I plan to share more about how we buy the best products, including grass fed meats, organic meats, and nearly all organic products on a tight family and school budget. As I started thinking about what information to include, I thought a good place to start might be where I don't spend money in my family budget!
At home, I almost never spend money on:
1. paper towels or paper napkins--We use 2-3 rolls of paper towels a month, and we rarely have paper napkins around. If I'm already doing laundry all the time, it's no big deal to me to use .49 cent IKEA dish towels to wipe up spills, etc. I have some inexpensive cloth napkins that were picked up at Goodwill, and I plan to make/buy more. We use the cloth napkins constantly at meal time, and the kids enjoy putting them out at meal time. I think using cloth helps the kids see that meals are special, and that not everything in life should be disposable. Oh, and I think this is a "greener" approach . . .
2. expensive cleaners--I keep baking soda, vinegar, essential oils, rubbing alcohol, and hyrdrogen peroxide around. Each month, I mail order some green concentrated cleaners and laundry detergent (along with vitamins, body products). I feel that we've been duped into thinking we need a designer cleaner for every household situation, and I choose to keep all those chemicals and smells away from my family.
3. tissues--if it's cold season, I keep some boxed tissues around. Otherwise, my family uses the toilet paper that I'm already buying. Its not fancy, but it works for us.
4. ziploc bags in a variety of sizes--I usually keep a box of waxed paper bags around and sometimes a small box of plastic zip-top sandwich bags. We store leftovers in glass, moving away from plastic more and more each week. When I pack lunches, I usually try to assemble a variety of items in one large plastic tray with a lid, or I place snacks in reusable containers. I am still sourcing healthy containers for my kids lunches/school snacks.
5. air fresheners or other "potions" for the house . . . clean is clean. We don't need to smell like cinnamon potpourri.
6. "kid" bath/body products. My kids are almost 4, 6, and almost 10. While we kept things simple when they were little, we sure do now. They all use "adult" toothpaste, shampoo, and soap. They were taught to keep their eyes closed and tilt their head back to rinse at a young age! Kids' bath and body products are generally a disaster of dyes and sudsing agents. I generally mail order healthy bath/body products with some vitamins and concentrated cleaners monthly.
7. baking mixes--I keep aluminum-free baking powder, a couple kinds of flour, yeast, baking soda, vanilla and spices around so that if we want pancakes, a dessert, or some other concoction, there's not a boxed mix required. It's easy to find basic recipes that don't take much longer to make from scratch. In starting from scratch, you are controlling quality and circumventing trans fats and unwanted additives.
8. seasoning packets--I keep spices, fresh garlic, onion, and herbs around to season things myself. Most taco, chili, and dip mixes have MSG in them. Some of the organic mixes I've tried are pretty bad, and overly sweet. There are great recipes online for homemade dry spice mixes to keep on hand for your favorite meals.
9. "compound" or prepared foods--if I'm going to cook, I almost always start from scratch. The more someone does to your food to make it "easy" for you to eat, the more likely one or both of the following is true: it's more expensive, it's made with a bunch of ingredients you don't want to be eating.
10. drink mixes, juices, sodas, designer drinks and waters--we drink lots of water, the kids have a couple of servings of orange or apple juice each week, and my husband and I drink coffee every morning. Husband and I also drink a glass of red wine a couple of nights each week. Husband has a soda habit he's kicking, and I don't buy soda unless he specifically asks me for it. So . . .we're pretty boring in the drink category. I did buy the kids some chamomile tea for a treat--HA HA.
11. bulk items that last more than a month--I do love shopping at Costco for some items (more on that later), but I don't see any reason to purchase more than I will use in a month. At a restaurant, or in other businesses, you don't want to keep much money tied up in inventory, and certainly not inventory that isn't moving. I think that's a good principle at home, too. So, if I buy the awesome six pack of organic pasta at Costco, I committ to using it all in meals that month.
11. magazines, newspapers--I read online, enjoy some gift subscriptions I've been given, and share magazines with family and friends. I only buy a couple magazines a year, and it's hard for me to resist them at the check out counter!
12. books--I usually only buy "keepers" that are specific to my work or that I will reference again and again. If I just want to read for fun, I check out Goodwill or Half Price Books. I like the library, and my kids have a great school library they visit once each week. We have lots of books around the house--I just don't spend much on them.
Sound crazy? What I do may not work for you. I try to use my household family budget to focus on food dollars, purchasing the highest quality food possible, focusing on protein, fruits, and vegetables. We do eat carbohyrdrates, but I try not to keep too many empty carbs around for my kids to graze on, as it is an endless situation. Do you know how many Goldfish a hungry child can eat when they really need a chunk of cheese and an apple???
Finally, I love to go and do. If I stay on budget with food, I have money to get out of the house and explore our city! Money to enjoy a meal out! I can't do that if I have $100 tied up in a barrel of Goldfish, 25 pounds of flour, Renuzit air fresheners, and an 18 pack of paper towels.
~Leslie
