These frugal green living tips can help you be more eco-friendly while saving a lot of money. As you start to use these frugal green tips you will save more and more money.
Frugal green living is something that can help all families. Saving money is something most of us want to do and it’s even better that we can be more eco-friendly at the same time!
How Do You Live Eco-Friendly on a Budget?
People often think being eco-friendly costs more money but really it can be extremely frugal. Using less should be the biggest goal of green living and using less saves a lot of money.
There are some investments that may cost more at first but end up saving you money but there are also things that will save you money right away. The following frugal green living tips are easy things we all can do.
30 Frugal Green Living Tips
When people ask me about making an effort to live greener I always stress not to do it all at once. With this list, take a few things at a time and slowly add in more.
Some of these things will save you just a small amount of money but it will add up. It’s often easier to save money by making small changes because it makes less of a change to your current lifestyle.
Check out the quick Frugal Green Living Tips version!
- Use a clothesline. If you have space for one this can help you keep your clothes looking nice longer and help save a lot of money on your electric bill.
- Ditch single-use plastic and paper products. Even if you don’t ditch all the plastic and paper products reducing your use can help a lot!
- Start a garden. It doesn’t have to be a big garden, a few pots on your porch can help.
- Make your own laundry detergent. Be care what kind you choose but making your own laundry detergent can really cut down on cost and plastic.
- Run your washer and dishwasher only when full. Running your washer and dishwasher on full with cut down on water and use your detergents more efficiently.
- Startmeal planning. Meal planning can help you avoid food waste which is better for your budget and the planet.
- Buy things used. When possible consider buying used products to keep things out of the landfill.
- Make your own cleaners. Making your own cleaners can cut down on plastic waste and most are made using cheap ingredients so you can save a lot of money.
- Choose low energy appliances. Appliances are becoming more efficient and it’s much easier to find Energy Star appliances now. It’s unlikely to cost more and will save money over time.
- Have a date night at home. Date nights are important but you can cause less waste and waste less gas by having some of your date nights at home.
- Eat less meat. You don’t have to go full plant-based, even something like Meatless Monday can help.
- Downsize your home. If looking for a new home decide if you really need something bigger or if you can even downside. It costs less to heat and cold and can reduce resources you need.
- Make your own chicken broth. Anothere great way to avoid food waste is by using everything you can like chicken bones and veggie scraps to make chicken broth.
- Replace burned-out light bulbs with energy-efficient LED light bulbs. It’s hard to find non-energy efficient light bulbs now but make sure you are getting the most efficient for your use.
- Use filtered water instead of bottled water. Bottled water is expensive and only in rare cases is actually need. If you local water is safe, choose filtered water at home.
- Turn down the heat and bundle up instead. You don’t need to be in shorts and a t-shirt all winter long, turn down the heat and put on a few more layers.
- Make your own coffee at home. Coffee can create a lot of waste but making it at home can help.
- Cut up old t-shirts for cleaning rags. Save old t-shirts and make them into rags instead of throwing them out.
- Use white vinegar and/or dryer balls in place of fabric softener. Fabric softener isn’t great for our clothes or our dryers so skip it and use vinegar and dryer balls instead.
- Make your own baking mixes. Baking mixes are nice to have around but you can make your own to have on hand and save a lot of money and waste.
- Learn vintage skills like sewing. Knowing how to repair things and make things yourself can be a very useful set of skills!
- Buy fruits and vegetables that are in season. Shopping in season means less shipping, better food, and usually cheaper.
- Install low flow toilets and shower heads. You can save a lot of water with low flow toilets and shower heads!
- Cook more at home. Cooking at home can be fun, save money, and reduce waste.
- Use your library more. Libraries not only have books they often have movies, audiobooks, and many even have digital options you can use.
- Add weather stripping to windows and doors. Keeping your heat in during the winter and the cool air in during the summer can help you reduce energy use.
- Stop vampire energy by unplugging things when not in use or using smart power strips. Many items in our houses keep using energy while not in use so find these items and unplug them.
- Walk, ride your bike, or use public transportation more. Skipping the car means less gas and when walking or riding a bike you are also benefiting your health.
- Take care and maintain what you own. Taking care of what we already own is the best way to save money and use less resources.
- Buy commonly used items in bulk. Be careful not to buy in bulk if it’s items you don’t use often but if you will use it buying in bulk can mean less waste.
When I stick to the things on this list our bills for the month always go down. We’d rather use our money for fun experiences than on bills and things we don’t need. It’s a big added bonus to know I’m helping the environment.
More Frugal Tips
Leslie says
These are great and I really want to start a few of these things soon. I actually want to start a garden because I have wanted to for years. I do unplug my gadget cords when I am not using them. I love being cold because being hot makes me angry, hah. So I love to bundle up in a sweatshirt and sweatpants with cabin socks. These are great ideas!
Lisa Sharp says
Glad you liked them! My husband is the same about being hot. 🙂 I love wrapping up in blankets so I don’t mind.
David Jones says
These tips are very useful for an individual. By following these tips one can save a large amount of money, but if we think about it on environmental basis, we will get to know that apart from saving money we can save a lot of energy for the future and can create a better and greener place for us to live.