Like it or not we live in a society where waste is simply the norm, however, we can all make steps towards changing this by aiming to reduce waste. Meaning, taking small doable steps to directly decreasing your household’s waste while ultimately saving you money and helping to save our planet!
10 Simple Tips to Reduce Waste, Save Money, and Help the Environment
Tip 1: Don’t Take That Plastic Bag
Next time you venture to the grocery store or simply run some errands, always take reusable shopping totes with you. Make sure you always have some available by storing them in your car. Also, be sure to read our article, “Seriously – Don’t Take That Plastic Bag” to learn more about how plastic is effecting our planet.
Tip 2: Stop Wasting Food – Make a Meal Plan
Make a meal plan at the beginning of the week and only buy the groceries you know that you will need and eat throughout the week. This will help decrease the amount of food that ends up in the trash. Did you know that in America 40% of our groceries end up in the trash?!
Tip 3: Stop Wasting Food – Storing and Keeping Foods for Future Use
We totally get buying in bulk to save money or buying extra food items when they are on sale, however, this may simply require a bit more planning to avoid the food from ending up in the trash. When you do buy in bulk or buy more than usual always plan for ways to keep it fresh until you are ready to use it. Some ideas to think about are canning and freezing.
Tip 4: Stop Wasting Food – Share When Dining Out
Not only is this tip good for your waistline, but it is great for ensuring that no food goes to waste! When dining out our portions are about double what they should be so if you are dining with friends or family opt to share a dish.
Tip 5: Stop Using Disposable Dishes and Cutlery
Help save the planet by simply opting to wash dishes instead of throwing them in the trash. Not only is this good for the planet, but it will save you some $$ on constantly purchasing disposable items.
Tip 6: Stop Buying Bottled Water
Environmentally plastic bottles are a huge problem, but for the purpose of this article we won’t even begin to dive in on that topic – you can dive more into that topic here. But for the purpose of decreasing your waste, simply invest in two things: 1. Reusable water bottle/s and 2. Water purifier. These are both incredibly inexpensive items which will help to cut down on costs associated with buying bottled water and also help the environment.
Tip 7: DIY Household Cleaners
Again, help save the environment by cutting down on the packaging associated with buying household cleaners while saving some $$. One of my personal favorite cleaners that can be used on just about every surface in your house is vinegar water. Simply take a spray bottle an fill it about a quarter of the way with vinegar and the rest water. Viola! You have an easy-to-make non-toxic cleaner that can be used for just about every surface in your home.
Tip 8: Buying Used Over New
With such easy access to buying used items, it is an absolute no brainer to check garage sale sites and other apps to purchase perfectly good used items rather than buy new. Again, this is not only good for the environment, but also for your wallet!
Tip 9: Fix it
Far too often we toss items that are broken, however, the reality is many of these items are absolutely fixable! Before tossing a broken item into the trash to simply end up in a land fill think twice about whether it is fixable. Get a little handy and YouTube it! You can pretty much learn anything on YouTube.
Tip 10: Donate
Whenever possible avoid throwing items in the trash that can be donated. Just because you no longer have a need for them doesn’t mean someone else can’t use them! Reduce waste by giving away unwanted items.