Welcome to my zero waste kitchen! The last time you saw it was in the RV, and things have changed a bit since then. Mostly thanks to the fact that I have more space! But many things have stayed the same since I use what I already have, and most of the eco features of my kitchen hinge on habits, not swaps. Though I do have some amazing swaps to show you today. Let’s go!

You can check out a full home tour here and learn more about my eco bathroom, too!

Food waste prevention

Souper cubes: These silicone cubes of varying sizes help me prevent so much food waste. I’ve frozen whole meals in these trays as well as coffee I didn’t really like to prevent it from going to waste. From saving lemon juice to extra chili to purposefully batching meals in advance, Souper Cubes are the way to go.

Lomi/Mill: I’ve been composting one way or another for about 6 years. When I lived in an RV, the Lomi was the only way I could “compost.” But I have some critiques that you can check out here. Unfortunately, my Lomi just broke, so follow along as I learn how to vermicompost! In the meantime, I’ve been eyeing Mill, another composter machine. The same critiques still apply, as it is a piece of tech, but I still love how easy it makes reducing food waste in small spaces.

Countertop compost for my worm bin: When it comes to vermicomposting, I still have a lot to learn. I currently hand-cut newspaper and brown packing paper and add some chopped-up food bits on top of that. I do this every day or every other day, feeding them just a small amount with lots of browns. I keep this on my counter to collect small food waste bits before feeding them.

Compost in the freezer: Speaking of compost, while I’m waiting to run my machine or when I need to store extra compost that my worms can’t eat, it gets chucked in the freezer in a bioplastic bag to reduce stink in my kitchen and keep the bugs away. This is a great tip, no matter how you compost (or don’t compost, I guess, it can still keep your trash can clean until it’s time to take it out).

A freezer full of food waste prevention: Other things in my freezer include berries that were about to go bad, half-eaten bags of spinach, tortillas, homemade sourdough, food that we get on clearance, leftovers, and things of that nature. The freezer is the easiest way to prevent food waste!

Cooking and Baking

Dutch oven: My secondhand Dutch Oven is one of my favorite thrifted finds. It’s how I make my own homemade sourdough, full tutorial here. I use it so frequently, even though its only use is for sourdough, so she needed her own shoutout.

Silicone baking mats: Speaking of sourdough, I have a special silicone bread sling to help me reduce waste while making sourdough. Most bakers will say that you need to use parchment paper, but I knew there had to be a less wasteful way, and there is! I also use baking sheet-sized silicone baking mats to reduce foil and parchment paper in my cooking and baking routines.

Caraway pans: But I don’t have to use the mats as often thanks to my Caraway pots and pans. These non-toxic pans are also non-stick, which greatly reduces kitchen waste and also saves on things like cooking sprays and oils. I love these pans!

Secondhand and/or refurbished gadgets: From our immersion blender to our colander to our electric kettle and our Kitchenaid stand mixer, we love refurbished and secondhand kitchen items! Even smaller things like mixing spoons and measuring cups, we find secondhand. It’s so easy to thrift these days. Check out my tips for thrifting here and, in particular, my tips for finding tech secondhand.

Beverages

Almond Cow/Nutr: I’ve been using the Nutr for years and just recently tried out the Almond Cow. I compare them head-to-head in this video. They both have their perks. The Nutr is smaller, which is great for individuals or households who don’t use a ton of milk. The Almond Cow is better suited to households that use a lot of milk. So pick what works best for you!

Beverage bar: yes, even the bar itself is thrifted! But what’s on it?

Bulk teas and coffees: We get almost all of our tea and coffee at the bulk bins of our local refill store. I love that this reduces single-use waste and often tastes better!
Secondhand items: chock-full of secondhand items, we’ve got our secondhand kettle, espresso machine, baskets, and mugs
Shop small: otherwise, we shop small! More of our mugs are made by local artists, and our soda maker is from a small Scandinavian company
Homemade soda syrups: for said soda maker, I make our own syrups to further reduce waste. And most often they are made from food waste, like here!
Perfect spot to air-dry herbs: our beverage bar serves another purpose: hang drying stuff! This includes bundles of herbs we didn’t use all of, art, ornaments, and more.

Food storage

My drawer of bags: it’s a bit ugly, a bit unaesthetic, but it helps me reduce a lot of waste! First, I do use plastic here, but it’s all reused! The box of bags is secondhand from when my dad was moving out of his house over 1.5 years ago. That’s how long it’s lasted me. Other plastic bags include tortilla bags, bread bags, and other food bags that get a new life in my kitchen. When I do buy new bags, they’re going to be bioplastics from brands Repurpose and HoldOn. I love these for everyday use and the fact that they are compostable, yay!

Stasher/Durbl: But I am a big fan of reusables! I was on the Stasher train for years, and I’ll still use the ones I currently have, but I won’t be giving them any more money personally. They are not a small business. They are owned by a conglomerate that is polluting the planet. I would rather support a truly small brand, Durbl. They have great sizes and shapes, and honestly, I reach for them more than the Stasher bags, anyway! Shop small and get better quality!

Qrumbles: When it comes to wrapping sandwiches, the best way to do that is with Qrumbles. They are so much easier to wash than a reusable bag, and they can flex around any size of food you have. One size fits all! Use code TSE10 for 10% off!

Jars that we refill: Check out our refilled jars! I love this one small corner of my eco home that is actually aesthetically pleasing. It’s usually ugly haha. Anyway, for my first 3 years of living zero waste, I didn’t have a refill store! And I have not had one regularly since then. But we shopped pretty frequently at our refill store in Vegas, Spokane, and now here, in Northern California. I love it! It’s fun, reduces waste, and things like herbs are over 5x cheaper than shopping in single-use jars.

Upcycled jars for reuse: And that is not where the jars end! We have even more jars that we reuse from pasta sauce to pickles to sundried tomatoes and more. These get taken to the refill store, used to make homemade iced coffee in, storage of leftovers, and things of that nature. Why buy new when you can reuse instead for free? Check out more eco on a budget!

Containers: They’re great for storing food to prevent plastic waste and can be new or secondhand. Let’s discuss the options!

Souper Cubes: These are ceramic and can be frozen, baked, microwaved, and are dishwasher safe. These are great if you want something multipurpose, durable, and plastic-free. Shop here!
Stojo: Looking for silicone? Stojo is the way to go. These are durable, lightweight, not breakable, and are also microwaveable, freezable, and dishwasher safe. They also pack down to throw in a bag for easy on-the-go eco living. Check out what’s in my zero waste bag!
Repurposed containers: The freest option is to use what you already have: Tupperware, old sour cream tubs, takeout containers, you name it. It’s free, can be reused, and rewashed. If you’re weary about plastic, that’s one thing, but if you’re not, go for it!
Thrifted containers: Shopping secondhand is so great for the planet! And you can find really great stuff there like ceramic, glass, and metal containers so that you can still avoid plastic while on a budget.

Cleaning

Dishwasher: I love using the dishwasher! It saves me time and energy and gets my dishes cleaner. Not to mention, it’s actually more efficient than I am so it saves water and energy as well. If you have a dishwasher, use it and make sure the load is full! You can also try things like using a “tap cold” setting. We get our dishwasher tabs from Blueland or our local refill store.

Blueland Hand Soap: Blueland is also our favorite for hand soap! I’m a big fan of foaming hand soap over liquid or bars. And I’m so glad that they offer tabs that I can add to water at home and get hand soap refills to cut down on bottle waste. Though to be honest, their bottles kinda suck. I prefer my reused plastic bottle any day over theirs.

Refill store dish soap: We used to get our dish soap from Clean Cult, which is a fine brand, but it’s far easier now to just take our jar to the refill store and refill it in person. And it reduces waste, too.

HoldOn Trash bags: More bioplastics in our kitchen are our trash bags from HoldOn. Yes, they still end up in the landfill, but they are far less harmful to create than oil-based plastics. So we might as well choose the less harmful option when we have to throw that item away (more on bioplastics here). Plus, we reuse them as much as we can. The bag that lines our recycling bin just gets dumped into our curbside bin and reused over and over, since you shouldn’t bag your recycling. Check out more recycling myths here.

Recycling bin: I don’t have much to say here other than we recycle, yay! But I will take this as an opportunity to remind you to follow your rules and don’t wishcycle!

Misc

Cardboard stash for postcards: I don’t recycle thin cardboard any more. Instead, I upcycle it! I’ve been participating in Project Mail Storm with an eco twist by making my postcards out of trash. So I keep my stash above the fridge until I have enough to make a whole bunch out of. I’ve been trying to host monthly postcard parties digitally, so follow me on Instagram to learn more about the next ones! And I have a full tutorial now on YouTube, check it out!

Grocery list = scrap paper: I can’t tell you the last time I purchased a grocery list. I just use scrap paper! Any piece of junk mail I get that is blank on the back gets added to my stack of papers on the fridge. I use every inch I can. Each piece of paper lasts at least a month, but usually more. It all gets more life before being recycled, and I don’t have to buy anything new to get groceries. But here is how I get zero waste groceries!

Reusable grocery bags and produce bags: Also on top of my fridge are our bags. Our grocery bags are from Chico Bag and Baggu, and we LOVE them! Our reusable produce bags are a collection from Lotus, and other miscellaneous bags I’ve gotten from sustainable brands. I find this a good spot for me to remember to grab them, place yours where it works for you!

Oftentimes, we have locally grown flowers: We got a locally made vase for ourselves for Christmas, and we love to fill it with locally grown flowers where we can. It’s not terribly eco, but shopping small and locally is inherently more sustainable!

We shop at the farmer’s market: As much as we can, we shop at the farmers’ market. We may not always be able to make the timing or find everything we need. But we love to support local farmers, reduce our carbon footprint by shopping as locally and in season as possible, and we walk there! More benefits of a walkable community here.

Water and energy conservation: We love to conserve water and conserve energy as much as we can, and it’s easy to do both in the kitchen! From turning off the water while scrubbing dishes to opening the blinds to use that light, we love to save energy and money.

Don’t forget, you can check out a full home tour here and learn more about my eco bathroom, too!

Thanks for reading along. What’s in your low waste kitchen?

As always, remember that your small actions make a big difference in the long run :)

Emma

What’s in My Zero Waste Kitchen?