In a recent article, TV meteorologist, columnist and host of DoYourPart.com, Terri Bennett shares some of her most effective tips on slashing away that grocery bills and at the same time helping to save the planet.

Instead of buying popular store cleaners, try using white vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and borax to clean your home. It is a lot cheaper and gives the shopper more for less. For instance, one box of Borax, which has a net weight of 76 ounces can make almost 19 gallons of mildew and mold cleaner.

Try shopping for food items that are not yet ‘prepped and ready.’ For instance, buy a whole chicken instead of those that are already cut, skinned or deboned. In fruits and vegetables, buy less of those that are already cut and peeled as those cost more than those that are sold whole. After all, saving money on groceries is worth spending a little more time in the kitchen.

Buying a large quantity of something is definitely cheaper as compared to buying one or two boxes of it. Buying individually packed cheese crackers cost $0.40 for every ounce while buying a big box of them costs $3.79 or $0.28 for every ounce. With that, you get to save $0.12 for every ounce of cheese cracker, especially if you eat a lot of those.

Try to shop for fruits and vegetables when they are in season as they are definitely cheaper then. Also, if fruits and vegetable that are organically grown are on sale, buy those. Fruits and vegetables can be preserved by freezing, canning or dehydrating. You can certainly save money this way and still enjoy them.