Workable Tips on How to Reduce Kitchen Waste Effectively!
When you are a full-time working mom of two, managing kitchen waste can be quite a hectic job of its own. Especially when summers are around the corner.
On my self aware journey to consciously be an eco-activist, I knew I had to start with myself. Going plastic free was easy, and buying reusable products was not too bad, especially when I switched to Mioeco for its amazing eco-friendly sponges and paper towels; but managing waste on your own was a tricky task.
However I can proudly vouch that after many successful failures, I have finally mastered the art of ‘how to reduce kitchen waste’.
Everyone has their own journey of highs and lows. So here are some easy tips on how to reduce kitchen waste.
You're welcome to share your own experiences on how to minimize kitchen waste.
Start with Reducing Waste
…And this comes with a lot of advance planning. As I said while juggling between how to go plastic free and creating healthy lunches for weight loss, there was a lot of planning I had to do. Actively managing my adulthood into Google sheets was my first step to rescue.
Planning ahead when wanting to manage kitchen waste can be really helpful. This helps reduce extra cooking and then tossing the leftovers in the bin. You can also be more specific in how many people you are cooking for, the number of ingredients to use and a rough measure of how many helpings you would need.
Planning your meals this way will also make your grocery shopping more affordable. This does not mean that you don't treat yourself, but this is a good measure of how you can manage your kitchen before the food goes bad.
Take a Reusable Bag for Grocery Shopping
Another tactful way of reducing kitchen waste. If you look at your bin ( and you can just walk to your kitchen right now), you will see a lot of tins, boxes and bags. Most of these can be avoided if you simply take a cloth bag for your grocery.
This way you can avoid a lot of plastic or styrofoam packaging that you won't have to dispose of.
Always Pick the least Packaged Food Item
It's the small things that can help us reduce and manage waste effectively. Especially when it comes to the importance of eco-friendly packing. Instead of going for plastic packed fruit or vegetables, take your recyclable bag and use that instead.
It might feel like a hassle if you are super tight on schedule (I can relate). But it is going to do a huge favour to our environment. Picking up glass packed items is also much more preferable as glass can easily be recycled.
Freeze the Food you don't want to Eat
One great way to minimise the food clutter is freezing it. Instead of disposing of leftovers, you can freeze them. Apart from leftovers, you can also freeze the fresh produce before it goes bad.
This way you will be reducing your kitchen waste in a more sustainable manner. For example, berries, spinach and tomatoes can easily be stored and used for a long time. You can also puree some produce and stock it in glass jars.
Use Ceramic Cutlery
If you are hosting a big party, serving in big plastic dishes sounds like the best hassle free idea. But it certainly is not when you are trying to manage waste. This will only result in one big puddle of plastic disaster.
To avoid this, you have to take out your mum’s crockery.
You may have to put in some extra effort to clean, but hey it is much better than being the person who left plastic that won't degrade for years!
Use Refills More Often
Instead of buying new dishwashers or handwashes and cluttering on more and more plastic bottles, opt for refills. They are more budget friendly and will last you much longer than your plastic bottles.
Some other tips on how to reduce kitchen waste that have helped me over the past year are;
- Switching to eco-friendly sponges and paper towels
- Making my very own frozen fruit and veggies instead of buying them from the store
- Compost your leftovers or food scraps if you have space
- Get crafty with the plastic in your house and reuse it whenever possible.
- Use reusable food wraps instead of aluminium foils or plastic wraps
That's all of my how to reduce waste in kitchen tips. Remember how these small changes can leave a bigger impact on not only your home but also on our environment.
