Greening the Groceries
I haven’t written a grocery update in a few weeks because I was becoming boring and predictable. I think I’m more interesting when I’m messing up, heh. No impulse purchases, pretty much coming in right around the budget, things are going pretty well. For March overall, I ended up only $7 over my total grocery budget for the month, so pretty good.
Two things of note happened in April – one is that Kroger is having this Mega Event where if you buy 10 of a big list of sale items (mix and match) you get $5 off your order. So I have spent about $30 extra this month over the past two weeks stocking up on 6 month supplies of a number of things I buy anyway – most notably goldfish crackers and bags of pretzels (both at a final price of $0.50 a bag, a price I have never seen before). I also got mozzarella cheese cheaper than I usually buy it at Aldi, as well as some miscellaneous pasta mixes and turkey chili. That’s pushed the grocery budget up a bit, but I know what I usually pay for these items, and I know they are a great deal. Keeping the kids from eating 5 bags of goldfish a week has required some creative storage solutions though. 
The other thing is that as our financial situation improves, and as I become a better overall grocery shopper, I find myself making “greener” choices as far as our cleaners, detergents, and other non-food items, because I feel like we can afford to do so and I really want to. I have been making organic choices for food basically since I’ve had kids, as far as produce, dairy, and meats, but I have been hit and miss on cleaning items. But in the past few weeks, I’ve bought phosphate-free dishwasher detergent, non-toxic and biodegradable dish soap, and I’ve tried my hand at cleaning many things with baking soda (with mixed results). I’ve also bought a number of the “Green Works” cleaners to try them out.
So, we’ll see. I’d like to say I am saving the world but really, I’m just trying to be consciously frugal.
As for this week, in total I spent $95.53, which is $10 over my normal grocery budget, and that $10 is almost directly attributable to the fact I bought $20 in items at Kroger when I usually just buy around $10 because of the 10 item Mega Event. Oh, and I bought my spouse a steak. I’m nice like that (and it was half off because the use by date was tomorrow. He’s already eaten it, so no problem there). I only have about $140 left in April’s grocery budget, so I think I will most likely go over a little bit for the month, but I won’t be buying pretzels for a long time.
April 12th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Yay! A grocery post.
April 12th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
One of my favorite brands of “green” cleaners is Method. Target carries most of their line with the best prices I’ve seen. Very happy with everything I’ve tried.
April 12th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
I hope you’ll write reviews of the green cleaners you bought! I have only bought one such item so far – a general solution that you dilute that I bought at Whole Foods (sorry I can’t remember the name). It’s fine but I haven’t used it much …
April 13th, 2008 at 8:54 am
I’ve just started going green with food, but haven’t switched over to cleaning products yet. I am interested in seeing if you find a difference. Like Chief Family Officer, I hope you’ll write reviews.
April 13th, 2008 at 9:18 am
I am beginning to shop on an as need basis now…although, what I think we need and what the young adult in my home thinks are 2 different things! I hope to spend very little today with my menus planned for the week with staples we already have…a good thing is I am back at my contract job and we have lunches brought in, so that is my big meal for the day.
I am using Clorox GreenWorks now and like it. I also use Method tub and tile cleaner along with Magic Eraser. I’m not a fanatical house cleaner and have very few cleaning products. I switched to the 3X laundry detergent and wash in cold water. I need to wean myself from the dryer and use my drying rack next.
April 13th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Congratulations on sticking to your budget. I love a sale, too. My motto is “Never pay retail” and over the years, I’ve gotten pretty good at it. The trick is to buy enough on sale to last to the next sale.
We’ve used green cleaners for over 3 years now. I can’t imagine even going down the cleaning products aisle at the store. The odor is enough to keep me away. I order all my products online, so I save on gas, too, that pays for the shipping and saves time.
Good luck in your quest to become debt free. It’a a wonderful feeling.
April 13th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
That was our big sale of the week too. Only since it was paired with another great one, I didn’t stock up as much as I may have on other weeks. After I take a quick inventory of the pantry and fridge and make next week’s menu, and assuming I don’t need much else this week.I may head back to the store to buy more goldfish before the sale ends.