I’m kicking myself.  I’m kicking myself because I wasn’t more aware of how important it is to eat organic when my daughter was very little.  When my son came along, I’ll admit I was scared by statistics of ADHD, autism and other health issues that impact boys statistically more significantly than girls.  Because there are no concrete “causes” for any of these conditions, our household made the switch to organic when he started solids.

As a contributor for The Shopping Mama, I was so pleased to receive information about participating in the Easy Organic Living challenge hosted by Healthy Child Healthy World and BabyCenter. The challenge, sponsored by Stonyfield Yogurt*, is actually a series of four challenges for me and TSM readers.  The first  addresses the biggest hurdle for most wanting to purchase organic – AFFORDABILITY.

I remember looking into organic milk when my daughter started whole milk.  At the time, the cost of organic milk was double that of conventional and I decided to purchase regular milk that was not from cows treated with the rBST hormone given to increase milk production.  I thought that was good enough.  I now realize that milk contained other hormones, pesticides and other harmful “by products.”  I now know organic is worth the price.  That doesn’t mean that I don’t balk at the $5.19 price tag on a bag of six (6) organic cheese sticks.  I do.  It just means sacrifices must be made elsewhere.

Buying Organic Budget Tips

That’s the very point of the first installment Easy Organic Living challenge.  How can you cut spending in other areas of your budget to purchase organic products for your family?  Challenge organizers have some suggestions that follow.  I hope some of these will help you “redistribute” your budget to make organic a possibility for you.

• BUY IN BULK - By purchasing other items, like household staples (detergent, paper products, canned goods), in bulk, you can save money that can be allocated to fresh organic produce.
• EAT YOUR LEFTOVERS – According to the USDA, 14 percent of all the food we buy ends up in the trash, adding up to almost $600 in food waste per household.
• OPT FOR WATER – Instead of grabbing soda or juice, drink what’s freely available from the tap.  You could save more than $200 per year.
• CHOOSE WHOLE CHICKEN – Save up to $600 per year by choosing whole chicken instead of boneless, skinless breasts.
• BUY FRUITS AND VEGETABLES WHEN THEY’RE IN SEASON – You can save up to $130 or more per year by shifting to seasonal produce (i.e. apples in winter, plums and nectarines in summer).
• EAT LESS MEAT – If you were to cut meat out of your diet once per week and replace it with a vegetarian option, you could save $250 per year for a family of four.

I must admit, these suggestions didn’t help me much.  We rent and I simply don’t have space to buy in bulk.  We already eat our leftovers.  We don’t drink soda or juice.  We already eat fruits and veggies in season – that’s when they taste best!  With my husband deployed, I buy meat once per week and fish once per week.  I feel I’ve already cut out a lot of the “extras.” So I’ve come up with a few suggestions that help me save money on organics.  Add these to the suggestions above and, hopefully, you can stretch your pennies even farther.

My Organic Shopping Tips

FOCUS ON THE DIRTY DOZEN – When I chose to purchase organic, I was fortunate to find an article on CNN.com that helped me focus my purchasing dollar on the dozen produce items that contain the most pesticide contaminants.  According the website, “you can reduce your exposure to pesticides by up to 80 percent by focusing on the Dirty Dozen”:  celery, peaches, strawberries, apples, domestic blueberries, nectarines, sweet bell peppers, spinach/kale/collard greens, cherries, potatoes, imported grapes, and lettuce. When shopping, these are the organic items I seek most.

There’s also a list of “clean fifteen” produce items that contain little to no pesticides whether you buy conventional or organic.  Those items include:  onions, avocados, sweet corn*, pineapples, mango, sweet peas, asparagus, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, cantaloupe, watermelon, grapefruit, sweet potatoes, and sweet onions.  I know there is not much need to spend extra money on organic versions of these items.  (I placed the (*) beside sweet corn because while doing my own research, I found that when you buy conventional corn you may not be getting extra pesticides, but you may be getting a genetically modified product.  So, buying organic corn may be a step you do want to take.)

SHOP AROUND – I always assumed that my local “upscale” market was more expensive than my regular market.  When it comes to organics, that is often not the case.  Because they move more organic inventory, they can charge less for it and it’s fresher.  This was a EUREKA moment for me!  The fact that they play classical music, makes the experience all the more pleasurable.

“JIT” INVENTORY – When my husband and I  were first married, I was a little perturbed when he said he liked “fresh” produce purchased more often than fruits and veggies purchased on a once-a-week grocery run.  Since I was doing the shopping, I focused on the fact that this meant more errands for me.  I now know he was right, as he often is (please don’t tell him!).   Now, I’ve implemented a strategy I learned in business school – Just In Time Inventory – buying what you need, when you need it.  By purchasing fruits and veggies more often (for me, this means twice per week), I focus on using up what we have and buying only what we need.  There’s not nearly as much waste and things taste so much better fresh.

Join the Challenge! Join us in the Easy Organic Living community on BabyCenter and learn more about the quest to buy and eat organic.  Use some of the suggestions above and give us your feedback about how the strategies worked for you.

Your comments on this and other Easy Organic Living Challenge posts will enter you to win an Easy Organic Living Reusable Tote Bag filled with goodies including a wide variety of coupons and samples of organic foods, an Eric Carle growth chart, Body + Soul Greener Living Guidebooks, Healthy Child Healthy World’s newest educational DVD, “Wake-Up to 5 Easy Steps,” Dirty Dozen/Clean Fifteen wallet cards, kids activity books and more.

*PS: If you haven’t visited the Stonyfield website to hear President and CEO, Gary Hirshberg, rap about healthy living, a healthy planet and purchasing power,  PLEASE DO!