By Heather Johnson
Going organic is appealing for most, but it’s often an expense that proves to be cost-prohibitive. However, the organic lifestyle does not have to be expensive. In fact, there are a number of things you can do to make organic living more affordable, and we’ve listed 25 of them here.
Food
Food is perhaps one of the largest organic expenses. Follow these tips to trim your grocery bill.
- Stay away from the supermarket: Traditional supermarkets tend to command a premium price for organic food, so check out alternatives.
- Shop during the growing season: Buy produce when it’s easiest to make, and you’ll pay less for it. You can buy canned or frozen organic foods in the off-season.
- Buy in bulk: Split with friends.
- Don’t buy everything organic: There are a number of foods that are considered to be low in pesticides, so even if you buy cheaper, conventional versions of them, you should be safe.
- Grow your own: One way to ensure your food is organic is by growing it yourself, and you can often do it for cheaper than you’ll find at the store.
- Do your own prep work: Buy whole chickens instead of boneless, skinless breasts, and peel your own carrots.
- Buy "seconds": When you’re at the farmer’s market, ask for misshapen produce that’s just as good as the rest, but cheaper.
- Consider value: Organic food offers more nutrients for your buck, and it’s cheaper for your health in the long run.
- Eat less meat, more fish: Organic beef is expensive, but fish isn’t, so if you make the switch you’ll see a savings.
- Join an agriculture program: In these programs, you’ll pay for a portion of the farm’s operating expenses, and get fresh produce from the harvest.
- Put your freezer to good use: If you’ve snagged a good deal on some organic produce, freeze your extras for later.
Lawn Care
Don’t spend lots of money on pesticides, weed killers, and other lawn care items. These tips make it easy to take care of your lawn the natural way.
- Mow high: Let your grass stay reasonably high so that it will shade, and kill, weeds instead of the other way around.
- Water infrequently: If you ration out your watering, you’ll force your grass roots to dig deep, which will make them stronger than most week roots. Weeds up top will die off in the dry ground, but your grass will get its moisture from deeper below.
- Add compost: Use your compost to soften up your lawn and help it grow. It’s not cheap to buy, but you can make your own with vegetable scraps and other items.
- Dust lime on your soil: Put a small dusting of lime on your soil to ramp up earthworm production.
Personal Care
Follow these tips to avoid paying too much for personal care and beauty products.
- Become a beauty detective: Seek out information on your favorite products to see which ones really are worth the higher price.
- Don’t fall for the word "natural": Don’t spend extra money on a product just because it says that it’s natural. That doesn’t mean it’s organic.
- Use less makeup: Carefully consider just how important every beauty product is to you.
Pets
With these simple tips, turning Fido organic doesn’t have to break the bank.
- Make your own food: It’s fairly easy to turn your organic produce into affordable food for your pet.
- Make your own toys: Pets are fairly easy to entertain, and you can create entertaining toys on your own with organic cotton and other materials.
General
These tips apply to nearly every type of organic product, whether it’s food, clothing, or gifts.
- Shop around: Check out different stores to find out who has the better price for the items you buy the most.
- Change the way you buy products: Focus on higher quality organic produce and other items, and cut down on low quality items like fast food and disposables.
- Be flexible: Don’t have your heart set on certain items and be comfortable with buying alternatives.
- Clip coupons: Visit sites for organic products and join their mailing list for coupons. You can also check out alternative publications.
- Shop online: There are lots of sites online that offer organic products at a discount price, and it’s easier to compare prices in this setting.
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