Using Your Kitchen To Change The World!

How you can phase out plastic from your life, starting with the kitchen.

It’s not always easy to live a life without plastic. It’s everywhere, from our cucumbers to our cereals. But wouldn’t it be great if we could reduce our reliance on plastic and do our bit for the world? The good news is that we can. The bad news is that it will take time and effort.

Hacks to Reduce the Usage of Plastics in Kitchen

We’ve put together some ‘life hacks’ that will hopefully help us start our journey to a zero plastic life.

Reuse plastic bags

How many bags do we have under the sink? Probably stuffed inside another plastic bag like a Russian nesting doll. And how often do we forget about those bags as we head to do our weekly or daily shop?

If you’re anything like me then almost always. But what’s the answer? I’ve found that leaving this bag of bags in the boot of our car is a great help. That way we always have them to hand. And I know that means that we have to bring our shopping into the house, and the bags go back under the sink, which is absolutely fine. The trick is to set a reminder once a month or once every two weeks to put them back in the boot.

Eventually, like everything else in life, it’ll become second nature. And if you needed more incentive, imagine all that extra storage space in your kitchen because a whole cupboard is being taken up by plastic bags. Win-win.

Buy Loose

It seems that supermarkets are intent on covering all of their fresh produce in plastic, whether we, the consumer, want them to or not.

They claim it lengthens the shelf life. That may be the case, but is it needed. We can fight this assault on two fronts. One, by loose produce and bag it in paper or just pop it in your own home bag. I understand that people may have an aversion to buying loose produce that could have been handled multiple times by other people, but we’re meant to wash our fruit and veg when we get home anyway. And this way we can choose the perfect one for us.

Secondly, if you, like the supermarkets, are worried about the shelf life of your veg, then buy less, more often. We don’t need to hoard our peppers, and potatoes last longer than we think anyway. If you can, and not everybody is able to, wander down your high street and buy local. The men surrounded by tables piled high with fruit and vegetables who spend all day yelling are a great place to start.

Phase-out your containers

Our plastic containers, the ones we pop our leftovers in and stack up so nicely in the cupboard, will eventually reach the end of their life.

That‘s probably when they’ve had one too many Bolognese. Making them resemble a certain ex-president after a morning on the fake tan.

But it’s not all bad. This is the perfect time to replace them with a more ecological alternative. Mason jars are a great option. Not only can they hold leftovers, but you can also pop your rice and pasta in them. Popping them outside the cupboard can be a great way to add a bit of freshness to your kitchen, whilst also keeping an eye on when you need to top up your food.

You don’t even need to buy the jars especially. You can start collecting them now and using them when they become empty. Jams and spices, for example, come in lovely little jars which are easily washed and reused.

Avoid single-use packaging

Not only will the environment thank you, so will your body. The food that comes in single-use plastic, think ready meals and microwave dinners, is not what our bodies want.

Unfortunately, eat enough of them and it’s what our body thinks it wants. Learn to cook meals from scratch. Not only will you help your health and your wallet, but it is also a great way to unwind after a long day. Pop on some music or your favorite podcast and create a delicious meal.

You don’t have to reduce sauces or make a jus, just simple, good, home-cooked food will go a long way to making you feel fresh and happy. And it’s something that you can do with the family, bringing you all together and creating memories in your beautiful kitchen. Soon it’ll be a habit and you’ll wonder what it was you found so enticing about those heavily processed foods in the first place.

The journey to becoming plastic-free in the kitchen is not a quick one. Plastic is easy. It’s strong, resilient and can be used for so many things. But the fact that you’ve read this far means that you want to make a change. And that is the first step. Start slow, and be kind to yourself. Sometimes you can’t get away from plastic, but we can reduce it. And the kitchen is a perfect place to start.