The Whole Foods story

Whole Foods, the fancy-schmancy grocery store known for selling quality organic food, is having a bit of a problem. Seems people aren't willing to spend half their paychecks on good eats when times are tough.

So the chain is trying to shake its image. But one thing it can't do at this point is appeal to the huge part of the population it's ignored for so long. There are 16 stores in my state of Illinois and every one of them is in Chicago or the Windy City suburbs. Big cities. Hip neighborhoods. That's where Whole Foods built its base.

Don't get me wrong. I love Whole Foods. Yum. But it looks like I'll have to stick mostly to my local grocery (the St. Louis-based Schnuck's that built a store a mile from my house off a bike trail) local farmers (it is the Midwest, after all) and local specialty stores.

Good luck with that image problem of yours Whole Foods. You're going to need it.

Photo by beardenb on Flickr

Cheap Green Tip 10: Think small

Americans like their things big.

We have larger vehicles. We have super-sized closets that, no fibbing, are often larger than my childhood bedroom. We have bigger plates to accommodate our larger portions.

And we have big houses. In fact, the average home today is 40 percent larger than 35 years ago. More space to store all our crap. More space to escape the annoying habits of those living with us. More space to impress our friends.

But there's a lot to be said for a smaller house. You use less of everything to maintain them. Less furniture. Less energy. Less frilly knickknacks. It really makes you think twice before you buy a hall clock from Pottery Barn.

Smaller houses are often older houses, built closer to city centers. For me, that means my 1,600 square foot ranch (which includes a furnished basement) is just a mile from downtown. I can easily reach shopping, entertainment and services by bus or bike.

Plus, it's very green-hip and eco-fabulous to live fantastically in a small space. Chic, cozy and, though rarely mentioned, cost-effective.

Tip: If you live in a larger home, try closing off a few rooms you hardly use to save energy.

Cheap Green Tip 8: Recycle

Technically, this isn't going to save you a ton of cash. I guess, if I were really stretching the term cheap, I could say you save on trash bag cash. Or maybe I could argue that by recycling your batteries and newspapers and furniture that you're keeping items in circulation and saving money for the planet.

Hmmm. Not working. Well. Just recycle, that's why.

Just because we know you're busy blah, blah, blah, half of all communities have curbside recycling. It's really just as easy as tossing your plastic bottles in a container separate from your trash can. In my community, we have bins set up throughout the city that allows me to recycle at my leisure, which I kind of like.


And what I've noticed? My family of four never uses more than a single trash can each week. And once you get rolling, you can focus your attention on reducing waste before you bring it home.

For instance, I've just stopped buying water. Those plastic bottles are really a burden on the landfills. And I buy products with less packaging, which in turn produces less waste.

Amazing how that works.

Tip: Visit Earth911 for all things recycling. They have ways you can recycle the basics (cans, bottles and paper) along with other items you might not have considered like electronics and pharmaceuticals, although I'm unsure as to why anybody would throw Vicodin down the drain.