The average American family throws away $800 worth of food each year. Food that becomes spoiled and frequent, unplanned trips to the supermarket is a waste of time and fuel. First and foremost – plan your trips and make a list!
• Buy in bulk where possible to avoid extra trips
• Invest in a freezer to take advantage of sales
• Avoid processed foods as you pay more per serving vs. fresh
• Keep leftover vegetables and meats in the freezer to use for stock in soups and stews
• If fresh vegetables and fruits do go bad, recycle them via a compost bin
• If you’re not using those eco-friendly shopping bags, then save & recycle the paper & plastic ones you get. We use them for packing items from our eBay sales, for recycling cat litter box refuse, packing from auctions/estate sales, etc.
• Cut back or eliminate your purchases of soda – it’s fattening and expensive compared to home brewed iced tea, lemonade, apple cider and other healthier alternatives and you’ll save money in the long run.
• Avoid or cut back eating out, especially fast food, which is normally high in calories, salt and fats. Americans spend about 36% of their food budget out of home, which has proven itself to be an unhealthy and expensive habit.
• Don’t waste packaging – reuse bread bags instead of Ziploc bags, reuse cartons and boxes for packaging, reuse store food containers (good for the extra cookies you baked to give to your grand kids).
• Become familiar with recycling sites such as FreeCycle.org and Craigslist.org
• Use cloth napkins instead of paper – we use maybe three rolls of paper towels a year as we rely on rags instead.
• Recycle coffee cans – they become our kitchen sized compost container, container for hardware, outdoor ashtrays (butt bucket), cookie storage, etc.
NOTE: Another money-waster is buying a cup of java every day at an expensive coffee bistro. Invest in a thermos mug and brew at home. Save money and the environment by eliminating paper cup usage.