5 Easy Swaps for a Zero Waste Kitchen

Are you looking for simple ways to reduce waste in your kitchen? Start with these five easy tips:

Use glass containers instead of plastic ones for food storage in the fridge. Plastic ones affect taste and may make you ill too. Recycle glass jars. Upcycle your olive jars, jam jars, salsa jars and pasta sauce jars. These make great food storage jars so clean them out and don’t throw them out. Repurposing saves the environment. I used to use my Mason Jars until I was looking for some for my overnight oats. I quickly realized that I was using as food storage- that’s why I couldn’t find any.

I just bought a few more silicone baking mats. I’m trying to use them every time I bake and to use less parchment paper. These mats are great but not recommended for roasting meats or vegetables. Anything that requires you to add oils and such will damage silicone.

One time, I placed pork-belly bacon on these kinds of mats to make cleanup easier. The pork oils that were released, burned and stained the mat.

Use cloth napkins instead of paper ones. These linen and cotton ones are great. When I’m done, I just toss them in the clothes hamper. After a week’s wash, they’re good as new again. Someone told me that they love the idea but that it’s too expensive and that they have kids. I explained that they are not that costly and then asked- how much do you think you are spending on paper towels each year? Then they really saw the point.

Besides, it’s important for children to learn how to use nice things. It’s also a great way to get rid of single-use items in the home. Every little bit helps. Linen napkins are also my go-to home-warming gift.

Speaking of zero-waste, does your coffee machine have its own reuseable filter? If not, you can now buy mesh filters that fit most coffee machines. This one tip can be a game-changer. It’s also cost-effective instead of buying paper filters all the time.

Use your greens and herb clippings to add to your veggie scraps and create a flavorful base for cooking. Dry any leftover herbs to extend shelf life. Create herb infused oils and add leftover herbs to your vinaigrettes. Keep an eye out for herb plantssometimes they’re less expensive than just buying the herbs. If you have a sunny window sill, try growing your own herbs if you can.