Getting Rid of Waste in the Kitchen

On Wednesday, I wrote that recycling, while good, is simply not enough. Really, we all need to be reducing waste to begin with, rather than relying on recycling. Remember the phrase is reduce, reuse, recycle in that order!! Here are some ideas to reduce and reuse in the kitchen.

1) Get rid of the paper towels. I don't have any in my kitchen. Instead I have plenty of rags which works just as well, and when the rags are dirty, I just throw them in my laundry.

2) Cook, don't microwave. I used to jokingly say that I couldn't cook, but I could microwave! Since then, I've learned to cook and have saved a lot of waste that you get with those pre-packaged meals.

3) Reuse yogurt containers for leftovers. Yogurt containers are surprisingly good tupperware containers.

4) Or ... make your own yogurt! Note: I do not do this. But I hear from many sources that it's pretty easy.

5) Reuse your pasta jars. Pasta jars have endless uses. I use one to store my sugar in. They also make nice toothbrush holders.

6) Reuse your Ziploc bags. I try not to use these too often, but they do come in handy. So I just wash them out and reuse!

7) Use extra plastic bags as trash bags instead of buying trash bags. Even if you don't use plastic bags at the store yourself, plastic bags are easy to find. Ask for them on Freecycle, and you will be inundated with them!

8) Use rags instead of sponges. Again, rags can be washed, sponges cannot.

9) Use cloth napkins instead of paper. Added bonus that cloth napkins automatically make you classier!

10) Buy food in bulk and bring your own packaging. Food in bulk bins is often cheaper than packaged food, too!

Those are my suggestions to cut down waste, and you'll find that most of those ideas will save you money as well. What do you do to get rid of waste in your kitchen?