How to Start Going Organic

I would start with the items you use or consume the most first. We switched to eco friendly-homemade cleaners long before we bought organic anything. Just take baby steps and you will get the hang of it. I would suggest the book Growing Up Green and The Eco-nomical Baby Guide.

Starting small is good advice because it makes things more manageable. I started with organic foods, including all dairy, produce (fruits and veggies) and meat and poultry. If that's cost prohibitive, you can look for locally grown produce which tends to have less exposure to harmful chemicals or also meats and poultry fed a vegetarian diet and given no antibiotic or hormones. Whole Foods is a great place for all that - if you're just buying produce etc it's not more expensive than other markets. (really)

Then you can brach out when you starting finishing regular products in your home, i.e. cereal, oatmeal other foods...I am now on to organic or all natural hand soaps, cleaners etc.

I also had to switch to organic hypoallergenic diapers b/c my daughter has very sensitive skin and pampers and huggies gave her a bad reaction. I also didn't like the gel residue you find on the baby's skin.

Once you feel comfortable with all that you'l know what you like and don't like. It's all a move in a good direction, just don't go overboard right away. Start small to figure out what you need and what brands you like.

Small note: with my daughter's sensitive skin (and even my son who is not so sensitive) I found that organic baby soap/shampoo dried their skin out - pretty badly and I tried a few different brands. So, I use Aquafore baby wash on them and have excellent results. You may find that you'll use some organic products and some mainstream products for a while until you find out what's right for your family. good luck

I'm what you might call semi-crunchy. I try to do as much as I can to use more organic products and ways of living. I've started slowly, and we're doing more all the time. That's my biggest suggestion. Just start slowly, and go from there. It's not all or nothing.

We switched to cloth diapers about 8 months ago, and it's been the best decision!! We started out to save money, but when researching I learned all the other great benefits (no more buying diapers that will sit in landfills for 500 years; fewer-or no-diaper rashes; NO more poop blowouts; great for babies with sensitive skin; saves a ton of money! the list goes on...). There are many different kinds. If you're interested in learning more, just message me, I'll be happy to give you more info on how to get started and some great websites to check out! (it may sound like I'm selling something, lol, but I'm not! I just love them and wish I had known sooner how easy and fun CD's are, so I try to share the love!)

For cleaning products, I've started using vinegar/water to clean around the house. It works great, is cheap, and much better than harsh chemical cleaners. Otherwise I'll buy organic and natural cleaners (depends on what's on sale).

As far as food goes, I buy some organic produce and meats, but not always. Unfortunately, they are typically more expensive, and we're on a tight budget, so I do it when I can. Mostly I buy organic produce since there's not a big price difference. I like to buy locally, but there's not a place to do that close to me, so it's hard to do sometimes.

For baby products, I love California Baby!! It is more expensive, but it's so much better for my kids skin, and a little goes a looong way. It's not all gel-y like the Johnson's stuff. Plus, it smells great! Their diaper rash cream is safe to use with cloth diapers, too (which I rarely use since E has only had 1 rash since switching to cloth, and that was due to a bad reaction to yogurt).

I think that you need to go slowly and practically. We started with organic milk. We now get our milk delivered, so while it isn't "Organic", the cows are not given antibiotics, etc. I did try the fruit, but I don't live in a place that has the variety of organic produce or have it at a reasonable price, so that didn't go so well. I do cloth diapers, but tried the green diapers when I had to do some disposables. I do organic shampoos and conditioners. But it is a slow process, and until the market catches up, I have to weight cost to "cost".

start with meat, cheese, milk (any dairy) and vegetables that you dont peel to eat

We've been making the transition slowly as well, especially now that my son eats everything we eat I am more careful about what I put on the table. We are vegetarian, so meat isn't something I buy, but if I did I would only buy organic or local and grassfed. The cost difference is substantial, but well worth it from what I've read. If you are trying to offset the cost of the organic meat, you could add a few vegetarian meals to your normal meal cycle. Beans are so cheap, even organic ones and most people will eat burritos, stuffed peppers, pasta dishes, etc without the meat and not really miss it. We can buy a bag of dried organic beans for like $2 and it will make us 3 meals of bean enchilladas. Dairy is also something that I only buy organic now and if a store doesn't have organic I will only buy dairy that doesn't have rBGH. As far as produce I will not buy any of the dirty dozen unless they are organic:
1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Bell peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Kale
9. Lettuce
10. Imported grapes
11. Carrots
12. Pears
This is a list of ones that have low pesticide levels, so in a pinch if I can't get organic these are ones I'll buy conventional:
1. Onions
2. Avocados
3. Sweet corn
4. Pineapple
5. Mangoes
6. Asparagus
7. Sweet peas
8. Kiwis
9. Cabbage
10. Eggplant
11. Papaya
12. Watermelon
13. Broccoli
14. Tomatoes
15. Sweet potatoes

To help reduce the cost we are part of a CSA, which means we get local, organic produce delivered to us once a week. Ours is through lancasterfarmfresh.com, and I don't know if they deliver in your area or not, but you can check localharvest.com to search for farmers markets, CSAs, local farms, things like that. I have friends who have found farms to get meat from on the site and then you get quality organic meat for cheaper because you cut out the middle man.

Finally, cleaning products and stuff like that. We do a lot of our shopping at Whole Foods, which has gotten a bad wrap for being expensive, but I think it's because they sell mostly organic, which is more expensive. I think their organic produce and eco-friendly products are cheaper than I can get at other places. Method is a brand I have had a lot of luck with. We use their diaper cream, dish soap and automatic dish washing pellets. I also use cloth diapers, like another mom mentioned. We didn't buy organic in these because at the time I couldn't afford it. But research has shown the pesticides don't make it into the cotton, it's just worse for the environment. If you want to try cloth and are overwhelmed by the choices please send me a message. I don't know how old your child is, but it has saved us at least $1000.

In my experience going organic and eco-friendly has been more expensive in some ways and less in others, so it evens out in our budget and I feel better about what we are eating/using and about our impact on the environment.

The smallest, single change you can make for the good of the planet is to buy organic milk. See what brands are avaiable in your area and then check their organic ratings to see which are the highest (and not just marketing hype, like Horizon) and buy that. It supports an entire ecosystem (the food, the farm, the animals, the milk).
Also look into "The Dirty Dozen" list of fruits and veggies that have/hold the most pesticides and buy those.

I asked this same question about a year ago on here. I got a lot of good answers too. We started with fruits and veggies. I told my husband that anything without a peeling on it is the only fruit/veg will be organic for sure. I was just watching Dr. Oz last Thrusday and he was saying the top three fruits you should buy organic are strawberries, apples and peaches. I would say tho that anything with a peeling on it that you eat, those are the necessary ones. The pesticides get on the porous ares of those and veg's like broccoli among others and it's very hard to wash off. After watching Food Inc, my husband had decided on his own that we will be eating mostly organic everything else too. It's very expensive but we haven't been sick (except an occasional cold) in the past year since switching. That movie was a huge eye opener and makes you rethink how you eat. Also we don't eat meat every day, but when we do, we do free range/cage free chicken, or grass fed beef. The other days, we do vegetarian dishes so that helps with the food budget.

I am right there with you! I am in the process of switching to ALL organic - little by little. We are a fast paced not-so-organized family and tend to start most of our meals with a box (by the way the Macaroni Grill Meals are excellent, but unfortunately not organic).

I started by hunting down stores with organic isles, then I found a couple organic stores (though they are about an hour away). I started with all stuff my daughter eats in her lunch, then I moved on to ingredients we have in the house and I'm now working on our staples - like pancake mix (we eat breakfast for dinner once a week). So far I haven't made the switch to organic meat, but I'm work on it!

I'll be reading the comments here too!

i would start with either vegetables or fruits and see what is on sale that week at your local grocery store. if you still have farm stands, buy there before you go to the grocery store.
i actually woudl recommend you start with dairy being orgranic and your meats. then once you get those, then go to produce. so milk, yogurt, cream, butter, chicken, turkey, beef, eggs, etc shoudl be your first choice in organic.
J.
nutrition coach
www.n-im.net

It's expensive, so I juggle it out. I would start with milk, meat,chicken and anything your child eats/drinks a lot of. For example, in my house it's yogurt and apple juice. I don't sweat organic cookies because she only has 1-2 a day. She does drink a lot of apple juice so I do that.