Frugal and Green

Often I feel like my shopping choices hang in a tenuous balance between trying to be healthy, frugal, and green--and to keep my Klondike-Bar-Doritos-and-DiGiorno's-loving husband happy! 

Here are a few little things I do. 

I save money and waste by not buying many disposable non-food products.  Like many housewives attempting frugality, I'll rinse and reuse Ziploc bags (unless they've had meat in them) and use yogurt containers for freezing soups and sauces.  I take reusable bags with me to the grocery store.  When I spill something, I reach for a cloth instead of a paper towel, so even though we have paper towels in the house, we don't go through many.  We use cloth napkins and put them in the wash as needed, usually once or twice a week.  If our family expands, I may resort to time-saving disposables, but for now, I'm glad to have the freedom to live in these little ways.

In our nearly eight months of marriage, I haven't once actually bought a pack of freezer bags.  Some years ago, Mom discovered that cereal bags are great for food storage!  At first it sounds kind of pack-ratty to keep cereal bags, but once I got my mind around the fact that they're really sturdy and intended to keep food fresh, it seemed like a no-brainer.  I just fold the bags down and clip them, or staple them if I'm short on clips, and they work great.  I reuse them, too, as long as they haven't contained meat! 

It must help a little.  :-)