neverhomemaker: less waste

Showing posts with label less waste. Show all posts

Less Waste // What we're trying

>> Monday, August 27, 2018

House cleaning has been going in cycles. But the simple tricks are definitely helping. Still, it seems like no matter what we do, we get one area clean . . . move to the next . . . and then it just starts all over. Obviously this is what happens, but why is it so darned frustrating? I've turned my nesting to things that we need to check off the list before baby comes, like cleaning car seats and getting our van setup for three kids versus two. I also made a quadruple batch of naan bread for our freezer yesterday afternoon.

But today I wanted to share a quick post because some of you have requested it. For my birthday this year, I decided to get more serious about lowering our waste. I bought a few things that have actually helped quite a bit! And I get lots of questions about what they are, where I got them, and if they're working, so I figured I'd just give you the low-down here.

Silpat Mat

We do a lot of baking in our house, and -- as a result -- I go through a lot of parchment paper. I had used a Silpat Mat years ago but then ruined it doing so very high heat baking (bagels on 550+ degrees). One of my friends posted a picture of hers and I decided to give it another try. It's a silicone baking mat that you can use up to 480 degrees F. I use it every single day! So, as long as you don't bake really high temps (consider getting a pizza stone for that), I'd highly recommend this mat.

Cloth Bags

I have expanded our fleet of cloth zippered bags for snacks and lunches. So much better than using countless Zip-Lock bags that are used for five seconds for Cheerio's or pretzels and then tossed in the trash. They're cute, too. C'mon, you know they are. Mine are from Planet Wise and BumKins. I tend to get the sandwich size bags, but I may get some of the small snack baggies too.

I also see that Planet Wise now makes clear baggies, and I love that idea for more everyday things in my fridge.

Which leads to . . .

Silicone Bags

Then I needed reusable bags for all the refrigerated stuff -- leftover chickpeas, opened cheeses, stray avocados, etc. -- and I've always had such a hard time figuring out what to do. I did the whole beeswax wrap thing for a while and it worked OK. But I never totally got on board. Then I found these Silicone Bags . . . and they are MAGIC. They're the product I'm most enthusiastic about because they work really well and things don't spill. They're also very thick and you can use them for freezing, steaming, cooking, and even Sous Vide (which I don't have). But still, cool.

Also -- Amazon has many similar bags for sale, but the ones I got (and linked to) seem to have the best reviews. I have read it matters which ones you get. I have used mine daily for over a month and have absolutely no tearing or other issues.

Bowl Covers

Lots of baking, again, leads to lots of plastic wrap usage. I was using tea towels as well, but decided to up my game and get some proper bowl covers. I got two different types of sets. One that's breathable -- Earth Bunny 100% cotton -- and one that's more like wet bag material -- Wegreeco. Of the two, I actually use the Wegreeco (less expensive) more because it's air-tight in the fridge and helps create a nice moist rising environment for breads. But the fabric ones let air through and are good for popping over baked goods like muffins. Stephen also uses the largest one to put over his kombucha brew.

Each set came with a large, medium, and small. And they are all currently in use! I toss the Earth Bunny in with the wash and rise the Wegreeco out in the sink and let air-dry.

Lunch Box

Every year I cheap out on lunch boxes. And every year I am frustrated because I find myself packing the same old thing over and over again for lack of proper storage options. I decided to indulge in a YumBox Bento Box for Ada after seeing a snack-sized box in person at an L.L. Bean outlet this summer. I actually bought the snack box on the spot because it was so well made and really seems to be a tight seal. Ada's has five compartments and the specific design I got for her labels different food groups so that she can get involved with packing her own lunch.

She's really excited about this box, and I will report back on how it works from week to week. I read countless bento box reviews and this one consistently gets the highest ratings from parents. I may even want to get a second one, but they are $30, so I'll wait and see if just one will work for now.

Silicone Straws

The most awesome thing of all? The straws we're using now. I had used metal straws was liked them OK . . . and kind of cringed at the thought of glass straws. But I happened to find Silikids silicone straws at Target on clearance once day. Brilliant. They've been a total game-changer. They come in different sizes so they fit all our cups. I immediately went and bought another set on Amazon. I also got a few of their silicone cup toppers because all my Boon cup toppers have torn. These ones seem like they'll last a lot longer. I just rinse them out ASAP and let them dry standing up in our grass drying mat.

I'll be back soon with some thoughts on sending Eloise to "school" this fall and more nesting notes. It's getting crazy over here. In a good way.

Zero Waste Update

>> Thursday, August 17, 2017

It’s been a while since I wrote about our less-waste efforts. To be clear, the movement is called zero waste, but we are still very far away from declaring the 100% zero waste goal as a goal for our family. When we left off, we knew our weak spot. We had tons of packaged stuff in the pantry. While not everything was garbage, our recycling was overflowing each week. In a word, it was overwhelming.

BTW: If you’re interested, here are 12 tools to help you transition to less waste.

And here’s where we started with "zero-waste” in the spring.

To recap, here’s what we were doing right back then:

Bringing our own bags for grocery and other shopping. Including produce bags. (Here are more ways we've tried eliminating plastics.)

Buying produce from a CSA where we fill a huge bag with the foods versus getting them packaged in the store.

Using DIY beeswax wrap to cover goods in the refrigerator.

Trying to buy foods in bulk when possible.

~~Cloth diapering -- at least some of the time.~~

Using or fixing the things we have versus always going out and buying new.

Carrying our own water bottles (always) and coffee mugs (when we remember).

Using a cloth towel system versus paper towels.

Making many of our own cleaners, like laundry detergent, dish washing detergent, and all-purpose spray.

And here’s where we’ve improved:

Started making even more of our own pantry items, including items we eat A LOT of, like yogurt, bread, mozzarella cheese, and jarred jalapeños, pickles, etc. Posts are coming on all of these things.

Stopped eating many packaged foods, like tortilla chips or gummies, and transitioned to more whole or homemade foods, like apples and homemade granola bars. I’ll be sure to post more when the school year starts about how we’re dealing with this in relation to school lunches.

In general, we have really changed how we eat. I’m cooking much more from bulk ingredients, like dry black beans, and freezing a lot of ingredients, like bulk picked blueberries. This area has been the hardest because it requires a lot of thought and planning.

Made a new batch of beeswax wrap to replace plastic wrap. We also found these nifty silicone bowl lids that we use quite frequently -- they use suction to stay on top.

Refreshed all our at-home cleaning supplies (links above and below) and we’ve added a few antimicrobial wood fiber cloths to our no-paper towel collection.

I finally purchased silicone squeeze packets -- I went with The Original Squeeze ones -- to replace all those individual baby foods and applesauces we had been buying.

While we never used fabric softener or dryer sheets, I did also get some wool dryer balls to use. I’m excited to see how they work with my essential oils.

I continue to buy 98 percent of my clothing (and Eloise’s) second-hand (here are my favorite thrift shopping tips!). Ada’s wardrobe is about 60 percent second-hand, but my mother-in-law bought her a bunch of new school clothing from Target this year. Very much appreciated.

// Fail

I am always real with you guys. No fronting here. Our current weak spot is that I have decided not to cloth diaper. After I wrote the last post on less waste, I made a concerted effort to get back into it. I tried for several weeks to get into a groove. The thing is, Eloise wasn’t a fan. I could tell she wasn’t liking being wetter than disposables made her. She was also getting rashes far more often. Then our washing machine died and we waited a few months to buy a new one (because money). I still have them folded in the drawer next to the disposable diapers.

Excuses, excuses. I know tons of people who absolutely love cloth diapering. I’ve have good and bad experiences. I don’t really know what to do. I feel guilty a lot of the time. It’s one area that should be “easy” to navigate. But for whatever reason, it just hasn’t worked for us.

Many of you have been asking about our homemade pantry items. In my next post, I’ll cover the tools we use to create things like homemade breads, yogurt, cheese, canned goods, etc.

Homesteading // Less Waste, pt. 1

>> Tuesday, January 12, 2016

This is a topic I’ve wanted to cover for a while. I touch on it from time to time, but have never dedicated an entire post to waste. You see, in all our budget and homesteading efforts, we still have a hefty trash bag at the end of each week. Lots of recycling, too. And, like many families, we go through good and bad cycles with trying to lessen our environmental impact.

Stephen is actually the driver behind this household goal for the new year. We’ve been watching Morgan Spurlock’s Inside Man on Netflix and finally got to the episode on where our garbage goes. We’ve seen all sorts of other features on this topic, and going to college in an uber eco-conscious town had us composting, recycling, and making package-free choices from young adulthood.

Then we moved seven years ago and got somewhat lazy.

Where we live, the opportunities to buy things in bulk are there . . . they’re just not terribly convenient. Composting is something we tend to do a much better job with during the summer months. And there’s a whole lot of other stuff to take into consideration.

I thought I’d share what we do in the following areas (just the first five -- the easiest to tackle, in my opinion), as well as where we can use some improvement. It’s our goal to expend the extra energy it takes to make strides toward being a less wasteful home. I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas about how to lean out waste in these categories too!

Saying NO to Plastic Bags

This is a natural -- and it’s likely something most people are doing already. We have a good stock of our own reusable grocery bags and bins. My favorite is our collapsable market style basket that is sturdy enough to handle a full load of even the heaviest groceries. I also keep a compact reusable bag inside my purse at all times for those random shopping trips.

Action: Purchase (or create) and stock of some produce bags (I like these washable ones and these mesh ones) for taking along on shopping trips. Not a lot of the produce is available in bulk (like greens, carrots, for example), so we’ll do what we can. Also very excited to do a CSA this year. We ended up skipping out last year because we just weren’t around much during the summer.

Buying in Bulk

Bring your own containers to the store, figure out the tare, and fill them up with food. Here’s where things have gotten a little hard for us. My budget tells me that shopping at Aldi is king for saving cash. In theory, buying in bulk is cheaper, but at the stores in our area -- not entirely so. We’re trying to determine and cost-compare certain things (flour, peanut butter, grains, beans, oats, soap, honey + syrup, coffee, tea, etc.) to see what we could start buying in bulk.

Action: This weekend we’re heading to an out-of-the-way natural foods store to check out prices. The one closest to us gives me some sticker shock. I’ll report back soon.

Banishing Paper Towels

We’re doing pretty well on this one. We bought tons of basic flour sack towels that we keep in a bin inside the kitchen. If there’s a mess or something to wipe up, we grab a towel. Same for most cleaning tasks. We had old rags and washcloths to do the dirty work. Then we wash them twice a week. The stash is going strong, and I’d love to write up exactly how this system works in another post (how we store, how we wash, etc.).

Action: I’ll admit we do still buy natural disinfecting wipes for the dirtiest of messes. I know it’s pretty easy to make these by mixing together your own cleaning solution and soaking rags in it. So, that’s an area for improvement.

Skipping Plastic Wrap, etc.

I wrote about my Reusable Food Wrap a while back. It lasted a few months, but I got distracted and didn’t make more. The stuff was perfect for topping bowls, wrapping cheese, and it was also really easy and inexpensive to make. We’ve also slowly been building our army of covered glass containers (we have that exact set and hope to add to it) that we use for storing hummus, sauces, leftovers, etc.

Action: Make more reusable food wrap. Get a few more glass containers. Do not buy more plastic wrap. Somehow I always end up with one because we have more to cover than I have things to cover them. Along these same lines, I’d love to find a better storage option for my freezer stuff (I do some glass, but all my bagels, burgers, and soups, etc. end up in plastic freezer bags).

Making Our Own Stuff

One way to eliminate waste is by not buying stuff in the first place. We’ve done a good job making our own laundry detergent and storing it in a big jug atop the washer. We also mix together basic cleaners that actually work using a solution of castile soap, water, and essential oils. Wow can you use castile soap and baking soda and vinegar in 1,000,000 different ways! As with everything else, though, this all takes time, energy, and foresight.

Action: Make a chart of all the cleaners and other household things we can make ourselves. Write down all the recipes so they are handy. And maybe even create some schedule for refreshing our stock of them. I’d also like to improve my formula for dishwashing detergent because our hard water has been an issue lately.

Do you have a goal to create less waste in 2016?

What are your action items?