It's that time again - Thanks It's a Crafty Life for hosting Ten on Tuesday!
This Ten on Tuesday is all about easy, eco-chic switches, choices, and changes that you can make at the grocery store...You use your purchasing "voice" every time you swipe your debit card. The items that you buy reflect your values and what is important to you. What's in your grocery cart also tell companies what you value. So think about these 10 changes that you can make and how they might better reflect some of your values...or not :)
1. This one is super obvious but bring your own reusable bags! You can pick up a few from your favorite store, thrift store, or create your own. Wal-Mart has the cheapest at $0.50 each but T.J. Maxx has the cutest. Here are 45 different patterns to inspire you to create your own reusable bags!
2. Reach for a natural, biodegradable, chemical-free cleaner instead of your traditional stand-by. I adore Seventh Generation's cleaning products and dish soap. Thyme is a main ingredient and it smells delish (to me).Greenworks Scrubbing Bubbles is also a popular item here.
3. Look for natural and organic meat when it is marked down. Save some money but also get the healthy, antibiotic-free meat that is so good for you. Use it for dinner the same night or throw it in the freezer for later use.
4. Close the loop! Use your "purchasing voice" by buying products that are created from post-consumer recycled material. This closes the recycling loop and creates the demand for recycled goods. Make sense? Try 100% recycled Reynolds foil, recycled Ziploc bags, and paper products (I like Marcel).
5. Purchase in bulk. Instead of single-serving yogurt cups or individually-portioned peanut butter/cream cheese/cheese, buy the large size of yogurt and put in a reusable container (along with some homemade granola, honey, and cinnamon - yum!). Same thing with the peanut butter. I also spend way too much time in Acme's organic section exploring the bulk food section. Spices, grains, flour, oh my!
6. Buy less, make more! I just read about how to make your own mayo. I don't use mayo very often so it might be easier to make my own instead of buying the giant container. We sometimes make our own salad dressing and store it in the empty bottle. Homemade BBQ sauce is also great - you can tweak it so your favorite flavors stand out.
7. Don't put your veggies in those disposable plastic bags so widely available in the produce section. The few extra seconds it takes to handle your veggies individually saves a plastic bag - and the resources used to create it. Or use the bag but reuse it! You can make a pocket just for these bags in one of your new fabulous reusable bags!
8. Park further back in the parking lot instead of circling for a close spot. Fuel is wasted when you putter around the lot searching for a magical close spot that will appear at some point...So you save resources and give your legs a workout!
9. Pick a natural product to try once a week or so. When I was still in grad school, Paul and I used to go to the grocery store and we would each get to pick out one "fun" item. Everything else was boring stuff like milk, bread, chicken, and the like. Sometimes I would splurge on Count Chocula...but other times I would try organic produce or soy ice cream. I still splurge on a new item every other trip or so to Acme or Giant Eagle. This week's splurge was local chocolate milk from Hartlzer Family Dairy Farm in Wooster. I think it's adorable because it comes in a glass bottle. Paul thinks it's delicious. Win!
10. Don't go to the grocery store! Make a trip to your local farmer's market to stock up on produce in the Summer and Fall and INCREDIBLE cheeses, breads, and meat in the winter. I make trade-offs to work these items in to my budget. Cheaper coffee (I try to wait for organic or fair trade or sustainably sourced coffee to go on sale) for locally made goat cheese and I use less meat in my recipes so I can use better quality meat. I've been to the Kent Winter Market just once and I can't wait to go back.
Have you made any eco-chic switches that you want to share? Or face any challenges at the grocery? I can't wait to hear about them!
