For many people, one of their goals or resolutions for the new year might be to be less wasteful. But while having this goal is great, you’ve got to have a plan in place to actually make this actionable.
If this is something that you’re wanting to work on in the future, here are three ways that you can become less wasteful at home.
Stop Using Plastic Bags
Plastic is one of the biggest ways that people can start to be less wasteful and make better choices for the environment.
Think about how many plastic bags you have in your house or in your car. In addition to the bags you’re buying at the store, like for storage, you’re also getting plastic bags when you go shopping, with the items that you buy, and from various other sources. So rather than bringing more plastic bags home, you should try to find ways to stop using them altogether.
According to Brittany Nims, a contributor to The Huffington Post, you can usually find an easy way to replace what you use plastic bags for by choosing a reusable option. For grocery shopping, there are all kinds of reusable bags available to use. And to replace sandwich bags or other zippered bags that you may use in the kitchen for food storage, you can find things made of silicon or beeswax for these same purposes.
Start Using Real Stuff
Along with the plastic bags that you use, you should also try to find a way to replace all of the single-use items that you have in your life.
To do this, Katie Holdefehr, a contributor to Real Simple, advises that you start using real stuff rather than anything that’s disposable. This means that you should use real plates, cups, and bowls in the kitchen as well as real flatware. Instead of buying paper towels or napkins, get kitchen cloths or cloth napkins to use and then wash. By doing this, you’ll have a lot less waste to get rid of at the end of each day.
Eat Your Leftovers
Another way that people are wasteful at home is through not eating the food they buy or cook with and then throwing it away or letting it go bad.
To keep this from happening, you may want to buy less groceries at a time so that your food won’t go bad before you can use it. Then, for the food that you do make at home, Julie Sprankles, a contributor to Apartment Therapy, shares that you should commit to saving and eating your leftovers before you make any new food. And if food does go bad, you should look to compost it rather than just throwing it away.
If you’re wanting to be less wasteful within your own home, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you accomplish this goal.