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Low Waste Kitchen Swaps
Our kitchens are one of the areas of our houses where plastic lives the most. And although for many of us, shopping completely plastic free is not an option yet, There are still a bunch of things we can do to tackle that plastic waste.
First of all, I like to advice anyone who wants to cut back on their plastic consumption to write down on a not on your phone or piece of paper any time you touch plastic during the day. This is a wonderful tool to witness just how present plastic really is in our homes and a great way to see where we can make a difference.
If you look around your kitchen, you might see cleaning supplies wrapped in plastic, dry food, teas and coffees, oil and water bottles, produce bags, freezing bags, plastic sponges, pre-made foods, wrapping film etc. In today's blog, we wanted to tackle all of these areas to offer you sustainable alternatives. One thing that I want to make super clear is that no one can change everything at once. This will take time, and little by little, as you find yourself finishing bottles, you can replace them with the options will give you, but there is no need to go on a frenzy and toss everything that is in you kitchen ! Slow and steady wins the race.. Right ?
ALL THE TECHNIQUES AND IDEAS TO KEEP PLASTIC OUT OF OUR KITCHENS
LOUISE HERE !
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#1 CLEANING SUPPLIES
This one is one of my favorite, simply because when I decided to go plastic free, I never could have guessed that I would save so much money AND plastic ! My kitchen has been plastic free, toxin free and chemical free for two years now, and I couldn't be happier.
Our hyper consumption world would like us to believe that we need a special cleaner for every little thing, from the stove to the dishes, floors, windows etc. The truth is, what we need is a cleaner that will kill bacterias and leave our homes clean and fresh. Right ?
I've been using a vinegar solution that has done wonders for my budget, has kept my house perfectly clean and is so natural I could eat it.
Vinegar kills 99.9% of all bacterias and can be used on all surfaces. We tend to forget that the chemical sprays and soaps we use on our floors and counter tops end up in our foods, on our feet and hands, in our bodies, and can all be avoided with a more natural approach.
Multi surface cleaner - to make, simply mix together one part water for two parts white vinegar in a spray bottle. You can add some essential oils to give it a nice clean smell, such as cedar wood, lemon or pine tree.Then just give it a hake before using and you can clean every surface of your home !
Plastic sponges can not be recycled and end up in landfills for hundreds of years, making them one of the plastic items we can get away from. In our free downloadable ebook, you'll find an easy tutorial to make sponges out of socks and string ! You can also purchase sponges made out of recyclable materials in some shops, making it a little greener.
Paper towels are made from chopped up trees, they are bleached with chemicals and wrapped in plastic before being sent miles and miles on the road to reach our stores. Before this invention, people use to use rags and towels to clean their kitchens and let me tell you, it worked just fine !
I like to keep a jar on my kitchen counter with cut up pieces of fabric to use as paper towels, and then simply toss them in the laundry pile to be washed and used again and again.
You can also just keep a pile of rags in a drawer somewhere and use those for cleaning and tidying up too.
When it comes to soaps, you probably know by now that I like to make my own. The recipe is on the handmade soap blog post ! But if you don't feel like trying these out, you can still purchase bars of soap to use to cash everything from your hands to your dishes. Simply rub a wet sponge or wooden scrubbing brush onto the soap, until you get foam and use it on your dishes ! We don't have a washing machine, but you can find some plastic free pellets to put in your machine in most supermarkets too.
Freezer bags don't have to be single use - they can be made out of silicon and be reused for ever and ever - it is an investment, rather than a recurrent spending, and will free you from ziplog plastic bags. Same goes for cling film that can be swapped for some beautiful bees wax fabric covers, fitting perfectly to your bowls of left over in the fridge and making it a little sexier in there !
2. DRY FOODS AND PANTRY STAPLES
Although dry foods are often packaged, you can find alternatives wrapped in cardboard for most pantry goods such as pasta and rice. Some supermarkets such as Carrefour in Europe offers zero waste option for bulk foods like beans, lentils and even teas ! If you don't have access to these, don't worry. There are other areas of your pantry you can tackle.
Jarred foods such as tomato, beans, corn and such can be found glass, which makes them a lot more sustainable than cans, as they can be recycled a lot better, and the extraction process is less taxing for the world.
Whenever possible, simply have a look around to see if you can find what you are looking for in a cardboard box or glass jar. And when all else fails, try to purchase the biggest bag you can find, avoiding the ultra packaged smaller portions. You can also take a look in the last chance corner, as most of that food is about to go to waste - better to take small overly wrapped packs of food home than to toss the whole thing !
3. CONVENIENCE FOODS
By convenience foods I mean everything that has been pre cut such as fruits, salads, and frozen vegetables, pre made such as hummus and dipping sauces, microwavable meals, cakes, crackers etc. Most of those items can be avoided, just by buying the fruit whole and chopping it yourself, making your own hummus and dips, batch cooking some meals and freezing them up and prepping some easy and delicious snacks for yourself. You will see that by shopping for ingredients, rather than already made things, you will save a lot of money, gain control over what you pu in your body and lower your waste drastically. Those mass produced foods are filled with taste enhancers, colour, additives and preservatives, that you wouldn't have put in if you made it yourself..
Making your own food does take a bit longer, but with some organisation, you won't necessarily feel it. For exemple I like to batch make hummus or almond cheese at the beginning of the week, to add to salads and sandwiches. Making it takes me 10minutes, then I store it in a big container and it's there for us to enjoy.
Plus there is something about tuning into flavours, textures and smells as you cook, letting go of the rest and reconnecting with the basic pleasure that is food.
Overall, my biggest advice when talking about lowering your plastic waste is to take it slow.
Start by changing one thing at the time, to make sure you don't get overwhelmed and decide to quit.. It is a one day at the time thing, it can be overwhelming to tackle it all at once and you already are doing a wonderful job ! So remember that it's not because you go back to buy hummus one day because you didn't have the time to make your own that you've failed ! Every plastic avoided is a win, so focus on the beautiful efforts you are making instead.
Plastic is a wonderful invention and has saved many lives throughout the years. Our problem today is that it is too present in our lives, and we need to re-learn how to make things ourselves, to avoid it ending up in every corners of our houses, landscapes, water sources and deep underground.
Currently, 12.7 million tonnes of plastic ends up in our oceans each year, because only 8% of our plastic waste is recycled. Not only by lack of means or sorting but because so much of it can't actually get recycled. The best solution for our plastic crisis is to avoid it best we can, and it starts right here, with us !
I hope you can try this recipe and start making the most amazing soaps, filed with colors and aroma to suit your every mood.
Sending you extra love ! xx
I'M LOUISE
Thanks for giving this a read ! I'm a writer, photographer & self proclaimed environmental warrior, excited to share solutions, ideas and recipes to bring sustainability into our lives.
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