Proper Food Storage

I had a really disappointing food waste week last week. I didn’t store produce properly, I didn’t eat food when I should have, and I had to compost a lot.

My first exposure to a comprehensive list of how to store fruit and vegetables was in Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too by Beth Terry which I highly recommend you read if you are interested in getting plastic out of your life and becoming more zero waste, more green. Her blog My Plastic Free Life is also amazing and inspiring with great tips to get started.

I couldn’t find a link from Beth’s reference to share with you and the Texas Farmers’ Market link on proper produce storage was broken. So, I bring you another Texas list from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. For my greens I’m using single-use plastic zippered bags because I already have them on hand, but if you use a silicone bag or another method for storing your produce, especially leafy things, please share because as you can see from the featured image, we have a lot of greens in our garden.

I recommend planning out your meals, posting that schedule somewhere like the fridge or online, and sticking to it. Maybe keep one or two days flexible for cravings or specials. When I do this consistently we have very little to compost.

I recommend clearing out your fridge so you can see what you have. Think minimalization in the fridge so you can see everything. Create a shelf or area for what needs to be eaten first. Communicate with your family/roommates/etc. too so they can help.

Freeze what you aren’t going to use right away such as meat. Cook and freeze if that may be quicker and easier later down the line.

If you have to much or don’t use all of something, check with your neighbors or local Buy Nothing Project group to move food along. Try to keep food in its highest use as food before you have to compost it.

I hope that helps your home life. We’ll be talking more about eating out and restaurants in the future.

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