Making some changes in the home.

[mommy4ever]

Lots of things are being shown to be unsafe. I am changing to a much greener organic home.

I'm working on getting away from plastics all together. Or at least as much as possible.

Dh uses them for lunches, I *think* I could convert him to glass containers. If it's too saucy, a widemouth pint jar should work well as a dish. Plus glass is soooo much easier to see in the fridge.

I'm looking for glass mixing bowls at garage sales, goodwill, as well as glass serving dishes.

The kids are a little harder, but the girls have sandwich wrappers, it does have a plastic, but it is a food safe one, so I'll concede that. I'm thinking little jelly canning jars would be great in their lunches. They are fairly sturdy overall. But I'm still snooping for alternatives.

I'm slowly converting to organics in the kitchen, for foods, cosmetics, etc. I think it's important for the kids to learn this, and live it. With 6 of us, we have a significant footprint that can be reduced, but I know we are much less of a footprint than most around us. I am doing what I can to get hormone free foods, all natural, not genetically modified.

It'll be a process, use what we have and replace with organic stuff, I know dh is resistant, but with careful choices, I can keep our expenditures within the budget(as I run under most of the time), he really can't complain. I will be planning and packing the girls lunches for the next year, to get them used to the changes. There will be less and less prepared things, and likely less baking, but we'll get there. They'll start reaching for the healthy stuff, instead of begging for junk.

[frugalfranny]

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.......

Sounds like you have a plan to pursue and timeline in mind.

[miss_thrifty]

Its sounds wonderful what your doing for ur family. I wish i had that much iniative as u do. Kepp it up and let us know how u get along.

[frugalwarrior]

You'll do better at estate sales for glass bakeware. I have gotten pyrex,anchor hocking and even bakelit dishes for $1.00 each many times.Estatesales.net. Most places do 1/2 off on the last day. Bring cash. Get there early.

[zakity]

A friend went all glass recently.

She saves jars that things come in to put raisins and such in for her daughter's lunches and snacks.

She has a tiny jar that had jelly in it. She keeps her handful of meds in it in her purse.

She sends a wide mouth pint jar in her husband's lunch all the time. She will put his chicken (or meat) in one small jar, his veggies in another, and a baked potato (or noodles or whatever) in another. It keeps the food from "mixing" and he can heat things up the different amounts that it needs in the microwave at work.

[geckoace]

get some stainless steel bowls with lids thats what we use and we can send them to school cause they wont break i also purchased
http://pearlriver.com/asp/v2Detail3....=10454&iGroup=

last year and it really works well for school lunch, i have this in 2 sizes the smaller one is good for an elementary school lunch because the removable plate adds more storage.

[mommy4ever]

Did the first grocery trip with the aim of organics and green items. I spent 1/2 of the weekly budget. So that is ok. We got organic fruit and veggies. And replaced a few pantry that needed to be replaced. DD5 got organic kiwi lime toothpaste..lol. She likes it. Got green dishwashing soap, deodorant. Indulged in a bath salt for me. DD5 also got a lip moisturizer that is organic too.

Because I'm not dumping what we have, the transition is pretty smooth. I'm not going with organic milk, as in canada it IS hormone and BGh free, and as there are 8 kids drinking milk, it's just too high for me at this point. I did the research, and there isn't enough difference to me to justify of over doubling the cost of milk. But other things... yes.

[mommy4ever]

Did groceries today. I'm seeing something I hadn't before....

I'm spending less despite buying organics. Does that make sense? Well, not really, but it's the shopping pattern that has changed. Now I'm very conscious of what is going in my basket. Do I need it? Do we need this much?

I'm also changing how the teen boy is eating. I'm making him fill his plate at meal times. He can eat as much of more than dh. I didn't realize how many calories a kid his age and gender requires. When I saw that, i laughed and doubled his portion. It is keeping him for grazing as much. He's getting a generous portion of protein and carbs every meal, rounding it out with veggies and then fruit for dessert. He is less likely to be in the fridge 10 minutes later. It makes a difference even if he's eating more at meals, he's eating less of the expensive snacky items.

DD12 is a solid consistent eater and willing to try new foods.

DD10 doesn't like much these days, keeping her fed is a bit of a challenge. She wants junk, but am refusing to buy it. She will eat other things if the junk isn't around.

DD5? Well, it's nearly a lost cause. I have started making her "platters" of finger foods as she won't eat anything that resembles supper unless it's a hot dog.

So I'm balancing her more as a vegetarian, making sure I have the fruit and veggies she likes, using peanut butter as her protein, because unless it's a hot dog, she won't eat meat. Cheese is hit and miss. She will drink milk, sometimes have yogurt. She gets to have a fruit/veggie platter every day, just to be sure she eats. School is going to be hard as it is nut/peanut free. She doesn't like the seed butters, and I really don't care to have her eat cured meats, even if they are lowfat, they are high sodium. And really filled with unknowns. too many.

We are working on a cheese pizza perhaps for her, that would do well at school for her. It can be eaten cold. With a side of carrot or celery sticks and a tin of grapes, I'd think that would be a fairly balanced lunch. Maybe tuna... verdict is still out on that one.

But I'd say at this point all groceries coming in are at about 85% organic/natural. Milk and meat are 2 that we aren't getting organic at this point. Meat I have in the freezer is not certified organic, but they animals are naturally raised by some one we know, so as close as we can get before the price jump. I will be getting organic next time. I'm looking for a source locally for organic chicken too. I haven't had much luck, as the people who were have discontinued as their feed has to be brought in from too far away to make it feasible.

As I run out of things, they are being replaced with organics as much as possible. Cleaners are being replaced with green, lots of vinegar, baking soda and peroxide..lol. We aren't all the way, we have to use up what we have, throwing it out wouldn't be very green of me, would it?

DD12 got her first sanitary products, and we went with a green company. She hasn't started, but it's on hand. She said she never heard of the brand, and we had a talk about her health and the dioxins in bleached products. Keeping her healthy so that in the future, she has the least amount of issues. I have cousins who have terrible issues, so we are eliminating any possible causes of it. Bleached products possibly being one. For the minimal cost difference, I said why chance it.

It's not that hard to do! I was surprised. It takes me longer at the store, even though the organic store is smaller..lol. I read more, price it out more, and leave with very very little packaged goods. Produce and grains is what I get mostly. It does mean I go more than 1 time a week. Because we are eating so much fresh, but there is a store that is just 2 minutes away that be my inbetween shops place. It's is a wee bit more, but has everything we need. So I watch online and price it out. The better store is 30 minute drive, so I have to weigh that in. If I intend to do the big shop it's the place to go, as the farmers market on Saturday is near by and they have organics too. But if I need a couple pound sof apples or some bananas, the closer store makes more sense.

[Monner 1]

Pertaining to packing lunches and finding glass dishes I find most of mine at garage sales, thrift stores, and the estate sales are good also. They are all brand names. With the lunch packing for sandwiches I would use wax paper, just fold it over and put a piece of tape on it to seal it. My husband and I were talking that you use to be able to buy the wax paper sandwich bags but I don't see them in the stores that I shop. I am also trying to use a lot less plastic. Good luck with reaching your goal it sounds like you are well on your way.

Monner

[savvy_sniper]

I have phased in more glass for storing in the pantry and fridge. I am still using the plasticware I have for short term leftover storage in the fridge and getting rid of it as it gets old. I do not heat anything in the microwave in plastic.

I have purchased some canning jars and lids at garage sales and I found a bunch at a grocery salvage store and paid about half price for them. I have also started saving glass jars that have the little button on the top to tell if the seal has been broken. I have a foodsaver vacuum sealer and I put things in the jars, put the jar in one of my foodsaver canisters and vacuum seal it. I am looking for the foodsaver sealing lids for regular and wide mouth canning jars at garage and estate sales.

Here is a youtube video on sealing jars with your foodsaver. I found it very helpful!

[nomedia]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSKglOqP5xA[/nomedia]

[mommy4ever]

Mary, I use the jars with my vacuum sealer too! The bags were always too pricey for our budget. THe down side is I am the only that is able to open them..lol.

One thing when I make soup that there's extra of, or spaghetti sauce, I will put it in a jar HOT and let it seal from the heat. this is still a short term storage, as I don't process it, it's still stored in the fridge, but it lasts longer than in the plastics and doesn't pick up any fridge flavors..lol

[AspiringToBeFrugal]

GREAT job and what a fantastic initiative for your family! I have been trying to reduce the amount of plastic and waste in general in our home. I've also tried to be more conscious of buying organics when possible, fewer prepackaged items, etc.

I look forward to reading more about your accomplishments.

[mommy4ever]

Well today was another good day. I went to find weedkiller, ends up that my province doesn't sell it anymore. So I hop online to see what I can do. I made my own. I'm killing off the flower beds so they become rock beds.

Vinegar to kill the leaves, salt to make the soil uninhabitable for a few years. Perfect and cheap. Same with the parking pad gravel. Salt

In the garden? Bleach. Why? It breaks down fairly quickly, but kills the roots too. If in doubt, water the garden after 2 days, once mixed with water bleach breaks down in 24 hours.

So cheap solutions. Eco friendly.

[calimomx2]

You are doing really well!! I've spent the last 2 years or so slowly changing us over to organic. I'm not completely there yet but I am comfortable with what we are doing so far!!

[Debbie-cat]

Good for you! I believe it is important for children to learn greener living at an early age so it becomes so natural when they are on their own. We don't even have plastic wrap in the house anymore and I don't miss it one bit!