Alternative Food Storage (Overview)

 

Being a household of just two (plus dog), we usually have lots of leftovers. Not just of cooked food, but mostly parts of fresh/raw ingredients. For example, only half of a tomato, a block of cheese, half of the ground beef, etc. We were using zip-lock bags LIKE CRAZY! And not reusing them. Once that tomato was used it, out went the bag, then the next tomato we cut into got a new bag!

Keurigs and K-Cups

This post is about Keurigs, but the information may not be accurate for the Keurig 2.0 as they changed a lot of things. The k-cups are shaped differently and supposedly you can't use a reusable coffee filter on them anymore. Some if it will probably be relevant to other single-cup brewing systems but I personally only have experience with the Keurig.

I would like to remind my friends and family that I'm writing this blog and putting these ideas out there for anyone who is looking for ideas to reduce waste. I know plenty of people with Keurig's and I'm not going to yell at you or be upset if I go to your house and you throw out your k-cups. For me, recycling the k-cups works with my personal lifestyle, but maybe at this time doesn't for you.

If you go through tons of k-cups every day, perhaps you are wondering how you can cut back on the waste? First of all, if you compost food, you can open up your k-cups and put the coffee grounds in (I personally don't compost though). Here are three possible options I've thought of for reducing your k-cup waste:
1. Don't use k-cups with your Keurig
2. Recycle your k-cups
3. Buy more eco-conscious brands

Water Bottles

It's always a good idea to stay hydrated, and an even better idea to do it with a reusable water bottle! Not everyone needs a reusable water bottle. Don't go buy one if you wont actually use it. Look at your lifestyle. Do you normally buy a lot of plastic water bottles that could be prevented with a reusable one? If you are out and about, I'm sure many food places will give you free water to fill up your water bottle if you ask, or have water fountains accessible.

Side note: my new favorite part about the Philadelphia Airport is that all their water fountains now have bottle filling stations! So much easier than awkwardly trying to fill up from a normal water fountain. Go through security with an empty water bottle and never buy over priced airport water again. :)

I prefer to only put water in my bottle to prevent tastes building up, but if you don't have a problem with it (or maybe have two bottles, one just for water) then you can always ask places with soda fountains if you can use your own bottle instead of their plastic cups. Some places might say no because they can't keep track if you actually paid (so even if they do say yes, hold onto your receipt while you are there!) but many places will probably let you. I know Panera Bread lets me use my travel mug for coffee (but travel mugs will be a different post). It never hurts to ask! Just be sure you know how many fluid ounces your bottle holds so you can pay for the appropriate amount.

Shopping Bags

Reusable shopping bags. You see them for sale in almost every store. So why do I look around and see hardly anyone using them? I'm guessing it's because the dinky plastic bags they provide are free, so why waste money on buying bags you will never remember to use? That's what I thought. But seriously, I think it's worth it. If you are happy with the options that you see in the stores, then go ahead and buy a handful of those, but remember you can always shop around on the internet for different styles and prices. Pick one of your bags to hold all of your other ones, then remember to put them in the back of your car as soon as you are done unloading them. If you make this a habit, you are less likely to be stuck at the store, realizing you forgot the bags at home.

Less Paper, More Cloth

 

You can seriously reduce the amount of paper products you use by purchasing cloth alternatives that can be washed instead of thrown away. This is not only better for the environment, but it will save you money in the long run!

Here are some examples of what you can change: