Do you want to feed your family safer, organic foods? Are you worried about how to live an organic lifestyle on a budget?
Organic living can be very expensive. Organic food, for example, is usually much more expensive than regular food. But it doesn’t have to be so.
Surprisingly, there are hidden tricks you can use to live normally – even when money is tight. Here’s how.
How to live an organic lifestyle on a budget
Living an organic lifestyle is not just about the food you eat. There are toxins everywhere in modern society. However, there are ways to live organically no matter your budget.
I personally have been feeding my four children and myself a largely organic diet for several years. Our average grocery bill usually ranges between $450 and $600 per month.
Here are some of the tricks and tips I use to make sure my family lives an organic lifestyle on a budget.
1. Buy organic foods on sale
Organic foods at the grocery store can be expensive. Often times, they are almost twice the price of non-organic foods or more.
For example, non-organic strawberries typically range between $1.19 and $1.99 for a 16-ounce package at your local Aldi. A 16-ounce container of organic strawberries usually costs $2.99.
For this reason, my family and I always buy organic foods when they are on sale. We find low prices in three ways:
- Purchase membership during store sales
- Look for generic or off-brand organic foods
- Buy from discount stores or warehouse clubs
For example, Aldi stores typically offer lower prices on organic (and non-organic) vegetables and fruit than most other stores.
Additionally, they have a selection of organic foods for sale each week. As such, we always stop at Aldi first when purchasing organic produce.
Discount stores like Aldi — and even department stores — often carry off-brand organic items, too. The same goes for warehouse clubs.
For example, remember the $2.99 Organic Strawberries I talked about earlier? Prices for this same sized container range from $3.99 to $5.99 at other grocery stores, including Walmart.
You can get generic brand organic olive oil, canned beans and more for about a third of their brand counterparts at Aldi, too. This means saving 30% on your organic grocery bill.
Check your warehouse clubs
Warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club also offer great deals on organic foods. You can get organic vegetables, fruits, and dairy products at your local warehouse club store.
For example, organic butter at our local Walmart costs $5.98 per pound. Organic butter at your local Costco costs $4.49 per pound. That’s a 25% saving.
Note that you have to buy Costco butter in a two-pound package. But you’ll probably be using both packages anyway.
Combine the low membership prices with lower prices on other items, and the money you save can almost always offset the annual membership fee.
You can also split your membership with a family member or friend to save even more.
2. Buy from farmers markets
When you buy organic food from the supermarket, organic produce can cost more. You may be spending a lot of money on grocery store food thanks to the overhead costs of running a storefront.
One place where you can buy organic foods for less is your local farmers market. The food is very fresh and delicious. This is because they are freshly picked instead of sitting in a grocery store for hours or days.
Farmers markets are very common in most areas these days. They typically run throughout the summer and into the fall.
Be sure to ask farmers market vendors if their produce is organic. Most sellers, but not all, have them rated if they are.
Google “farmers markets” and your city to find market days and hours near you.
Don’t forget to buy organic meat
Purchasing organic meat can be expensive at grocery stores. However, farmers markets often offer organic meat for sale as well.
We purchase organic, grass-fed chicken from a local farmers market. Another idea is to buy directly from local farmers.
In our area, there is an organic grass-fed beef farmer who sells his beef for only $5 a pound. It does not use any antibiotics or hormones. He does not use pesticides on his grass fields.
This is much cheaper than what local markets sell for organic grass-fed beef. In our area, organic grass-fed beef sells for $9 per pound.
Contact local farmers near you to choose cheap organic meat.
3. Grow your own food
Better than buying from farmers is growing your own food. You can create an organic garden in your own garden. There will be some steps you need to follow before your garden can flourish.
You will need to prepare the soil and remove any remaining synthetic chemicals. After that, it is necessary to maintain the soil. Compost can be a good source of nutrients for your plants.
It is important to choose the right plants. The key is to choose plants that will thrive in the environment you live in and will interact well with the elements and temperature.
If you’re new to gardening, read a book like The definitive encyclopedia of organic gardening. This will help your garden thrive without pesticides.
Tip: Choose vegetables and fruits that you and your family like to eat.
It’s easy to get carried away when creating a garden.
You may find yourself wanting a king-sized garden to share with family and friends. Although this is a great idea, make sure you don’t grow foods that will go to waste. Grow vegetables that your family will love and eat.
Don’t have a yard? Plant with a friend who does, or consider using larger pots to grow your favorite vegetables and herbs. Place it outside on your deck or patio.
Focus on the vegetables your family eats the most for maximum profit and minimum waste.
4. Store home-grown food
Going organic often means a trip to the store every other day. Due to the lack of pesticides, the produce spoils faster.
To solve this problem, try learning how to store home-grown food. You can reduce waste by storing fresh fruits and vegetables properly.
Freezing and canning home grown foods
Peel, chop, and freeze fruits and vegetables in freezer bags. A FoodSaver Vacuum System It is a great tool for this purpose.
The FoodSaver vacuum system will vent excess air from your storage bags, helping extend freezer life and avoiding freezer burn of vegetables.
Canning is another popular method of storing food. Believe it or not, canning is not as difficult as it may seem if you have the right knowledge.
I started canning foods like pickles and jams about ten years ago. If you learn to do this, you can enjoy the fruits of your labor, so to speak, all year long.
Your main goal when canning your garden bounty should be safety. Improperly canned foods can lead to food poisoning.
Food poisoning is a serious illness that can be caused by bacteria found in improperly packaged foods. Fortunately, the right resources can help you safely.
I have used the book mentioned below for canning foods for over a decade. I haven’t had any safety issues yet.
this The Complete Ball Book of Home Keeping It’s a great guide if you’re new to canning. It will show you ways to turn home-grown vegetables and fruits into everyday foods.
For example, most fruits and berries can also be frozen or made into jam. Look for pickling cucumbers, asparagus, garlic, and onions.
Take tomatoes and turn them into salsa or spaghetti sauce. There are tons of options out there!
Bonus: Properly canned foods last for several years, and taste much better than stored canned foods.
5. Make your own cleaning products
There are easy ways you can combine natural ingredients to make cleaning products. Baking soda, vinegar, soap, lemon, and cornstarch are common ingredients that can be used for household cleaning.
For example, we use a homemade window cleaner in our home that consists of:
- – 25% distilled white vinegar
- 25% rubbing alcohol
- 50 percent water
This homemade cleaner makes our windows sparkling clean. Bonus: They’re much better for the environment – both at home and outside in your garden.
Organic essential oils such as lemon oil and lavender oil are great air fresheners. Use them in an aromatherapy diffuser to help your home smell clean and fresh.
Note: Some essential oils are toxic to pets such as cats and dogs. If you have a pet, do your research before using essential oils in a diffuser.
Baking soda for exfoliation
Instead of using chemical cleaners for your home, try using baking soda. The abrasive nature of baking soda is great for scrubbing bathtubs and more.
However, it will not emit harmful fumes or contain harmful chemicals.
Using homemade cleaning products is much better for everyone in the long run. You can save money by not buying expensive chemical cleaners from the store.
Better yet, your health won’t be negatively affected by toxins and byproducts. Natural cleaning products are especially popular among parents with young children at home.
However, everyone can benefit from using non-toxic cleaners.
6. Reduce your exposure to radiation
In our modern world, Wi-Fi networks, cell phones, and electronic gadgets expose us to much more radiation than we did years ago.
Continuous exposure to radiation has been shown to produce Health issues in both children and adults.
There are many things you can do to live in cleaner air and reduce radiation exposure.
- Turn off your wifi router when you are not using it, such as at night when you are sleeping or during the day when you are at work
- Limit the use of and exposure to cell phones and other electronic gadgets, especially with children
- Do not carry your cell phone on your body
- Replace your microwave oven with a steam convection oven
- Use corded landline phones whenever possible instead of cell phones or cordless phones
- Use a wired headset when talking on your cell phone
- Limit wireless items in your home. Use wired baby monitors and alarm systems instead
- Use grounding to combat the effects of radiation exposure. You can walk barefoot outdoors on dirt and grass, allowing your feet to absorb healthy minerals from the ground
7. Buy organic clothing and household items when you can
Some companies sell clothing, sheets, and housewares made from organic cotton and other ingredients. However, these items can be expensive.
Consider purchasing them when they reach clearance prices. Or look for used organic brand names at thrift stores, garage sales or online sites.
Stores like Environmental options and The ultimate green store They have sale/liquidation signs on their websites so you can get cheaper prices.
Organic clothing is expensive. If your budget doesn’t allow for a larger budget for clothing, there are still things you can do to reduce your exposure to toxins.
For example, you can use organic or natural detergents when washing your clothes. At the very least, use smaller amounts of your favorite non-organic cleaners.
We still use our preferred non-organic cleaners, however, we use about one-sixth of what the guidelines say. We have stopped using dryer sheets completely.
Our clothes don’t smell like perfume anymore, but we are exposing our bodies to fewer chemicals, so it’s worth the “sacrifice.”
summary
Living naturally is a great goal. You will be healthier and happier for doing so. Better yet, your lifestyle change doesn’t have to be a burden on your wallet.
There are many different methods you can choose to change the way you live your life. Eating organically It is a big part of living naturally. You can either buy your food from farmers markets or grow your own.
This will save you money and you will be able to know exactly what goes into your food.
Making your own cleaning products can be a huge life changer. You and your family can reduce exposure to dangerous chemicals. It cleans just like any industrial products.
What do you do to live an organic lifestyle on a budget?