Posted in Going Green

In an effort to live more greenly our family has made many changes over the last several years. To help support sustainable farming practices, we have made a switch to as many organic food items as we can afford. (We are working on phasing the kids out of store bought cereal currently.) We purchase organic fair trade coffee. All of our cleaning products are chemical free...not a phosphate to be found in our home! We practice reduce, reuse, recycle. One thing that has consistently amazed me, is that the more "green" products we purchase, the higher our expenditures rise. For whatever reasons, organic and green product have a serious upcharge. (This can be demonstrated, because while I have watched everything in the grocery increase in price, those items that are organic or earth friendly have remained steady. Thus, these products must have an enormous profit margin to allow them to remain at their pre-gas hike prices.)

However, people overlook an extremely cost effective way of going green; buying nothing new. Pick your jaw off the ground. It isn't that hard, really. Purchasing nothing new, simply means not purchasing anything brand-spanking new out of the brick and mortar stores or having them shipped directly to your doorstep. This by no means you cannot purchase anything!

Consuming can be green AND fun! There are several avenues you can take to achieve this goal. When you are in need of a particular item:

• Put the word out to friends. Many times someone else has an item they no longer need or want. Ask them how much they want for the item; often times they are willing to give it away just to rid their homes of it.
• Change where you shop. Shopping does not have to cease. Simply think of stores that sell only resale items, such as thrift stores, Goodwill, used book stores, consignment shops. Most often times any item needed can be found in one of these locations. The key to using this tip successfully is to plan ahead. Do not wait until your child's pants are calf high before spending time shopping for new clothes. Make time to shop at least a few weeks prior to a special event that requires you have a new dress.
• Check Out Your Local Freecycle or Recycle board. Many areas have an internet board to give things away. Our family has given TONS of items away to new homes. Most boards allow you to post a need on them. Now, if you join a board that seems to have a plethera of needs posted, don't be dismayed, because there is also an abundance of items posted. Every item we have posted has been picked up by someone else in need. Additionally, we have had items that fit someone elses Need request. For example a family with scouts needed a tent. We had a HUGE 3 room tent we hadn't used in over 2 years and were happy to pass it along. This family was able to obtain a needed item, without purchasing new and we were able to get it out of our attic! My gal pal Betsy gave a home to a new section of kitchen cupboards. While she didn't have space for cupboards, she repainted the unit and put a top on it. It now serves as a buffet style piece! (Why oh why don't I take pictures of this stuff?!) 
• Become a Dumpster Diver. If you see something put to the curb while you are out and about and it is a needed item, don't be embarrassed to stop and pick it up. One of my favorite personal finds were waterbed rails. They were just laying at the curb and our littleton was in desperate need of this item. You can do a literal dumpster dive at new home construction sites. We needed some shorter pieces of 2 x 4s for a home repair and found more than we needed in a dumpster. ASK the project manager, super intendent, or foreman before jumping in. We have never been told no. My dumpster diving gal pal, Betsy, found a chandelier at the side of the road. She snagged it up, disassembled, painted, and mounted the sconce pieces to make an AWESOME candle centerpiece! (I wish I had pictures!) Trash to Treasure!
• Shop Auction sites. If you enjoy the convenience of internet shopping, by all means continue shopping. Use auction sites to purchase your needs. Be sure that when you are purchasing, to keep green be certain the items you purchase are like new, as opposed to new. You can get ANYTHING from an auction site. As a matter of fact you can purchase anything used from many different types of sites. Some great places to start your search are VegSource (great for curriculum and they have a swap board!), Half.com (ok, not an auction site, but a great resource for used books), Amazon (again, not an auction site, but great resource for books that will be shipped to you), Homeschool Auctions, UBid, Curriculum Market, Ebay, and more! 
• Make Time For Yard, Garage, and Estate sales. This is not your best avenue for something you needed yesterday, but as any seasoned yard saler can tell you, there are treasures to be bought from someone else no longer wanted items! Big and small, you can find them at yard sales. I purchased my used only once dehydrator (w/3 extra rings) for $6. Our latest acquisitions were presents. The littlest littleton purchased a new clow in the dark puzzle for another littleton for christmas. She also purchased a gallon sized bag full of action figures for another littleton for a birthday. Total expenditure was $1...when you only earn $2 a month, you can still give great gifts!
• Re-purpose items. Have a need in your home, consider re-purposing something else to fit the need. This covers so many areas, I can't fit them all here! An old pair of blue jeans can become a tote bag, an apron, a skirt. Check out the posts on the Journey to Simplicity for ideas of how to use boxes as storage containers. When is a shelving unit not a shelving unit? When it is transformed into a puppet stage. A night table can easily be re-purposed as an end table. Be creative!

The most important part with this venture is to HAVE FUN! Allow yourself and your family time to ease into this. You will find this is easy once you get started. Make a challenge for your family. Consider buying nothing new for 2 weeks, a month, 6 weeks, 3 months, or longer!!! This lifestyle change solves many issues at once; keeps stuff from the landfills, keeps money in your bank account, helps others get rid of items they no longer want, and best of all...provides what YOU need!

These are my thoughts.

Leslie Valeska

~Contributing Writer~

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