When I had my first child, "organic" and "green" were not words you heard every day. Organic cotton clothing? Eco friendly toys? BPA free bottles? To most I was speaking a foreign language. I remember expecting my first child, my request for cloth diapers was met with a collective gasp. "Why would you want to do that, disposables are so much easier?" That was almost 30 years ago.

When the last of my seven children was born three years ago, organic baby products were now readily available and were an expected part of any nursery. And that child I mentioned, born almost 30 years ago? It was from her store that I purchased the organic cotton cloth diapers for child number seven!

What a road the years between these two children has been. As a young mom, I wanted to do everything right. I wanted to protect that small child of mine from any sort of harm. I envisioned a care-free child, running through a field of wildflowers in the country.

The reality I'm afraid, was anything but what I had hoped for. Lead paint scares, mad cow disease, asbestos in the schools, tainted baby food, it wasn't long before I realized it was in an uphill battle, and it wasn't going to be pretty. I couldn't sit back and wait for the world to become a safer place for my child. Nobody had her best interest at heart more than I did. I needed to be proactive and find a better way. It was trial and error at first, to be sure. But nothing gave me a better feeling than knowing I knew exactly what was in her food and where it came from.

I have to smile and chuckle when people say to me "Oh I would love to live a more green lifestyle, but I can't afford it." Raising my children in an eco friendly lifestyle, has been immensely rewarding personally, and financially.

Here are seven tips to help you go green, live a healthy lifestyle, and yes save money:

1. Grow an Herb and Vegetable Garden - It's true, kids will eat their vegetables, if they had a hand in growing them...well there is a better chance anyway.

2. Repurpose, Reuse & Recycle - A must for a large family, green or not! I love to hand one of the kids something I would usually recycle and ask "what should this be now?" Just watch their imagination go to work. Get together with other families that buy organic cotton clothing and swap clothes! In any group, there is almost always a child a size or two bigger than your child. This works great for organic cotton baby items too, such as: blankets, bibs, hooded towels, burp cloths slings, diapers and baby toys.

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