The economy is bad, gas prices are high, food prices are rising and many green families may be wondering how they can afford organics, costlier natural items, and some of those green gadgets that cost more now and end up helping you save later. I have gotten several emails this week from moms asking about how to make this process more affordable.

I DO understand that it is cheaper to buy that 99 cent sunscreen tube from Walgreen’s instead of the safer but more expensive brand the EWG recommends. It will surely be cheaper to buy the conventionally grown strawberries instead of the organic ones. But when you look at the green/organic/natural versus conventional debate outside that narrow frame and look at the larger picture I think you might see why going green really won’t cost you anything more…in fact going green will save you some green. It is a lifestyle…not a series of one or two choices at the grocery store and it does balance out…at least in my experience.

I decided to write up some of the ways you can save money going green. With all of these cost savings it becomes easier to see why buying organic or buying more efficient appliances, or green gadgets should be able to fit in the budget. It was written of course for people relatively new to the green process. If you are already living very simply and frugally and still can’t afford some of the higher ticket items…the cash flow is what needs to change.

Consume Less -Green and frugal living means buying less. If you ask before every purchase do I NEED this, you will find that much of what you buy is a want…not a need. Doing without many of the small “wants” can allow you to save up for the bigger green items you have your eye on.

Reuse- Stop buying disposable plates, cups, napkins, paper towels, plastic water bottles, etc. All of these items are convenient but they cost more than making do with reusable products. Your budget and your green goals are worth the extra elbow grease. Cloth diapers and alternative menstrual products will also save you money. When buying new products consider the reusability factor.

Recycling for Money Savings - Recycle products to give them a new use and replace things you might otherwise buy. An example would be glass jars. Save that tomato sauce jar and use it as a drinking glass…you will never need to buy glassware again. Use another jar as a piggy bank, a vase, or a storage container. Jeans are another example….cut up those worn jeans and make a purse….you recycled and you have new purse. Stained clothing can be tye dyed instead of tossed.

Green Cleaning- Cleaning products are expensive but natural cleaners are NOT. I read once that the average U.S. household spends $600 annually on chemical cleaning supplies. For only $25, you can replace every one of those cleaning products with a safer, non-toxic, biodegradable homemade version that use common ingredients like baking soda, club soda, vinegar, lemons, castile soap and salt! They work just as good but they cost a fraction of the price and they are safe for your family. Yes, you can buy green cleaners too but maybe if you made your own, you could easily fit some more organic groceries into the budget.

Energy Savings- Greenies consume less energy and this save money on energy bills. Here are simple ideas for increasing energy savings:

*  Turn off the lights and power strips when not in use. There are also smart power strips that can do this for you.

*  Use motion sensor lighting so that lights never get left on accidentally. We LOVE these.

*  Turn your heater thermostat down 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in the summer. Use a programmable thermostat.

*  Wrap your pipes and hot water heater with insulation to make them more efficient.

*  Compact fluorescent bulbs save energy and money. Yes, they have mercury in them but with proper care this shouldn’t be a big deal. LED bulbs would be even better but they require a heftier initial investment.

*  Hang your clothes to dry on a rack or outdoor clothes line instead of using the dryer.

*  Use inexpensive low-flow shower and sink attachments to save water. I also like my smart showerhead.

*  Collect rainwater to use elsewhere or in times of drought. It is easier if you have a nifty rainwater collection system but garbage cans or plastic storage bins work too.

*  In the summer use window fans to blow cool air into the house at night. Turn them off and close the windows when it starts to get warm. I have a thermometer right outside the window to make this process easier.

*  Use weatherstripping and window quilts to keep it warm in the winter.

Driving -Greenies usually drive less or at least more efficiently. It helps with fuel efficiency if you maintain your car and tires well, use cruise control to maintain speed, drive the speed limit, and of course carpool, ride a bike, or walk whenever you can. Green cars like hybrids use way less gas and griesels use waste vegetable oil instead of gas. I would LOVE to be able to convert an older diesel to run on veggie oil.

Thrift Shopping -Green shopping might mean…buying less of course but also buying used whenever possible. Vintage or second hand clothing is preferable to new. Freecyle, Craigslist, Ebay, and clothing swaps all help us to find great deals. Some greenies even dabble in Freeganism or dumpster diving.

Eating for Less - Check out my post on ways to make organics affordable. But here are some general tips:

*  Grow your own food
*  Buy in bulk – Saves money and reduces packaging
*  Eat less meat – Meat production is devastating to the environment and it is costly
*  Cook at home instead of going out
*  Drink tap water
Coupons!! – Use coupons like crazy to get money savings. You can usually visit the web sites for the products you like and print or request coupons. Mambo Sprouts has some awesome coupon books for organic and green products. Kiwi magazine and other organic friendly mags have coupons in the back. Also ask on Freecycle for the coupon section of the monthly paper or recent issues of magazines that have the coupons you need in them. I know one gal that did this every week…she never had to buy the paper and got TONS of free coupons.

Beautify for Less - Beauty products can often be made at home using simple ingredients. Here are recipes for homemade toothpaste and deodorant. Trying the No Poo method of haircare will save you a ton as well. Getting rid of your conventional beauty products should make some room in the budget for that slightly more expensive but safer sunscreen.

Cucumber, zucchini, carrots, tomato, and spaghetti squash…YUM!

Woot! My fave reusable water bottle for myself has always been Klean Kanteen. All three of my kids have the kiddie version to. I was SUPER excited to find out that they now offer Kolors! I still like the sleek look of the original version but the colors are HOT, especially the sippy bottles for kids.

These bottles are BPA Free, solid stainless steel, and the colors are free of lead, cadmium, and chromium. There are six new colors: green moss, pink, ocean blue, black, tree bark, and orange. The perfect earth friendly cup and now super stylish to boot!

Okay I really think I am in love with the TruKid line of natural organic products for kiddos. Yes, I have almost tried every product in their line-up now and it is indeed love at first use.

I first mentioned TruKid products in reference to their amazing safe sunscreen for kids called Sunny Days. It is was/is one of my top picks and now the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has given it the thumbs up, making it #2 on their list of safe sunscreens. It is free of chemical nasties, paraben free, and has certified organic ingredients. Oh and the SPF is 30+. It has a deliciously yummy smell too…very clean…perhaps from some of the ingredients like cucumber and green tea.

This week my daughter has been given a big thumbs up to the TruKid Cool Conditioner and the TruKid Dancing Detangler. She has long, waist length hair that has a tendency to get tangled..especially since she likes to “chew” on her hair…yuck. Anyway tangles and “rats” have always been an issue so I reluctantly used Johnson’s Kids No More Tangles in a Strawberry Sensations scent on her hair. Thanks to TruKid though we can ditch the Johnson’s product. Just look at an ingredient comparison:

Johnson’s Kids No More Tangles Strawberry Sensations: water, Behntrimonium Methosulfate, Sodium Benzoate, Dimethicone, Hydroxyethyl Behenamidopropyl Dimonium Chloride, Polysorbate 20, Cetearyl Alcohol, Trisiloxane, Citric Acid, Ceteth-10, Lareth-4, Fragrance

TruKid Dancing Detangler: water, aloe vera, glycerin, pro-vitamin B5, soy protein, polysorbate 20, extracts of arnica, lavender, chamomile, calendula, white tea, phenoxyethanol, ethylexylglycerin, essential oil blend.

The cool conditioner ingredients are pretty similar to the detangler.

The Dancing Detangler doesn’t detangle quite as well as Johnson’s I will be honest. But if I use the cool conditioner on her hair first there is no noticeable difference save a great reduction in chemicals on her head! I also noticed that the Dancing Detangler doesn’t leave her hair feeling sticky and greasy either. These are a couple products we feel good about having around the house. ;)

Made from natural ingredients and essential oils, TruKid products are safe, non-toxic and paraben, SLS and phthalate free. The line includes sunscreen, soaps, moisturizers, face and body wash, shampoos, lip balms and even an on-the-go Hero Stick to treat cuts and boo boos. We plan on highlighting some more of them real soon!

Amy at Crunchy Domestic Goddess recently wrote about hypnobirthing. It seems Jessica Alba, who just became a mom, gave birth naturally with the hypnobirthing method. I think it is really awesome that she is is bringing attention to the power and joy of a natural birth. Amy also mentioned that I have had two hypnobirths as well. I highly recommend it. There were no Hypnobirthing classes in my area at the time but I had the book and a set of CDs.

IMO it is not some sort of self hypnotism…it is more like deep meditation and focus. But I guess it could be called self hypnosis in the sense that it teaches you to withdraw into yourself during labor and take control of your pain and your birth experience.

My first birth experience was pretty common I think. Halfway through, the pain started to get intense and I panicked and asked for drugs. I still remember clearly how completely freaked out I was. I kept thinking “if it is this bad now….I aint waiting to find out how bad it will get later.” The drugs made the labor slow and so Pitocin was used to speed things up. My son didn’t respond well to all the drugs so the doc put one of those internal monitors on him…ya know the ones that actually break the skin on their heads! Pushing took 30 minutes and I ripped (sorry if TMI) something fierce despite having an episiotomy first. On a funny note though…what I remember most was getting sewn up afterwards for a looong time and when done the doctor accidentally dumped the garbage bag of blood, fluids, and other birth gunk that was hanging onto the end of the bed, on the floor. My dad walked in on a grizzly seen, LOL.

My first hypnobirth went so well that I was in almost NO pain. I labored without pain at home and in a car listening to Abba while my mom ran errands until I was 9 centimeters dilated.

You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life
See that girl, watch that scene, diggin the dancing queen

My pain was so non-existent that I asked my mom to take me to Barnes and Noble to go book shopping. I only ended up at the hospital because the maternity entrance was about to close and I didn’t want to have to walk through the ER if I waited any longer. SO I reluctantly decided to have them check my progress…that was about 8:00 PM and I was SURE I had hours to go yet. I truly thought that perhaps I wasn’t even in labor yet. It took about 30 minutes before they even checked me and then my daughter was born just after 9:00 PM and they made me wait to push until the doc got there….which was kind of agonizing because they gave me Pitocin without asking me. They just snuck it in there on me about 5 minutes before I started pushing. I am now fully convinced that Pitocin is EVIL. But my daughter was born after only 2 pushes and I did rip just a little. The sewing part hurt because I was not anesthetized like last time. Strange that the most painful part of the whole birth was getting stitches afterwards. It was the perfect birth IMO….easy, painless. She was almost 9 pounds.

My second hypnobirth was not as easy as the second one but I didn’t realize then that I had cancer either….I just thought it was the pregnancy from hell, ya know. This was the only birth where I was throwing up…which was related to the cancer. The pain was more intense but still manageable. I did have a nearly ten pound baby in there and a large tumor in the area. I remember my legs were shaking uncontrollably and I couldn’t seem to focus on stopping them. Later months would show me that this too was related to the cancer. My youngest was out in just a couple pushes and within 5 minutes of his birth I was feeling so good I was ready to do cartwheels. The nurses said I was cheeriest post partum patient they had ever seen. I was ready to go home within two hours but they made me stay overnight and then I went home the next morning. Birthing my son brought immense relief to my body and for awhile I felt better than ever. Of course the party would be over only 3ish months later when I would get really sick.

But for any mom that wants to go the natural route I HIGHLY recommend hypnobirthing.