Smart And Easy Tips To Reduce Food Waste At Home

Wasting food is a disgraceful thing. The number of people who go without a single meal in a day is increasing every day and it’s not just shameful but also pitiful, especially in this day and age. World hunger is on the rise and people are starving while people around us are throwing away perfectly edible food. The only way to solve this crisis is to follow a more sustainable method of living and avoid unnecessary wastage of food. 

Since you’re on this page, you must be looking for tips to reduce food waste at home. We applaud your efforts. Hence, in order to aid in your quest of living more sustainably, we have curated a well-thought-out list of how to reduce food waste. The pointers in this list will educate and create awareness about the various methods one can adopt to reduce the wastage of food in their home. 

Tips To Reduce Food Waste At Home:

1. Composting

The easiest way on how to reduce food waste is to throw the biodegradable waste in a compost pit. Composting is an excellent method where the waste is thrown away only to have it turn into something useful. It is very easy to build a compost pit. All you need is to dig a hole in the corner of your garden and keep throwing all your kitchen waste which is ecological, in that hole. Over time, the soil in that hole will be rich in nutrients and will work as a wonderful fertilizer for your plants. This way you are getting rid of the excess food that you no longer require, but at the same time, you’re also not wasting it.

2. Measured Cooking

It’s best to not have a free hand while cooking. Consider investing in a set of kitchen scales and measurement devices. They will enable you to cook as much as is required. They will also considerably decrease the amount of leftovers, which most people don’t eat quickly enough and then have to throw it in the garbage. Measured cooking allows for a nearly precise estimate of how many people are going to eat and how much will they eat. 

If you don’t want to purchase kitchen scales for any reason, you can also use the bowl method. For example, one bowl of rice contains roughly 200 gms of rice, which when cooked are more than enough for two people. By this method, you can create a rough estimate and cook food accordingly. 

3. Plan A Shopping List

Plan out your meals in advance and make a shopping list accordingly. Once it’s ready, buy what’s needed and no more to avoid indulging in food items that are not required. If you need more motivation to adhere to this tip, remember that planning grocery list beforehand on what to buy is also an excellent way to keep the weight in check. Hence, say bye-bye to excess fat. 

The biggest reason why this method works is because when people buy only what they require, they are forced to consume those things because of the unavailability of something else. Thereby, considerably reducing the amount of food waste in a house. 

4. Change Your Storage Method

There are several reasons why food items go bad. From not being kept in a cool shaded place to not being consumed on time, a lot of factors contribute towards the decaying of the food items. Therefore, it is essential to store food properly to avoid them going bad before time. The first thing to do for the storage of food is to store the perishable items in the front of the refrigerator as compared to the items that can work for a few more days. When items move to the back of the fridge, it becomes way easier to neglect and then forget about them. The second thing you can do is freeze the items to prolong their life if they are not to be consumed soon. 

Just doing these two things about the storage of food will drastically lead to a change in the amount of food waste.

5. Indulge In Leftovers

There is absolutely no shame in eating the leftovers. It is a misconception that they taste bad or different just after one day. Leftovers are good, tasty, and more importantly, save the hassle of cooking again and again. Enjoy your leftovers if you have them. Of course, don’t consume food that has been leftover since last thanksgiving but more like food that has been left over from yesterday’s dinner or today’s breakfast.  

People throwing away leftovers and not eating them is one of the biggest causes of food waste. 

6. Be Vigilant About Expiry Dates

Expiry dates can be tricky to read. Some items with best before on them are good to eat after their best before date. While some items with the use-by date, need to be consumed positively by that date mentioned. Make it a habit to read the expiry dates before buying a product. Due to the immense size of many supermarkets, sometimes a few expired products are left on the shelf, therefore checking the expiry date is always a good idea before buying. This technique will also give you an idea for about how many months is that product viable and if you’ll be able to use it within that time frame. 

7. Utilize Slightly Bad Fruits Or Vegetables Differently

People who grow up in a household with a modest income are pros in utilizing every scrap of food in a worthwhile manner. There is a lot to learn from them in this matter. If a fruit or vegetable is going bad and they are apprehensive to eat it, they use it for homemade facemasks or make facials out of it. 

There is a growing awareness about the benefits of naturally grown fruits and vegetables on the human skin. Some people have been benefitting from them since a long time, but for the newcomers who are looking to be sustainable by looking at ways to avoid wastage of food, this is an option worth exploring.  Fruits and vegetables are extremely healthy, they are also an excellent option for nourishing the skin.

We hope these tips to reduce waste at home were useful!