HOW WE SAVE MONEY TO AFFORD BUYING ORGANIC FOOD

We don’t waste food! In average 20-25% of the food you buy gets wasted. That’s hundreds of dollars a year 💸!
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We apply the 80:20 rule to the food items we choose. 80% “cheap” staples or veggies (in our case: millet instead of quinoa, oats+raisins instead of granola, flax seeds instead of chia seeds, lentils instead of tofu, squashes, cabbages, zucchinis when in season, etc.), 20% pricey things (berries, bell peppers, sweets, jams, spreads, nuts, things from the deli counter etc.). When we are strapped for money we ditch the whole “pricey food” category altogether. It’s a luxury, not a necessity after all.
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We don’t buy beverages like soda or juice. Instead, we stick to tap water 💧and (herbal) tea 🍵and make a smoothie from time to time. We also make our own plant-based mylks (article on that coming up on my blog soon!)
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We have swapped all single-use items in our house for reusables, or have gotten rid of them altogether.
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I firmly believe a sustainably lifestyle isn’t about buying “green” alternatives. It’s about buying LESS! This one’s the biggest money saver. Just don’t buy all that crap in the first place, it won’t make you happier.
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We wear our clothes 🧦👖until they literally fall apart (after mending them several times), so we only buy very few pieces every year, if at all.
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We reflect if it’s a need or a want before we buy anything that’s not an essential consumable (e.g. food, cleaning ingredients). If we do buy something, we ask around if anyone has a spare they don’t need, if they don’t we try to buy it pre-owned. Only if there’s no other alternative do we buy something new.
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We DIY our cleaning and skin care products 💆‍♀️💁‍♂️
Most people buy more than what they can realistically use up before it goes bad, or even more than what they can use in a lifetime! So we often use up things from our parents and friends. My mom just gave me bag full of 15+ year old hotel soap! We’ll use it for laundry.