So I’m loving the organic and natural grocery stores here. I loooove going to Henry’s or Trader Joe’s and looking at all the organic cleaning products, homeopathic medicine, organic food…but my husband said something the other day that struck me:

Don’t consume your way to being eco.

Meaning don’t get caught up in the hype of eco friendly products when you can find a simpler solution without spending or wasting resources. A good example is that post I referred to last week that taught me to not buy shaving cream because I don’t need it.

Or the time we were trying to cut down on the sweets in the house (ok, he was trying) and he found Oreos in the cabinet. My reply? They’re organic Oreos!

Both examples were things I didn’t need. I’m starting to bake cookies more rather than give in to my sweet tooth at the store.  That way I know all the ingredients that go in and can make them my way.

Another example is that I always buy a big bottle of juice or bag of snacks and put it in a smaller container for Max to take to school rather than individual  packs (I may be wrong, but I believe a juice bottle is easier to recycle than a box and bunch of individual packs). I put his snacks in plastic containers that can be reused so I cut down on how many plastic bags I buy.

So my goal is to think before I buy something I believe will help me be more organic or environmentally friendly. Do I need this? Can I get this solution a better way?

What suggestions do you have on cutting down on waste?