Living Cheap Is the New Green
By Chris Baskind in Living
If going green is making you go broke, you’re doing it wrong. Saving resources and saving money go hand in hand. Here’s how to get started.
Haute green couture. Eco mansions. Green gadgetry. In retrospect, 2008 was probably the high water mark for green retail marketing. And good riddance: Overpriced luxury goods posing as green consumer products aren’t serving the environment or our budgets. Nor is the inevitable backlash from shoppers jaded by dicey environmental claims and premium pricing.
There’s nothing like an economic downturn to focus one’s priorities. For most people, the sharp reality of tougher times bumps posh items such as $5 chocolate bars and $1000 organic bedding sets right off the green radar. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. While we all have a responsibility to make wise purchase decisions, the idea that we can shop ourselves to a greener society is a lot like thinking we can lose weight by piling on the calories.
Green meets frugal
Economies are cyclical, and we suddenly find ourselves on the skinny side of an impressive — though ultimately unsustainable — period of growth. This has left even comparatively well-to-do families making difficult lifestyle decisions and looking for ways to stretch paychecks. With tougher times ahead, some have been quick to proclaim the bursting of a green bubble.
This is, of course, not the case. The economic downturn is simply forcing us to confront a basic fact: A greener world won’t come about through eco-getaways, environmentally friendly products, or clever marketing. It will come through reducing consumption.
Leaner is greener. While complex global issues won’t be solved entirely through personal action, the Recession means each of us has a pocketbook stake in the development of an economy which goes lighter on the planet’s limited natural resources and our household budgets.
Where to start?
If you’re reading Lighter Footstep, you may be well down the line toward rethinking how you live, what you spend, and what you really want out of life. But if you’re just getting started, a good place to begin is with a family meeting — even if it’s just you, a notepad, and a cup of coffee.
We’ve outlined five areas for you to think about as your evaluate your priorities. So jump right in!
Cut back at home: Food and shelter probably represent the lion’s share of your budget and use of resources. They are also your most essential expenditures. Start with a basic question: Are you in too much home? There’s a direct relationship between your environmental footprint, monthly budget, and the square footage of your living space. The point is probably moot for homeowners struggling to make a mortgage with property values in the tank. But if you happen to be renting, could you do with less? Take a hard look at the money you spend on food. Like most people, you’re probably too dependent on eating out, and on the convenient prepared foods we buy at the grocery. Relearning the gentle art of meal planning and cooking at home is the fast track to saving money and healthier nutrition.
Reduce the amount of energy you use: Here’s more low fruit as you trim your monthly expenses. Our site is stuffed with energy saving ideas, and there’s plenty more available from your power company and other websites. The obvious things include eliminating unnecessary lighting (particularly outdoors); refitting with CFL bulbs; installing water-saving shower heads and giving your water heater the once-over; and sealing energy robbing leaks around doors and windows.
Trim your transportation: Thanks to the economic slowdown and reduced demand, gasoline prices have cooled-off sharply since last summer. They’re probably as low as they’ll go, and seasonal increases should start kicking in toward March. In the meantime, you can save a few dollars and reduce your overall footprint by leaving that car in the driveway whenever possible. If you’re not already familiar with your community’s public transportation, find a bus or train schedule and see how mass transit might fit into your weekly routine. Better yet, start walking or cycling your short errands. Bicycles are much cheaper to operate per mile than automobiles, and the health benefits of regular light exercise will save you money in the long term, too.
Ditch the disposables. The word disposable in a product description should be a red flag. Paper plates, plastic knives and forks, disposable pens, paper towels, throw-away food storage containers — opt for reusable items, instead. This will take some thought and discipline on your part, but giving up a little convenience can save hundreds of dollars a year. While you’re at it, try to buy in bulk (as storage allows) and reduce the amount of packaging in your waste stream. Now that reduced demand has kicked the bottom out of the recycling sector, you’ll also be doing your local sanitation department a favor.
Grow some food. During the Second World War, about 45 percent of all vegetables consumed at home came from victory gardens. It’s time to revive this practice. Not only will you save money, you’ll reduce the energy expended to bring food to the table. Obviously, not everyone is in a position to start a few rows of beans and tomatoes in the back yard. But consider at least growing your own herbs or a few small vines in pots and window boxes. Your community may also have a few shared urban gardens. The folks at local plant nurseries will know.
Talk, share, and communicate
Perhaps the best thing you can be doing is talking to others. We’ve spent decades becoming a society of isolated consumers, slowly forgetting the skills which got previous generations through tough times. Do you know how to sew? Teach someone else. Cooking from scratch — not just warming up something frozen from the store — has been lost on the microwave generation. If you need a refresher, locate a cooking class or start helping an old hand in the kitchen. Learn to fix things: Your local community college probably offers carpentry courses, and home improvement stores frequently host weekend classes on all kinds of useful skills.
Ask questions and share what you know with others. Together, we’ll get by. And we’ll help build greener and more sustainable communities for the future.
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You're absolutely right. Using less is cheaper AND greener. Great tips to get started. Buying used and keeping things longer is a great way to get going, too.
this is a great post. Your articles are so very helpful as I'm still in the beginning stages of my sustainability endeavor. Being a single mother and a student, saving money while preserving the envioronment for future generations seems like an incredible blessing. Thank you.
Great post! Being truly Green certainly means being less of a consumer. Buying second hand is also a great “green” move. Wrote a post about this one: http://tiny.cc/GoZrx
One of the best ways to live cheap and green is too stop buying things. Make what you have last longer, and if you have to buy a new product try the second hand stores first.
That's a handy round-up of tips, there! I'm going to delve deeper into your “saving electricity” ones - that's the area I'm currently working on. Once you get past switching to CFLs, turning off unused lights, and turning off appliances at the wall, it becomes harder to figure out where to make further gains.
Yeah good call. Have you heard of the Viridian Manifesto? http://tinyurl.com/2blb49
The idea in a nutshell is you buy fewer things, and ensure the things you buy are of the highest quality - particularly the things you use every day (like your bed).
Not only will you live cheaper and with a lighter footprint, but you will live better and reward designers and manufacturers of excellent, not mediocre products.
I find that frugality is much easier this year then last. I was laid off. It is also greener, I don't throw away near as many Starbucks cups. We were never big spenders and always used the thrift stores, which had even been cut back this year. Even laid off I feel it is the responsibilty of all to be clean and frugally green.
Better Panic
http://www.betterpanic.blogspot.com
I love your tips, but, I will not use a CFL bulb. They contain Mercury. If one breaks in your home you are to evacuate the property for at least 15 minutes. Also they require special disposal. I will continue to use regular light bulbs until a new safer alternative is available. ( http://www.eartheasy.com/live_energyeff_lightin... )
Well, CFLs aren't an entirely free ride, and the mercury they contain is a well-known concern. But if your power is generated from coal, those incandescent lights are actually generating more mercury than is contained in a CFL. Worse, it's going straight into the atmosphere. At least there's the possibility of proper mercury recycling and sequestration with a CFL. We discussed some disposal options here: http://lighterfootstep.com/2007/09/five-ways-to...
Hopefully, the Chinese, (whom GM, by the way, have taught to build Buick LeSabers and a Cavalier-like clone in Shanghai - yes darling, for 85 cents an hour - the neo-con bastards! And why?) whom are not totally profit motivated, and still slightly commie will send Americans a survival car, eco-box for the duration of the (GRD) great republican depression, not laced with the planned obsolescence and model change hype the Americans cars have! May its many parts be interchangeable and re-buildable!
We must stop this 18th century British “Front Lawn” bullshit, and grow fantastic veggie gardens in their places! Soon, as the food chain corporations (foreign financed by the way) start to bankrupt, we will have great hoards of urbanites, layed-off, and no stores to get food at for them anyway! Big Trouble! Better get that lawn ripped up and something edible growing their fast, this could happen suddenly and with domino effect! Shanty- towns, all warm and cozy, are being built from the remains of the McMansions, all along the edges of small towns, and scavengers run city streets and dumps at night collecting anything supporting survival in the new underground, fringe society economy. Good cloned German beer home brew is for sale, and, if you know who to see, fresh, humanured to be sure, but fresh, (washed) veggies are often cheaper than supermarket stuff, and the stolen goods market rages ahead as always, fueled on by shortages of work and cash! The Van is King in this new economy, and transports all things, legal or otherwise, using chip-oil for fuel. The new currency is “swapping” or dope, grass being a favorite, and it grows everywhere you don't expect! Used clothes are the mark of the true survivor, they don't show the opulence that closes the market to some, and bestow a trust often only given to close friends, like a uniform once did, for those in the know! America is changing, the GRD runs on, the greedy neo-cons started it. The common folk will finish it, tax free, no paper records, and without a shot!
My favorite is the last one - reconnecting with others. Decades of consumerism have stripped away our relationships with one another, destroyed our downtowns and errected barriers between our neighbors. If we are going to make a difference, we need to rebuild those relationships. We can share resources, skills and knowledge with neighbors, friends and family.
A timely article that brings us back to our green roots. If you are truly seeking a "green" lifestyle, it should be good for your wallet. Thanks for reminding us to not get caught up in the hype!
Thanks, Jill. Someone commented the other day that the "new" green is really learning older, forgotten skills. We'll share those with each other, then pay that knowledge forward.
Great article Chris.
Gardening has become obsolete in many urban areas. The move toward community gardens and container/window gardening is growing though and is much cheaper than buying everything organic. Local Farmers Markets can also save you money and support your local community at the same time.
We're broke. That's a start. Now we just need to be fewer people on this planet.
Top post, using disposable items is just lazy theres loads you can do to cut down and become greener. Getting a composter going is great if you grow your own food, you dont need alot of space to put in a few rows of carrots and spuds. Also getting down to the tip or local recycling centre is a great place to buy cheap or reuse items you might want.
In urban areas some apartment dwellers are farming their roofs, you can form a group on hyperlocavore.com and get a few of your co-tenants in a growing group! We're doing a seed share so it's a good time to join…and it's free!
MONEY=ENERGY=CLIMATE CHANGE
simple but the truth about living cheap is not about buying lots of cheap products it is about buying the best value for money in terms of life and maintenance of the items or services rendered.
I also propose a carbon energy tax to replace all other taxes which would give tx collection dividend of some 30-40% of tax revenues which could be used for the transition of systems , a tax rebate equally to all citizens and also increase social and welfare payments to the real needy.
We all need to live on less money , so gbrown needs to inject less not more into the economy, otherwise we will sink rich in our own money with no global future for the planet.