by Michy Lynn

Created on: June 14, 2009

Eliminate or Reduce Household Waste - Recycle, Reduce and Reuse Household Items and More

Every day, families throw away a trash can full of trash and sometimes much more than that. It's amazing how much waste households in the United States produce each month. From product packaging to spoiled foods to things that are broken, all the way to things such as aluminum cans and glass bottles that can be recycled and reused. In an effort to both save money and start paying closer attention to the environment, I've started taking stock of ways to eliminate household waste, or at the very least to reduce household waste.

Eliminate or Reduce Household Waste - Foods

When shopping, be sure not to buy more perishable items than what can be consumed in about a week's time. Typically, most items that are perishable will ruin after about a week. When coming home after grocery shopping, be sure to put the things that will last the longest toward the back of the fridge and the fruits and vegetables that will perish more quickly closer to the front.

When cooking, to eliminate household food waste, only make enough for the needs of that meal and one other for leftovers at the maximum. If you make more than that, you're likely to have leftovers spoil in the refrigerator and that's household waste and money going down the drain. For every portion you throw away, you're losing $1-3 dollars worth of food that could have been used to feed your family.

Always store your non-perishable foods in cool or room temperature dry cabinets and/or tightly sealed in plasticware or baggies to keep it from ruining prematurely and you can eliminate or reduce a lot of household wastes from tossing out perishable foods.

Eliminate or Reduce Household Waste - Packaging

Whenever possible, to reduce or eliminate household waste from product packaging, consider buying products in bulk. Not only do you usually save money for bulk purchases, but when purchasing in bulk, portion for portion or serving per serving you the packaging will have less material than buying in smaller quantities.

You can also eliminate or reduce household waste by purchasing products that don't use unnecessary packaging. Often, these products will be less expensive too, because the manufacturer is not wasting money and resources on special packaging. Sometimes, it seems ridiculous to me to see a product in a cardboard box, and then inside you find Styrofoam, plastic wrap, and additional cardboard and then shrink wrap on top of all that!

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