Reuse your grocery store packages
I’ve caught myself looking at Pinterest and thinking to myself “I should organize my pantry with glass jars!” and start looking around the internet for jars to purchase, but then quickly remember, I already have glass jars from products I’ve purchased from the grocery store!
Look through your pantry and refrigerator, do you see sauce jars, pickle jars, olive jars, even jams filled in cute little jars? Well hunny, that’s what I’m using to bulk fill my pantry items in!
Replace single-use plastics with beeswax
Something I’m currently working on, and by the time we’re in Canada in March our household should be on this route, is replacing our single-use plastics with beeswax wrap. This beeswax wrap is my personal preference. It works perfectly for wrapping up cheese, fruit, vegetables, and bread. Use the warmth of your hands to soften the wrap and form over a bowl, container, or pack a snack for your next adventure. As the beeswax paper wrap cools, it creates a seal and stores food naturally. The best part: You can wash these and reuse them. Make sure to use cool water with mild soap and air dry.
Eat less animal products
The year 2020 was the year of the vegans. Because of the incredible engineering worldwide, there is now a plethora of meat and animal by-product alternatives to choose from. My favorites are Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat, and JUST Egg. By eating fewer animal products, you’re contributing to lower greenhouse gas emissions, decreased water waste, and simply making healthier habits that have significant results to a better planet.
Regrow your vegetables
This one I just started to do in March, and I absolutely love it. I can’t believe I went 7 years into adulthood and never thought about replanting the stems of vegetables to regrow them. Total mind blowing moment.
I used to toss out the bottom portions of my vegetables because I simply wouldn’t use them in my recipes, I never once thought you could regrow them. Well, I’m here to tell you that you can indeed regrow a nub of scallion onion into a fully grown, thriving vegetable. If I can do it, anyone can.
If you’re interested in trying this out, follow my steps below!
- Place the bottom part of the scallion (this is the part with the stems) into a jar of cold water
- Every morning dump out the water, and replace with new, cold water
- Do this every day until your nub grows into a thriving scallion
- Once grown, place it in a small pot with dirt and water it once a week
Shop second-hand clothing & accessories
Did you know that the fashion industry is one of the leading causes of pollution? Right up there with the oil industry. It takes up 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions. Instead of contributing to this, I say why not shop second-hand, gently used, or pre-loved? You would be amazed at how many new or hardly used pieces of clothing you can buy off Poshmark, AND if you’re smart about it, how big of a deal you can get! I once bought a brand new pair of Sorel hiking boots that retailed for $300 for $60. Let that sink in.
Politely opt-out of unnecessary gifts
This one is a combination of living more sustainable and an excuse to avoid getting unwanted gifts you’ll end up throwing away. I’ve been a culprit for throwing away gifts I don’t need, and I don’t want to do that ever again. I’d rather receive nothing and just enjoy the company of loved ones. I understand some people don’t understand this mentality. They would like to gift this person something, so with that in mind, a few ideas to gift a friend or loved one who would rather not have anything unnecessary is:
- Alcohol – If they’re drinkers, they will not be disappointed. And if they’re not fans of alcoholic drinks, you can gift them an alcoholic-free drink. There are many modern, mastered, non-alcoholic drinks that taste great, sometimes give off a little buzz, but with absolutely NO alcohol in them, like these: Haus, Seedlip, or Monday Gin.
- An experience – AirBnB has incredible online experiences. You can even reserve a baking class in Paris, all from your living room!
- Gift cards to grocery stores – As an adult, you can never, and I mean never, have too many gift cards to grocery stores.
Gift cards are such a good present – whenever I get gardening vouchers it makes me so happy!
Yes! People may think that they are not considerate enough as a gift, but I would argue that they’re much for thoughtful!
Wow, I love this post so much! I’ve actually been doing all of these steps since last year. I ALWAYS say that I don’t want any gifts unless it’s a grocery gift card haha I hate having junk or things that I do not love in my home. Clutter stresses me out. I can’t wait for the day I can switch to beeswax wraps! My MIL bought me a huge thing of saran wrap last year and I’m waiting to use that all before I make the switch. No point in wasting it! Thanks for sharing x
http://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com
Haha, I completely agree with you! It’s better to use it up rather than just tossing it out. Thank you so much for your support! <3
Great tips and tricks here! Shopping second-hand has become my favourite way to buy anything, some of the items you can thrift are amazing 🙂
Anika | chaptersofmay.com
Yes! I wholly agree – You’d be amazed at the things you can find. I’ve picked up some incredibly older bounded books that came from France before at a local thrift store!
You have so many great ideas here, Ashley. You can buy waxed canvas, which is just like the beeswax wrap, and then make your own wraps in various sizes. I can vouch for the gift experience, as baking bread taught by a baker in Paris was amazing!