The Budget Ecoist- Eco Living on a Budget

Certainly you can look on our site every day for amazing up-to-date tips on living the green life in a frugal fashion. And, quite frankly, you should! But just to make it easy we’re giving it to you in list form. Here it is – The Budget Ecoist’s Five Super Easy Resolutions for 2009:


1. No More Plastic (or Paper) Bags!!!

Don’t tell us we haven’t given you enough options to stock up your cabinets with reusable bags. There’s one here, here and oooh - here’s our favorite. We know it’s a challenge to remember these on every trip to the store so here’s a tip. Make a deal with yourself – if you forgot the bag, you have to carry your items home in your own very eco-friendly arms. You’ll remember pretty quickly after that. Trust us, we did.

2. Dim the lights

If you haven’t already put dimmers on your light sockets, now is the time to go green while creating a romantic aura. And we’re ######## you’ve got fluorescents in those sockets, right? Of course you do.

3. Go Low Flow

Get a low flow showerhead. This one is only $12 and reduces water usage by 50-70%. And all you have to do is screw it in and never give it another thought. Save water, save energy, save money and save the world. Check!

4. Online Bill Paying

Still sending in the bills, buying stamps and praying it’s not late again this month? This is one of the cheapest (as in, free) and easiest things you can possibly do to go green. And once you’re automated in your bill paying you can breathe easier knowing your credit report won’t be tarnished by a crazy week that makes you forget all your worldly responsibilities.

5. Barter or Buy Used

We all know the joys of getting goods on the cheap. Whether you’re an ebay or Craigslist kind of shopper, you’ll save zillions on your new car/coat/puppy by not participating in a consumerist cycle that requires new products every five minutes. If you want to take it a step further – get in the habit of bartering. We’ll show you how and where.

We’ve talked here before about cutting down on your meat to save the environment. Going whole hog and only eating veg is a better solution, but not always the answer for people who just can’t leave behind the pepperoni.

There’s a movement with a catchy name for those people who are working towards being vegetarians but still have the occasional spot of animal. Treehugger introduced us to flexitarians (flexible meets vegetarian) and how their thought process works. A flexitarian is someone who is trying to increase their vegetarian diet but occasionally eats meat. Treehugger points out this is not the veg that gives up meat for moral reasons as that kind of ambiguity just will not fly. And neither should their lunch. But for those who are trying to improve their health and their environment, there are a few guidelines for the flex. Which is a tad oxymoronic, but still…

When eating meat always go organic and local, stopping at the butcher instead of the A&P. Consider meat a side dish rather than the big honking main course. And it should also go without saying, but, um we’re totally saying it – don’t eat fish on the endangered list.

So, how many of you out there can identify with being a flexitarian? Or do you think it’s simply a fancy way of saying “cheater?” Tell us what’s up in comments!

We will fully admit to searching for organic Santa suits online. And being disappointed… Maybe the green movement hasn’t quite reached the North Pole (although, hello, polar bears!) but it certainly should already. In the meantime we’ll have to buy our St. Nick suit used and hope the former Santa didn’t sweat a lot. But what to do when we’re finished with our holiday jollies?

We polled our friends and got lots of suggestions involving year-round costumes parties, but Josh Peterson over at Planet Green totally helped us out. Peterson has come up with not one, not two, but three reuses for Santa suits. Hooray! He’s our new hero.

Peterson not only tackles the “what to do with velvet” problem but finds a way to make use of every last fluffy fringe. Check out his awesome post to get the details about:

1. Pajamas
2. Making a Mrs. Clause Suit, and
3. Making Scarves.

Lots of fun to be had with the old red suit, but the best thing about Peterson’s post is that he’s totally on board with our re-gifting movement. Happy Ho-ho-ho-lidays!

Looking to impress friends, family and neighbors this year with your home baked treats? Sure you can buy Rice Krispies and Jet-Puffs, after all, who doesn’t love a freaking krispie treat? But if you want to stay green, it’s time to re-commit to buying your food locally and in season.

Luckily, Harvest Eating features recipes and commentary by Chef Keith Snow that promote buying foods that are, “fresh and in-season; then prepare them using whole, natural ingredients produced by farmers not chemists.” Dang, that probably doesn’t include our famous, “Fried Snickers of Bethlehem.”

Still, there are plenty of options from Chef Snow for the holiday table. Our cookie pick is the hard to pronounce, but very simple, Vanilla Kipfel. The Kipfel is essentially a delicious pecan ball covered in powdered sugar. Check out the recipe here and get to baking some holiday goodness.

Other delicious dishes include butternut squash ravioli, southern cornbread dressing and twice baked potatoes with jumbo lump crab. Yum, with the twice-baked potatoes stuffed with lump crab. Just watching these videos might make you gain that holiday fifteen. But hey, it’s local, seasonal and green. Get your seasonal eat on!

It might seem obvious that a Christmas tree will be green (although maybe you haven’t seen these aluminum babies – above) but there are better ways to deck the halls this season and they may not be quite what you think. Before you make your final tree decision, take a look at all the alternatives to O Tannenbaum.

Our friends at Sustain Lane are all over the holidays this year and they’ve taken some time out to explain to us why plastic could....

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Salon is the online go-to for politics, pop culture and social phenomena, so learning a major green lesson was not the usual concurrence while browsing during the lunch hour. However, Almost Green by James Glave, diligently explores the all-important issue of proselytizing (or rather, not proselytizing) to your friends and neighbors about environmental issues, and is a must-read.

For those of us who bit our tongue over Thanksgiving as our....

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We are so, so hoping this is the year re-gifting will go from crass to fab-u-lous! But just in case your very proper cousin Suzie will freak at the, um, colorful porcelain bowl you got from Aunt Janet, you should try saving the world through green gift guiding instead.

Tree Hugger has one of our favorites this year and it runs the gamut from food to fashion and everything in between. They also do something we love as they offer affordable gifts....

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