Green – Eco | Sustainable Personal Finance

Recession Gardening to Save Money

By Guest

I recently discovered a practice that I’d never heard of before – recession gardening. Instead of heading to the grocery store for your veggies and herbs, you can head out to the back yard!

What is recession gardening?

This is the practice of growing fruit, veggies and herbs in your very own garden. This practice is becoming more and more in vogue, as people are trying to spend less, and are more conscious of how their produce is grown and distributed.

Recession Gardening Benefits

Delicious, fresh food
You know exactly what’s going into the food (organically grown, no pesticides, etc)
Helpful to the environment

Recession Gardening Disadvantages

Can be time-consuming
High start-up cost if you don’t yet have equipment and tools
You need to be green-fingered!

How to get started

To start your own home-grown produce garden, you can either start with seeds, seedlings, or fully grown plants. The latter will be the most expensive for an initial purchase, and seeds tend to be the cheapest. This makes sense, as you are the one going to be doing all the work on growing the plants, and they’re priced accordingly.

You’ll also need some tools (trowel, watering can, shears, fork), if you don’t already have them. You can pick up some basic gardening tools for a few dollars at your local hardware stores.

You may also need things like pots and containers, but that depends on what you’re going to be growing. Plus, you can always start out by growing seedlings in old yoghurt pots, plastic food containers, etc.

What to grow

What produce you can grow may depend on where you live, the climate, the soil type, etc. Do a bit of googling, or ask for advice at your local garden store. Some ideas of things to grow:

Tomatoes
Lettuce
Green beans
Spinach
Potatoes
Peas
Parsley
Peppers
Broccoli
Asparagus

The list is almost endless, but those items above are a few of the most common items you may find in a home-grown garden.

Gardening tips

You recession garden may take a lot of care and attention. There are books and books dedicated to gardening tips, but here are a few pointers with the recession garden in mind:

Start out small if you’re new to gardening, learn as you go
Plan ahead – what goes where, especially if you’re short on space
Trade – if neighbours are also growing, specialise in certain crops and trade with friends

Conclusion

With this sustainable practice, you’ve got to take a long-term view. You’re not going to get a full crop and a wide range of veggies within the first year. It may take a few years to build up a good stock of produce, and you’ll also be learning as you go along. Costs may be higher in the first year, but over time you will be saving a lot of money, as you no longer have to buy many of these fresh items from the grocery store. Plus, there’s the added pride in being able to eat something delicious that you’ve grown yourself, with the power of your own two hands.

Do you grow your own veg? Got any more tips to share?

Today’s guest article was written by Anna, owner of Bargainmoose.ca. Bargainmoose is a Canadian deals website where you can find the latest shopping bargains and online coupon codes, helping Canadians save lots of loonies every day!

The Beauty in Saving Your Skin and the Water Supply

By Mrs. SPF

I have sensitive skin and so a while ago I went to a dermatologist for some over the counter skin care cleanser and spot treatment cream. When the labels said the products might bleach clothes, not to mention some other unpleasant side effects, I paused and thought “wait this might bleach my face towel and yet I want to put it on my skin”? What am I putting on and ultimately onto my body? Moreover, how will these products affect the environment when they are washed down the drain?

This is not to say that before this realization I was completely naive about skin care products. A couple of years ago I heard about this website Skin Deep and have since been trying to green my cosmetics, skin care products, shampoo etc.

The problem is I have sensitive skin as I mentioned, which is also problem prone skin, and lots of soap free natural products just were not cutting it, hence the prescription from my doctor

But after my “A Ha!” moment with the bleaching cleanser and cream, I was truly committed to greening my skin care regimen without spending too much money! So I’ve been testing several products and have finally found some that really work for me

So twice a day I cleanse my face with Avalon Organics Lavender Facial Cleansing Milk. Twice a week I use dermae’s Microdermabrasion Scrub. These can both be found in gourmet grocery stores here as well as health food stores and of course you can also buy them online. What is really remarkable is that you can get these products for pretty much the same price you would any mainstream cleanser and scrub as these both retail for $11.95 and $32.59 respectively. I used to use similar products where the cleanser would cost $7-$15 and the scrub $30-50 so my budget on these items is relatively unchanged. However, you are not paying for ingredients you really don’t want to be putting on your face. There are a ton of ingredients you want to avoid in skin care products but the ones I look for and try to avoid are phthalates, parabens and petroleum based products as these can be linked to birth defects, cancer, allergies and other nasties.

There are approximately 3,700 cosmetics companies in Canada, most of which were small and medium-sized ones, producing more than 20,000 kinds of cosmetic products. The Canadian Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association (CCTFA) is the leading Canadian trade association for the personal care products industry. CCTFA members, which represent 80-90% of the industry in Canada are at the forefront of a $7.5 billion (retail) industry in Canada. This means Canadians spend about $9 billion (retail) on cosmetics. These products are usually removed using water and that water ends up flowing freely down the drains in our sinks and enters the water supply. Scary thought.

Have you tried greening your cosmetics? What products work for you?

Why Use Cloth Diapers?

By Mrs. SPF

Diaper duty © by mhofstrand

Before lil’ SPF arrived I started researching diapers. I knew that I wanted us to use cloth diapers but had no idea what kind to buy. It turns out that there are many, many different kinds of cloth diapers to choose from. We have now been using cloth diapers for over 3 months and so far we are really happy about using them. What follows are my thoughts on why cloth is more sustainable, not only for the planet but also for your pocketbook – the reasons why we use cloth diapers.

Why use Cloth Diapers vs. Disposable Diapers

The first choice to be made when it comes to diapers is whether or not to go cloth or disposable. I really wanted to go cloth mostly because of how much waste disposable diapers produce (we used disposables at my in-laws at Christmas and filled a grocery bag in two days with soiled diapers!). According to wired.com “Diapers made up 3.4 million tons of waste, or 2.1 percent of U.S. garbage, in landfills in 1998 — the last year this information was collected, according to the Environmental Protection Agency”. A LOT of waste.

Disposable Diaper Information

In addition to all the waste that disposable diapers produce, most big brand disposable diapers have a lot of stuff added to them which I am not particularly fond of nor do I want touching lil SPF’s bum. Most of the top brands of disposable diapers are made with chlorine, latex, fragrance and petroleum based lotions as well as a gel that has been linked to skin irritations and respiratory problems.

Diapers are made with all these additives so they that they are super absorbent and keep baby dry for 12 hours! In reality, baby is not dry but rather the additives in the diapers pull the moisture away from the skin but the diaper is still soiled. Continue reading Why Use Cloth Diapers?

100% renewable by 2050- Possible or too optimistic?

By Guest

When it comes to energy, there have long been discussions about whether it would ever be possible to run the world using renewable sources. Just in the latter part of 2011, there was an energy report written regarding how we may be able to solve the problems of climate change by 2050. But, how feasible is this notion?

The Danish government proposed that before 2020 wind turbines will produce around half of the electricity the country needs as the first part of the long-term plan. Green energy is something being looked at across the globe, and organisations like Good Energy are keen to fulfil a vision to have renewable energy in the UK creating 100% of the country’s power ahead of 2050.

The truth about renewable energy

We are all told that green energy is important, but how true is it? The fact is that we have a problem, one with climate change and our need for fossil fuels. The burning of these fuels contributes almost three quarters of our manmade emissions – making us a global threat to ourselves.

With this in mind, it is a no brainer for us to attempt for a 100% renewable energy world by 2050 but can we achieve this?

The possibilities

A new future is highly achievable by this plan, and if this happens then almost €4 trillion every year will be saved across the globe thanks to reduced fuel costs and increased energy efficiency. Almost a decade earlier than the 2050 target, fossil fuel reliance will have been reduced by as much as 70% if we work together.

It’s so simple to think that we could use the hand that we’ve been dealt to get the most out of our lives. The sun, sea and wind are three sources of renewable energy that have the potential to produce enough power to support the whole world – many times over. Additionally, there are simple measures like recycling and efficient insulating that can go a long way in pushing us in this direction.

The challenges

As with everything in life, sacrifices need to be understood and undertaken for the greater good. Our reliance on fossil fuels is the reason as to why we are in this mess in the first place, and to get to the other side will take a long transition to green energy.

There are many challenges ahead, and there are two key technical factors that will go a long way in deciding whether we will meet the targets set. These are: reducing demand through the reduction in wasteful energy while mixing this with an improvement in energy efficiency. Similarly, renewables are the best source for heat and electricity so maximising the use of this will go a long way in securing a sustainable energy future.

Elsewhere, it’s important to know that for the best future we need to understand all factors. Both nature and people will be affected through how we use the resources offered to use by the seas, water and land. We must be sure that our lifestyle changes will play a useful role in this while countries need to strengthen governance and consider finance systems to incorporate the innovation.

Conclusion

Good Energy has a vision to take the UK to 100% renewable energy by 2050, and if we all work together then this is a possibility. Ecofys believe that sustainable energy can be used globally to a rate of 95% by 2050.

One of the biggest challenges is understanding the initial investment that we need in order for us to achieve our long-term goals. The keys will be the suitable management of efficiency measures, the land system and our renewable fuel supply while also the fast deployment of ambitious electrification which will fulfil the demands of the world.

This post brought to you by Good Energy.