Let’s face it; there’s no more buzzier buzzword out there for home sustainability than zero waste. And for good reason, because we waste a lot. But if you are looking for that magic switch to flip and eliminate all of your trash overnight, you’re going to be looking for a while. So, instead of saying “I’m going to be zero waste by next week” maybe start with a goal of having less waste.
If you search for zero waste, you’ll find a bunch of inspiring folks who are either completely living that lifestyle or pretty dang close to it. And they’re awesome, all the way down to their mason jar of trash for the year (!!!). But most of them will probably say it was a long journey to get there. So that’s what we’re going to work on today: what are some of the small steps we can take now in order to get farther down the zero waste path. Here’s three easy steps to start to reduce waste in your kitchen.
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Paper or Plastic? NEITHER!
Target: Shopping Bags
If you’re not yet using reusable shopping bags, check out my recent post on getting them. This one is super easy, and may even result in your grocery experience being more organized. And along the lines of shopping bags, also give reusable produce bags a try.
Just keep them with your reusable shopping bags, and bust them out next time you’re scoping out those those sweet vegetables. Then leave those store produce bags alone, and you don’t cause a scene in Isle 4 when you accidentally undo the whole roll. Bonus: you’re farmer’s market-ready!
Packaging = Waste
Target: Food Packaging
Now, bulk grocery shopping is a topic I’ll save for another post (and you’re awesome if you’re ready for that!) but mainly what I’m thinking here is buying in larger quantities at your regular grocery store, and / or avoiding single serving packaging. Those cheese sticks the kids love? Most of us (me included) are guilty of buying those; try block cheese instead. As you’re putting away those groceries, just cut the cheese 🙂 up into kid-sized pieces and store those for later use. Just slightly more work, but way less single use plastic. Get yourself a good cheese slicer and don’t look back.
Same goes for granola bars, goldfish, chips, you name anything that comes in single serving plastic; it probably also comes in a larger size. Put those glass food storage containers to use and store smaller portions if needed. And if you’re a total rock star; start making those granola bars at home for zero packaging waste!
Cloth > Paper
Target: Paper Products
Think about moving away from paper towels and paper napkins to cloth towels and cloth napkins. The napkins are pretty easy; shop for some you like, and just use them.
Or if you’re especially crafty, make your own!
For paper towel replacement, if you don’t care what they look like, buy some shop towels to keep under your sink. Use them when you’d normally use a paper towel, and throw them in your laundry.
If you like the “roll of paper towels on the counter” look, there’s some cool options available now to use cloth towels right there in exactly the same fashion.
I’m planning on digging into cloth napkins and towels more in a later post, but this should be enough to whet your appetite.
One Ticket to Zero Waste Town, please.
Summary time:
- Take your own bags, even for produce
- Don’t purchase individual servings; buy bigger quantities and split them up yourself
- Break up with paper; start a relationship with cloth
Plus, don’t forget to compost those food scraps, recycle whatever packaging you can, and always drink with reusable bottles and reusable straws. Easy peasy! So if you’ve crushed all this and are ready for more, let me know in the comments. And to stay in the loop, drop your email address in the form below. You got this; start with less waste today.