Frugal? Simple? Environmental?

I have been thinking a lot about the day to day decisions we are making. As my family makes changes in our behaviour what benefits do we gain? What is worth continuing? What might drive me insane?

Since I started this blog we have instituted many changes for frugality, simplicity, and the environment. In many cases they overlap. In some cases I have had to make a choice.

Coupled with this I have recently been watching a (well to me) fascinating BBC series on youtube called Edwardian Farm. In this reality series 2 archaeologists and an historian try to accurately recreate life on a farm during the Edwardian era (pre WWI) for a year. This time is particularly interesting because it is just at the brink of gas and electricity being introduced. In the country side people still don't have access to either unless they are very rich. As well, middle class people for the very first time ever are able to afford different types of meats and luxuries thanks to lower prices on say for example lamb from New Zealand. Not to mention English farmers are looking at new ways to make money now that they can buy cheap wheat from Canada. Also machines are being introduced to make life (supposedly) easier for the average person's day to day chores. So interesting to compare to modern life!

So here is my question, when do you choose to do something more simple? What takes priority- the environment, money or simplicity? And what is the actual cost and value of changes we have made at home.

Home Made Bread

I just calculated the cost of bread if I buy my flour at Costco (located near work) in 20 kg bags and stick to a relatively simple recipe. It is some where around 25-30c a loaf. Just adding a cup of spelt to the recipe doubles the price. Whole wheat is not so bad. Comparison is minimum $2 for what we like to buy. A home made spelt loaf would be around $2 compared to purchasing at $5.

Simplicity? Effort is minimal to make 4 loaves say about 15-20 minutes actual work. We can fit this easily into our schedule. And it lasts the week. Plus we find it enjoyable and delicious. Way yummier than bought bread.

Environment? Way better- no more bread bags and tags. Only need to shop for supplies in bulk (good to cut down on shopping and packaging). Can recycle the flour bags. Plastic (yuck) bags for sugar etc can be recycled or we can buy in bulk with existing bags (but will cost more money).

Yoghurt

This is where my dilemma set in. If I purchase the most expensive milk in glass jugs then I only need to recycle the plastic lids. But! It costs $3 a litre vs $8 for 4 litres. This is a savings of $1 a litre if we buy plastic, maybe more at Costco. Mind you if we average 2 litres a week that is a savings of $100 or so a year. To me, I would rather focus on the environment than save $100 over the year. Plus, this is still cheaper than the organic yoghurt in the store. How often can I get 3 650 ml organic yoghurts for $6 in Vancouver? Or $2 each? Not very often!

Simplicity? Not too bad. You need to be on hand to watch the temperature. Otherwise it is super easy to do. Again maybe 15 minutes total.

Environment? 2 or 3 less yoghurt containers in the recycling bin a week in our house! That is huge. (By the way, I have kept all yoghurt containers from the past year to store berries in the freezer. I think I have enough now- say 1 or so per week from mid September to May or around 35 containers.)

Square Foot Garden

This is a tough one to calculate. I suppose I spend $20 on seeds a year. But we did buy some seedlings too- for basil, corn (just for fun), dill, rosemary, cilantro and parsley. Each seedling was worth 2 shops for packaged herbs ($24). But we get 5 months at least of meals from them. And we didn't buy lettuce or greens for 3 months. Now we are buying lettuce and still don't need other greens (a little hot to grow lettuce). The other plants are shorter lived and for fun. So that is a savings of say $4 a week for greens over 3-5 months. Let's say the investment was less than 1/2 what we would normally spend. Maybe not huge at this point!

Simplicity? It is relatively easy to maintain. A few bursts of energy. But the satisfaction and improved taste is immense!!

Environment? Huge- minimal packaging, 0 mile eating.

Results

All three seem to be worth the effort. We also make pizzas at home, make sprouts, and some time make pasta. We eat little take out. And we like to make most things from scratch (sauces, salad dressing, cookies etc.).

We have made other changes- buying in bulk, avoiding major packaging, minimal paper use, using the farmers market, trying to bike more, etc. I am still tormented by small bits of plastic, general recycling (but it is much lower), and meat packaging. We are far from perfect.

But! This week there were 2 small bags in the garbage (maybe 1 from our tenant), and the paper and container recycling was much lower. That is a huge improvement. I can recall some weeks when we had a full (if relatively small) garbage bin.

Final Thoughts

I am sure I could find ways to be frugal simple, and environmental while still purchasing at stores. So anything I put extra effort into- such as baking, making yoghurt, and gardening as to bring pleasure as well as practical benefits. Ultimately I imagine this is where the sticking power will come from!