A friend of mine, who is more environmentally conscious than I, recently pointed out something.  Our church body has refreshments each week and we always use disposable products.  I know some folks like to wash and reuse disposable utensils but if I can't put it through my dishwasher then I'm not interested.   On the other hand, we didn't want to use our own dishes.  Some of us didn't have enough or didn't want to risk breakage.  My friend came up with a great solution: a carry in kit. 

My friend went to Goodwill and bought several dozen spoons, forks etc along with plastic plates.  The other ladies added tumblers and even some fun plastic lunch trays.  While the final product is a bit hodgepodge the end result is a cheap alternative to expensive and environmentally unfriendly disposable products.

Here are some other tips to cut money and help preserve the environment at the same time:

Ditch bottled water.  Spend a few dollars on a refillable squeeze bottle.  Often, tap water is as good as bottled.  Or, if your tap water is bad, invest in a filtration system.  Do your homework first and look for one that suits your needs. 

 Buy a travel mug.  In the past we used a Styrofoam cup for our a.m. coffee.  Now, I've invested in four travel mugs for our joe-to-go. 

 Use fewer paper products.  Replace paper towels with cloth rags.  Cut your toilet paper usage down by a few squares or switch from double ply to single ply. 

 Switch to compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs).  They may cost a few more dollars in the beginning but they will save money over time.  CFLs do come on sale fairly frequently.  I was able to purchase two for $.75 at Rite-Aid a few weeks ago. 

Recently, I read an article on the internet about a man who managed to produce no waste of any kind for an entire year.  While I applaud such efforts I've started out on a smaller scale.  For now I'll work on sparing a square. 

You can read this article and others in this series as well as find the best grocery deals on my website [ http://www.nwohiocoupons.com/ ]www.nwohiocoupons.com.  Questions or comments?  Email me at [ mailto:moneysavingjen@yahoo.com ]moneysavingjen@yahoo.com .