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LaVonne Long is the mommy blogger at Long Wait For Isabella . She is joining us today to share how she and her family live organic and frugal.
When we first had our daughter and I became a stay-at-home mom, I got involved in clipping coupons. I joined message boards; I started trading and buying coupons. Our stockpile of food and health and beauty products grew quickly!
When my daughter began to get older and eating more solid foods, I started consciously thinking about the food we were buying and serving. I realized that even though some of the foods we were buying were cheap and even free at times, we were stocking up way too much processed foods. Slowly, I went through our stockpile (really who needs 50 candy bars, even if they are free?) and began trying to choose wisely the food I was investing in.
It is sad to say, but most of my life, I paid more attention to the label on my clothing than the label on food. But now, with the responsibility of a child, I am glad to say my food choices have changed. As a result, my stockpile looks much different now.
Here are 8 ways that you can live Organic and Frugal:
- Buy in-season organic produce in larger quantities. Freeze and can the surplus. This will save you money later on and your family will love having those strawberry smoothies and jam from last summer’s pick.
- Shop the sales. Look at those store flyers each week. Check out that small organic/natural section. Pay attention to prices. Stock up on those great deals.
- Search for coupons. Many of the organic/natural products now have printable coupons on their website or social networking sites. When looking at the store flyer, do a search online and see if you can find printable coupons for that product that is on sale. When you use a coupon with a sale you can really maximize your savings.
- Join a coupon trading website. Trade those Sunday newspaper coupons for products that are popular but full of processed artificial flavors for coupons that are for natural/organic products.
- Shop Amazon grocery sales. Check out the organic/natural section of Amazon. They often run promotions. I stock up when the price is right.
- Join a local co-op. If you plan on making an organic lifestyle change, many times a co-op is a great place to join. You get exclusive sales and often a cash back bonus for what you spend.
- Find blogs who do the work for you. Many bloggers match up sales and coupons for stores like Trader Joes and Whole Foods. They do the work each week and tell you where to find the coupons. It is a golden opportunity.
- Check out the products at your big box stores. For example, our local Costco, carries a wide variety of organic food, produce, premade soups, and bread. We stock up monthly on items that we enjoy. (Don’t forget to check for coupons even at Costco.)
Remember, your food choices affect your health. You can live a healthy life and be frugal. These are just a few things that we have done in our life to live organic and frugal. It was not too difficult and the changes are worth it.
Purchase wisely, use coupons ethically, and live frugal yet healthfully!
Written by LaVonne Long. LaVonne is married to a traveling minister and has one child. She writes about their life on the road traveling with a toddler, homeschooling, and living as organic and natural as possible at Long Wait For Isabella . We first published this post on January 14, 2012.
Dave says
Another way to save money while eating organic is to prioritize buying organics that offer the biggest benefit. The “Dirty Dozen” and the “Clean 15” help sort out which organics are worth buying. You can see the lists here: http://makeyourbodywork.com/why-eat-organic-food/
Kashif says
Good ideas. While Motrin is still a treat for the kids, the horrid tasting ones can be quite a battle. I hope not to use any time now.pregnancy
Tammy says
I just learned recently about purchasing food from Amazon. I have got some great deals.