markup on beauty products is ridiculously high. You can still be beautiful, but try replacing some of your beauty products with natural, homemade cosmetics that will save you a bundle. One of the best facial scrubs around is plain cornmeal. It gently exfoliates your skin without leaving any residue, and you don’t have to worry about plastic micro-beads fouling up the environment.
Embrace Solar Energy
Solar energy has been touted for decades as a green alternative to burning fossil fuels. The only problem was that solar panels used to be expensive to purchase and to have installed. Happily, the newest solar panels are more lightweight, easy for a homeowner to install and, most importantly, a lot less expensive. Even if you can’t get off the grid for all of your energy needs, substituting solar power for one hot water heater will add up to a big savings over time.
There are so many ways that you can save money by going green, and these five tips are just a few of them. The food and drink we put into our bodies, the cosmetics and lotions we put on our skin and the household cleaners we use in our homes are often easy to make with natural ingredients. And as more solar energy companies are created, new, innovative techniques will keep the idea of going solar a truly cost-effective alternative.
About Author : Jessica Kane is a professional blogger who writes for Econoheat., the world’s #1 leading oil heater manufacturer.
Disclaimer : This article is shared by Author with “Green Ecosystem” voluntarily, free of cost and for the purpose to be shared with everyone for free and Green Ecosystem doesn’t own / reserve any rights of this article, all rights remains with the author (as mentioned above) of this article. Contact [email protected] with title of this article if any change.
