Eco Frugality
Each day you make choices and decisions. Some of these decisions can be environmentally friendly. By modifying simple activities in your daily life, you can help the environment. Many frugal practices run parallel with green living. Frugalitarians know of the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, but in my opinion there are more than three R’s that can assist you in living more frugal, green, and/or simple. I call these practices “eco frugality”.
Let’s consider the following R’s, as well:
repurposing
repairing
restoring
respecting
rethinking
renewing
reviewing
revising
retrying
A portion of frugality focuses on waste reduction. More specifically, using less disposable items such as plastic, packaging, and styrofoam. There are simple ways you can make a difference in your home.
In a typical week what are the wasteful materials used the most in your life?
Grocery bags?
Milk Jugs?
Sandwich bags?
Coffee cups?
Plastic utensils?
The list can go on and on. There are durable item alternatives that won’t break your budget and ways to repurpose or reuse items too.
Consider the following mini options:
*Bring your own cloth bag for shopping.
*Use commuter cups for coffee and beverages
*Wrap n mats instead of sandwich baggies or rinse out your plastic baggies. Don’t want the clutter of baggies? Try this
*Reusable lunch containers
*Reusable utensils and http://www.to-goware.com/products.php
*Repurpose and reuse plastic containers
*Choose items with less packaging. For example, buy refillable products.
*Borrow and share items when you can
*Cloth napkins instead of paper
*Use homemade cleaners
*Use reusable coffee filters
*Purchase secondhand
*Use rechargeable batteries
*Walk or bike more often
*Compost
*Use mechanical or refillable pen and pencils
Keep in mind that reusing is equally important as recycling.
Additional Reading:
Eating Green Calculator
Carbon Footprint Calculator
Reuse Household Items
Shopping Tips
Share with me ways that you reduce waste and reuse and repurpose items.
Frugal Village Natural Living Forum Discussions:
New Uses For Old Things
Bring Your Own Bag
Frugality, The Environment, and Time
Reduce Your Plastic Rubbish
Reducing Plastics
Posted by Sara Noel
on February 8 2007. Filed under Frugal & simple living.Sara Noel owns Frugal Village, LLC and is a nationally syndicated columnist with Universal Uclick. Bio, Follow me on Twitter, Join us on Facebook
This was a really great blog. I was more into recycling when my children were home and there was more to recycle. In the town we used to live in it was mandatory to recycle. We had to buy orange bags that cost 1 buck a piece to throw things in that couldn’t be recycled. For us, we could afford them, but there were alot that couldn’t. Where we live now, they have a giant compost area where you can take leaves and sticks which is really nice. I do alot of the things that you mentioned. I especially use the plastic bags you get at the grocery store for trash can liners. I should start taking a bag with me. Thanks for the info on green living…Blessings..Kathy
1Thanks for such a good, thought-provoking post. You’ve got me pondering other Rs, like revitalizing, reinventing and rescuing. By my favorite is from your list: rethinking. Keep up the good work.
2Enjoyed the post and believe in what you are communicating. When I shop and the clerk goes for the plastic bag, I know just ask for no bag. Some strange looks for sure at times yet one less bag is a small victory on each shopping trip. Also, I switch to kitchen towels recently from paper towels and what a difference! No more paper in the trash and the old fashion dish or kitchen towels work great. Thanks for the post and I am enjoying discovering your posts. Simplicity in Kansas
3Interesting post. I like your additional Rs. Frugality and green living do run parallel to one another.
4What an amazing amount of valuable information for a single post. The earth would last much longer if everybody practiced just a few of these techniques.
I suspect you’re already familiar with the Freegan movement, but, just in case, I picked up a link the other day to some radical thinkers you might enjoy seeing.
I won’t clutter your comment area with somebody else’s link, but it can be found simply at freegan.info
5Great ideas Sara! I have been taking my own bags to the store now. I also never buy styrofoam, or paper towels, etc.
6You have such wonderful ideas and I too bring my own bags to the store, have cut down on using paper towels and paper plates. Thank for the info on green living, your posts are inspiring.
7What wonderful ideas. I have stopped buying all paper products (except for TP). I like that idea for packing your lunch in a “wrap-n-mat.” These are great ideas to start reducing the amount of waste in our lives.
8Great post! I still remember the government commercials from when they were first trying to promote recycling. Most people take it for granted now, but there’s always lots more to learn. It’s amazing how many people still chuck their cans and bottles into the ditch. I love your list of R’s…especially retrying. If something doesn’t work the way you’re doing it, adjust it and try again. Thanks for all the great links, too.
9It’s funny, I always think that I’m reusing and repurposing things constantly, but looking at the first thing on your list makes me feel lazy. I have at least 30 grocery bags in my pantry. My store pays me .02 per bag that I reuse. So, I could be reusing their bags and getting a little money deducted from my grocery bill, and yet, I still don’t do it. Thanks for giving me a kick to remind me that there are more ways that I can leave less of a footprint on the earth.
10I’ve also been using a few egg cartons to start seedlings for the spring. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but it’s going great so far.
also, using the little soap scraps by putting them in a nylon stocking and then tie it around the hose nozzel outside – really works well!
I love your additional R’s – thanks!
11Kathy-Here we have to pay for brown paper bags for leaves. The kicker is we have to pay for orange stickers that go on the bags too. Then the city picks it up. We also, during certain weeks, can just rake leaves to our curb and the city will pick them up.
Last year, I started sharing my leaves with my neighbor and we compost them all. I know it sounds funny to share leaves, but most of the leaves are from her maple tree. lol This wasn’t my idea, so hopefully I don’t sound like I insisted she take her leaves. lol
We share a garden between our property lines, so we just use a lot of it there. I also have a greenbelt behind my house and a good line of trees in one section. I compost there too.
Adam-I like your additional R’s. Too much comes to mind. I thought of things as diverse as community gardens to dumpster diving. Thanks for your comment.
Simplicity in Kansas-Happy to see you visiting. Refusing a bag or bringing your own bag is so simple. I wish people could see how this one small decision can make such an impact.
Jenny-It’s good to see you here.
davidbbale-Thanks for visiting. I am aware of freegans. I have an interesting video to share that was submitted to me from Laryn. The video is great.
http://www.larynandjanel.com/blog/a_shout_out_to_eating_garbage_on_dumpster_diving.html
I’ve written about dumpster diving before and may revisit the freegan topic soon.
Baxjul, Marie78 and Tracey- hugs to you.
Aheek-Here in MI bottle returns net a dime each. I don’t know how anyone could toss them.
Amy-I still have some plastic grocery bags here. I reuse them, but my house isn’t completely bag free daily either.
Bumplett-Good for you. I reuse solo cups, yogurt cups, milk jugs, and even newspaper for my seedlings. It’s almost time to sow. I’m excited.
I didn’t do any winter sowing this year.
12Good post! I always reuse plastic bags for everything from garbage can liners, to wrapping fragile items in to lining the countertop when I am doing something messy! And I keep a supply in my car for shopping trips. I am also trying to look at the items I own and reuse them in different ways rather than trash any of them. Lastly, using cloth napkins, old clothes for cleaning rags and no plastic plates has made a big difference in my household!
13I need to apply one of your Rs and do some rethinking. I need to do more recycling.
14This was a great post. I learned a little more information I didn’t even think about. If I go to a store that you don’t bag yourself I usually ask for paper. I can use the paper to send gifts or for other purposes. At Aldis or save alot I just take my mesh bags or the plastic I have already had at home. I really try to not buy products that have the syrofoam bottoms. I use my milk jugs for various things. For watering plants, making juice, storing oil. (My parents or I buy the bulk cooking oil in the big jugs and then split it). I save the newspapers from them and use for kitty litter, wrapping,etc.
15I loved your additional R’s. Great post. I do alot of the things you mentioned. We are avid cloth baggers and baggie washer-outers!
16I am doing a little recycling. What my dh and I do is that we have a 5 gallon contianer that we use for soda cans. We use it like an extra trash can just for that reason. Then when we get enough then dh takes it to a recycling center then we get a little cash for it at the same time. It has gotten to the point that I will go through garbage cans at work to see if any employees have thrown away any soda cans. Then take them home with me. I also try to reuse the plastic bags that you get for the store as lunch bags.I am also thinking about trying to think of ways to bring up to my manager of tring to recycle our extra papers that we get for guest to read.
17reat post, It is amazing how much your trash can be reduced when your conscientious about what you use. It also makes me feel good knowing I am trying to do what I can to walk lightly on the earth.
18Great post! This year I got to thinking a lot about this sort of stuff. Instead of buying our kids a big set of blocks to play with we rinsed out the liter boxes our milk is in and they played with those. Trying to get better about other stuff like not using as many paper towels, but right now laundry is a problem for us so kitchen towels can be a big hassle.
19I’m horrible when it comes to any of the R’s except for recycle. I am the recycle police at my house. I know that I need to get better but I still don’t.
20I agree that frugality is generally fairly good for the environment. I stopped using many tossable items, using washable reusable products instead. We reuse things till there is barely anything left to them and then sometimes they can still be used in other ways outdoors for the pets or yard work.
21My DH has rolle dhis eyes a few times but sometimes he’s the one who thinks of ways to repurpose things too now. It’s catchy
Great article, I love the ‘rethink’, that really says it all. I remember being told once that the 3 r’s are in order of importance, that reducing & reusing are the crucial elements and recycling is a last resort.
My mission these days is to find ways to reuse packaging. Our milk comes in bags here instead of jugs, last fall I started cleaning out the bags to reuse in the freezer (they are good heavy plastic), I haven’t used a ziploc bag since. I actually just posted on the gardening forum today asking if I could use egg crates for seedlings, I see Bumplett is already doing that. I’m using an empty case of pop as a plastic bag dispenser in the closet, and I’m going to use kleenex boxes to organize my kitchen drawers. I’m still looking for ideas for small margarine containers and the stryofoam trays that our meat comes on.
Yesterday I went to the store and bought a bag of milk and a bag of chips. The girl asked me if I wanted to buy a bag, and it struck me as kind of funny that I should buy a bag to put my bags in. Guess I’m doing some rethinking
22You have me thinking Sara…:)
23I try to buy less processed/packaged items and cook more from scratch. I control the ingredients and have less packaging that goes to the dump or to recycling.
It amazes me how many things are packaged to the hilt, do we really need to package drink mixes in those plastic tubs that are then in another plastic container?
I buy large sizes of all kinds of things and refill containers, everything from shampoo to spices & cooking oil.
It’s fun to take an item and ask yourself what else can I do with it. Hubby has cut up plastic and made new hinges for an old cooler, plastic bottles become funnels or scoops when you cut out the bottom… all kinds of things. You are only limited by your imagination and level of enthusiasm.
great post! We just had an “aloha run(8K)” and a after run party at my house and everyone contributed to the washing dishes and utencils and recyling containers – they understand my need to not throw away… parties are the most wasteful. I get so annoyed when I go to parties and see how many unneccessary bags of rubbish are hauled away! Here in Hawaii we use a lot of chopsticks at parties, I read somewhere that millions of trees every year are chopped for this in China, so I bought a bunch of unused ones from my thrift store – so happy with that purchase!
24Thank you for the great tips! We are trying to go as natural as possible, but it definitely strains the budget sometimes. Especially with the prices! these are great ideas!
25This is a great article! I try to do as much as I can to reuse items. I hate to toss out something that I know will just clutter our landfills. I never buy ziploc type containers because I just reuse butter, yogurt, and cottage cheese containers to name a few. I try to find similar uses for milk jugs. I use them as funnels, scoops, bird feeders, etc. I can’t do that to ever milk jug of course, but I do what I can.
26Thank for all of these wonderful tips and ideas. I have been trying to cut back on my waste for a long time. It really helps when I read articles like this that point out the different things that I can do to make a difference.
27Thanks
I also use many of these great ideas. Most recently I repurposed old clothing into attractive cleaning clothes and washable replacements for the Swiffer. I love reusing containers (ice cream, mayo jars, sour cream, oatmeal tubes, anything at all) for gift giving. I enjoy doing collage and do my work on these throw away items. The vessels are attractive and most people keep them to reuse in their home for storage. I’d love to post a picture so you could see what they look like! It’s an excellent way to “recycle” and “reuse” and also fits in with frugality and fun.
28Now this is great. I did not know that there are reuseable coffee filters. That in itself will save lots of money in my house. Serious coffee drinkers in my home. I need to work on the repairing part of the other Rs. I usually throw things away once broken. Thanks.
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