Save Money, Save the Earth
By Linda Mason Hunter

(Originally published in The Des Moines Register, May 29, 2011)

Greens planted in my cold frame grow all summer long

1. Does buying in bulk make a difference in the price you pay? If so, what are the best products to buy in bulk?

Buying products in bulk often means less packaging per unit and fewer trips to the store, but requires the ability to store properly (usually a cool dry environment). The trick is to buy what you can store well, and/or what you use up quickly:

• Coffee, tea, flour, sugar, nuts, grains and beans all store well --
  especially if you have cold space.
  
  
• Cereals, snacks and other foods that are used often and in volume, especially if you repackage them in servable quantities.
  
  
• Laundry, cleaning, and personal care supplies that are used often -
  especially if you refill your own containers.
  
  
• Paper goods, like paper towels, toilet tissue, printer paper, diapers.
  
  
• Lightbulbs, batteries.

Also, things that are on sale as two for one or other deals, and items you will need to replace and are hard to find (like specialty light bulbs).

If you have friends to share with and room in the fridge or freezer, buying products like cheese or meats in bulk from a local cheese shop or butcher can mean better quality products at a better price.

Organic and recycled and other eco-friendly products are often more affordable when purchased in bulk. When bought via mail order, larger purchases often offer free shipping.

2. Do clothes labeled “dry clean” really need to be dry cleaned? Any drawbacks to laundering them yourself? Any tips on getting them clean without dry cleaning?

Some clothes labeled “dry clean only” can be hand laundered. You’ll have more success with unstructured items (shirts, dresses, curtains) in natural fabrics than you will with structured items (sport coats, anything with stiffening) made with  synthetic fabrics. The trick is to hand wash items from the beginning. Dry cleaning chemicals change the nature of the fabric, making hand washing less successful.

The most sustainable and cheapest way to solve the dry clean dilemma is to avoid purchasing “dry clean only” fabrics in the first place. Purchase only natural (not synthetic) fabrics and wash them with gentle laundry detergents, not harsh products loaded with synthetic chlorine, bleaches, and perfumes. When it comes to removing stains, try gentle solutions before bringing out the chemicals. For example, most fatty and oily food stains (cheese, ketchup, chocolate, cream, mayonnaise, milk, salad dressing) can be treated with a little soap and water. There’s a chapter on getting out stains in my book Green Clean (Melcher Media, 2005).

3. Growing your own food - what are the most cost-effective things to grow?

When it comes to non-GMO organic herbs and vegetables, growing your own is usually more cost-effective and more nutritious than purchasing at a market. Grow produce you want to eat that flourishes in Iowa’s climate. For example, I don’t like buying canned tomatoes in the grocery store because the cans usually contain BPA, a plasticizer I’m not keen on ingesting. I cook a lot of tomato sauces year around, so to be sure I’m getting good tasting and organic I plant lots of tomatoes in my garden and can them in quart jars in the fall. To avoid the high cost of raspberries in the marketplace, I have a thriving raspberry patch and put up jam, eau de vie, and other treats in the fall to use all winter long. I also have a culinary herb bed and freeze rosemary for winter use, as well as make batches and batches of basil-based pesto, which freezes well.

When it comes to flowers, it’s cheaper to grow your own than to purchase in the market.

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