Balancing Act

Lately, it feels as if two of my primary goals as runner-of-household-- namely saving money and living/eating in a natural, healthy, sustainable way-- seem to be at odds with each other. It's a constant balancing act, deciding where to spend money, where to cut back, where to put in extra effort and where to give up until I have the funds to do better. I know I'm not alone in this, so I thought I'd share a few tips and strategies that seem to be working for me.

Food:

First and foremost, produce your own food. Having a garden {even a small one!} is such a worthwhile investment. It's educational, nutritious, and connects you to the seasons in ways that supermarket food can't. Get chickens! Grow fruit trees! Do whatever you can to make your land {backyard} as edible as possible.

Second, plan meals. I've never been good at this, but as money gets tighter and tighter, planning out our meals, cooking everything from scratch, and wasting as little as possible not only saves money, but makes sense. I plan a week at a time, factoring in leftovers and food storage, then shop only for the items we need. I like this meal planning template, but there are plenty to choose from here.

When I shop, I try to use coupons. I'm new to couponing, so I generally shop only at our local store, where I've become familiar with their coupon policy and sale cycle. They have a substantial organic/natural food section, with many dry goods sold in bulk bins. Saving Naturally is a great resource for printable coupons on many of the brands that I favor when buying processed items, like Stonyfield, Cascadian Farms, and Newman's Own.

Buy local produce. There are so many great resources for local produce! Farmer's Markets, Community Supported Agriculture {CSA Farms}, and programs like The Backyard Farmer {which is what I use.} I've found that local produce is usually the most inexpensive way to purchase organic food, and I love supporting members of the community-- one of the little joys in my life is to buy peaches from our local farm during their Peach Festival, and gourmet olive oil {the best you've ever had, I guarantee it!} from our local Olive Mill.

By far, the most expensive portion of our food budget is meat. Ideally, we would only eat wild caught fish {not farmed}; grass-fed, organic beef; and humanely raised, organic chicken. I like the labeling policy at Whole Foods, and we buy frozen Wild Caught Atlantic Salmon at Costco, but it is costly. My solution? We eat far less meat than we used to. I am by no means a vegetarian, but it's cheaper to get our protein from nuts, beans and eggs than it is to have meat every day. Then, when we do have meat, we can afford to get the good stuff. {Don't know why it matters? Watch Food Inc!}

Living:

We don't use paper plates anymore, or paper towels. It means washing more dishes and cleaning windows with the newspaper inserts we get in the mail, and keeping plenty of rags on hand to mop up spills.

I'm experimenting with making our own cleaning products. I have a huge bag of baking powder and a jug of vinegar just for this purpose.

We use our chickens to 'compost' all our table scraps. I still wish I had one of these composters, but this works and doesn't cost anything.

Instead of paying for curbside recycling, we sort our recyclables with these totes and take them to the recycling center at the library once a week.

I bought one of these water bottles and LOVE it. I know most people like the Nalgene bottles, but this one is perfectly contoured to my hand and I like that it doesn't have a sports top. Plus, one handed operation! I'm saving up to get one for each member of the family. {It will save me from washing endless glasses this summer.}

Lastly, I'm thinking of getting a clothesline for the backyard. Not that I'd use it for all my laundry {I'm lazy and totally not a masochist} but it's so hot here, I can see line drying sheets and things.

What about you? Any tips for living well on a budget?

{image from The Family of Children via Flickr}