Learning to cut down on the amount of waste in your home is easier than you may think. From the small things, like plastic bags from the grocer, to larger items, like old furniture, there are cost-conscious and eco-friendly ways to reduce your impact on the environment and even save yourself some cash in the process! Check out our tips on how to reduce waste on food, household items, and more!

Reduce Waste: Food Items

I’ve done it a dozen times—buying a bottle of sauce that will make that stir-fry just right, or a carton of milk to use for cooking… but the meals never happen and those products sit and spoil. By the time I’m inspired to make the dish, the “Use by” or “Sell by” dates start to worry me and I end up dumping the product and recycling the container. I feel guilty about wasting food (and money!) but found that through websites like stilltasty.com you can get information on proper food storage to get the most bang for your buck with food. That cereal you opened a few days ago could last for weeks without going stale in a proper airtight container and that carton of eggs you bought on special at the grocery store could be good for another week if you chill it properly in your fridge (39 degrees)!  Here are my favorite tips to reduce waste with food items:  

• To avoid having long forgotten items, keep a tidy fridge and pantry and try to check your
  

  Find ways to reduce waste! From food, to plastics, and beyond!

  inventory weekly to be sure you’ve not missed anything.

• Designate a shelf or drawer for items that need to be eaten within the week and consider getting creative with their consumption!
• If you always end up with leftovers no one will eat, try freezing dishes that do well in the freezer, include a bit in everyone’s lunch within the next few days, or resolve to make smaller portions.
• Store leftover veggies used during cooking in clear containers, then turn them upside down and place them in the front of the fridge so that it’s easier to see the contents and you’ll remember to use them!

Using a tool like stilltasty.com will show you which food items are still safe for consumption, even if their sell or use by dates have passed as well as creative ways to store foods to keep them fresher, longer. No matter how well you’ve tried to keep the foods fresh, if you notice a change in odor, texture, or color, don’t risk it and never use baby formula past its date.

Reduce Waste: Household Items

Orange essential oil is a great addition to a DIY cleaner to help reduce waste from bottles!

Keeping rusted or water damaged tables, chairs with ripped cushions, or dressers with broken drawers to repair instead of dump is an obvious way to reduce waste but one that requires some dedication. Make a plan with your family or friends to do a weekend of DIY makeovers so that the task is fun and something that everyone can be a part of. There are several (easy!) step-by-step websites that can help you repair an old table, ripped chair cushions, and even how to fix water-stained wood. Before you decide to scrap that coffee table or set of chairs, consider a DIY project to reduce waste! Now that the weather is warming up, you can consider frequenting yard sales to breathe new life into a number of items that others will trash if they don’t find a new home. Rather than purchasing something new from a store, save a piece that will become an item in a landfill with a little elbow grease and fresh coat of paint!

Another household item to take into consideration when you’re looking for ways to reduce waste is with cleaners. We’ve shared ways you can green clean your home but do you realize that there are eco-friendly and inexpensive concentrated formulas available at most stores? Reusing spray bottles and mixing your own cleaning solution is a great way to not only reduce waste with the plastics involved in manufacturing the cleaners but also in the amount of water used in manufacturing! Young Living has created a household cleaner from their popular Theives oil but there are several other essential oils you can use to create a DIY cleaner at home!

Reduce Waste: Water

Purchasing efficient appliances is a great choice but one that most of us can’t afford to make right now. Don’t be discouraged, there are steps you can take with your current appliances to help conserve water and reduce its waste! For the kitchen consider:

• Scraping food from your plate rather than rinsing before the dishwasher; let it do the work instead. Also, try checking the settings on your dishwasher and choose an eco-friendly setting if one is available or skip the pre-rinse cycle as well as the drying cycle. These small steps can make a big impact in reducing waste and your utility bills!
• As tempting as using the garbage disposal is, try to stay away from it as much as possible and
  

  Quick tips on how to reduce the waste of water.

  consider instead starting a compost pile. The use of our disposals sends food sludge to wastewater treatment plants and eventually winds up in landfills. By skipping the disposal you’ll save on water and electricity as well!

• Saving the water you’ve used to make pasta is a not-so-obvious choice in reducing waste but this starchy leftover is a fantastic base for soups and can also be used in a homemade sauce to top your freshly prepared pasta!
• For extra points in reducing water waste, keep a bucket in your shower to fill with the not-warm-enough-yet water and save it for plants or for use in your humidifier.
• Hate junk mail? Take your address off direct-marketing lists and help save water. About 28 billion gallons of water are used to produce that unwanted paper each year. Get instructions here.
• Choose native plants to your area. Everyone loves pretty flowers but odds are they aren’t native to your area and require extra water. Native plants are more likely to be able to survive off of what Mother Nature provides without too much additional watering.
• Easy tips to remember are to run fewer, fuller loads  in your dishwasher or washing machine, take shorter showers, catch rainwater for plants or reuse your towel after showers.

The idea behind reducing waste is pretty simple but implementing it into your life will take some patience and practice. Some things just need to be trimmed from your life to make a great impact like the use of bottled water or plastic bags at the grocery store. Spending some extra bucks on a quality water bottle is a good investment as are a few reusable bags that can stay in your car so you won’t forget them on a quick grocery run. No one is perfect and we all forget sometimes so be sure to recycle that water bottle and make a collection of bags from the grocer to return for recycling. Several grocery stores collect your plastic bags to be recycled at no charge! Keep an eye out for this service and use it!

Walk or bike if you can. Turn it off it you aren’t using it. Fill it completely before you start a load. Buy local. Reuse and repurpose. Sounds easy and it is! Spring is a great time to cleanse your mind, body, and life, no matter how big or small the cleanse is!

What ways do you reduce waste?