Part 4 of 5: Cooking, kitchen, and pantry habits
STOP buying aluminum foil, parchment, plastic wrap, and Tupperware and its alternatives
Products such as aluminum foil, parchment, and plastic wrap are expensive. Even when you buy the cheap versions. When you run out, I want you to see how long you can go without replacing them. If you have Tupperware or similar food storage containers, when they break or get damaged, don't go out and buy replacements. What alternatives can you find to how you use these items? A few ways that we get around using these things:
- Save butter or margarine wrappers in your fridge and use them to grease baking sheets and baking dishes instead of using parchment.
- Save jars and washable food packaging with lids to use for food storage. I scored a free jar of pasta sauce a few months ago and rinsed and washed it well after we used the last of the sauce. I now use that jar to hold rice (bought in the bulk section at a great price from WinCo). I also use re-purposed jars to store dry lentils, oatmeal, herbs and spices, and a wide variety of other dry goods in my cupboards.
- If you use a microwave to reheat food, use a plate to cover the food instead of plastic wrap. Also, be much more careful of how long you microwave food for to prevent spills and splatters to reduce the need for covers in the first place--can you heat, stir, and heat a little more to avoid splatters?
- If you need to cover a pot and don't have a lid, use a plate for that too.
- In the fridge or freezer, use your upcycled jars and other containers to package your food. Just be careful about how long you leave foods in the freezer in your upcycled containers and use them up before freezer burn has a chance to set in. Also, be very careful before placing glass containers in the freezer...you don't wan them to crack!
If you buy or have cereal at home, save the wax paper liners from the packaging. Carefully peel it open at the seems and wash it in the sink with a sponge and a little soapy water. Lay it out to dry, or lay it over your clothes drying rack to dry. Then, carefully fold it up and put int in a drawer for the next time you need wax paper.
Of course, also make sure that if you are buying cereal, that you are buying it ON SALE + using a COUPON + using a savings app or website like SavingStar or Ibotta. Or, buy store brands if they are cheaper!
If you still have aluminum foil, every time you use it, be very careful not to rip or tear it. After use, carefully wash it with a sponge and some soap and water and then dry and save it as well.
And, with any foil, wax paper, parchment, or plastic wrap, be careful to only use the amount that you need. Measure it and use scissors to cut it, if you necessary.
MINIMIZE your dishes, utensils, pots, and pans
How many plates do you have? Mugs? Spoons? Steak knives? Do you NEED all of them? If you pack some of your dishes, utensils, pots, and pans away you can reduce the amount of dish washing you have to do simply by eliminating excess. We are a family of two but had dish and utensil sets for EIGHT. When we needed a clean plate, we'd look in the cupboard first. We would put off washing dishes as long as we could as it's a chore we both really dislike. Ultimately, this habit was causing us to have to wash A LOT of dishes at a time which made us put off doing dishes even longer! It was totally counterproductive and it meant we used a lot more energy and water when we would finally wash the dishes. We'd also typically be a lot more unhappy than necessary.
We now have dishes for four in the cupboard, 8 spoons, and 4 of the rest of our utensils (we use spoons A LOT).
I also went through all of our cupboards and pulled out pots, pans, bake ware, and more that we either didn't use, were duplicates (causing us to use more than we needed and increasing the dish washing load), and so on. I also got rid of anything that was broken or unusable.
I did sell a few items, but the extra dishes and silverware that I kept are packed away in a closet and only get brought out a few times per year when we have company.
If you aren't sure how much to pack away or get rid of to reduce your energy costs associated with dish washing, start small. Can you pack away one mug and one set of silverware without anyone noticing or complaining? Keep going until you've hit the threshold of what you and your family can tolerate. I did it all at once though, and I noticed an immediate and significant drop in our water bill just from this single change!
Inventory your fridge, pantry, and freezer
You might need to eat some creative or weird meals, but nothing should be wasted — if you bought it, you should eat it unless it’s gone bad or is too far expired. If you find foods you bought a long while ago, consider never buying them again — if you bought it and didn’t ever eat it there was a reason why and that was wasted money.
At the moment, I happen to have a package of mushrooms that must be eaten in the next two to three days, as well as two tomatoes, and a bag of salad. I'll be having mushrooms and chopped tomatoes cooked in some olive oil with pepper and some garlic powder for a snack, salad with mushrooms and tomatoes for lunch at work, mushrooms and tomato in an omlette for breakfast, and another salad for lunch tomorrow.
Do this inventory at least weekly.
Inventory the food you throw away
Put a piece of paper on your fridge or cupboard and write down every piece of food you throw away. Then, after the list has grown, take a look at it. Was it leftovers, stuff that expired, stuff that went bad/got old/moldy? WHY did you throw it out? Make a plan to really minimize throwing away any food.
Every time you throw food in the trash, reflect on how much money you had to pay to buy that food. As it adds up, your shopping, inventorying, and eating habits should improve accordingly.
Food in the trash = money in the trash.
Have a leftovers night at least weekly
At least once per week have a leftovers or "clean out the fridge" night. Pull out all of your leftovers and let your family members choose from them for dinner. The crucial element is that you are eating the food that's already prepared or about to go bad and not cooking or buying something new. If you or your family hate leftovers, make a plan to minimize or eliminate them.
I once tutored for a family that would cook HUGE meals every night and then throw away more than HALF of what they had prepared because they all claimed to hate leftovers. On a couple of occasions they gave me the leftovers to take home. They made so much food that their leftovers translated to multiple meals for my son and I! I told the mom, in total seriousness, that I would give her a huge discount on my services in exchange for their nightly leftovers. She didn't believe me and never took me up on my offer.
Promptly refrigerate or freeze leftovers
If leftovers cause your family to overeat, promptly package the leftovers as soon as you re done cooking and pop them in the fridge or freezer as soon as they are cool enough. If I know the dish I am making is going to have extra leftovers after everyone is served, I will portion those leftovers out into containers for lunch the next day. Four soups and things that are easily freezable, I portion the left overs out into single serving sizes so they are easy to thaw and reheat for a single meal. This minimizes food waste, minimizes additional cooking time, and keeps meals on hand for those hectic and crazy days when fast food or delivery seem easier (even when you can't afford them). Just be sure items are clearly labeled with the item name and the date and eat them up before they go bad.
Read all of the posts in this series HERE, or for individual posts:
Read Part 1 HERE--Getting support, embracing free, food bank, and feminine hygiene.
Read Part II HERE -- Medications and healthcare, grocery shopping tips, and housing.
Read Part III HERE -- Utilities and transportation
Part V will cover laundry, toiletries, cleaning, and pet care
