Turns out having a baby and moving three months later is the best and craziest thing. We were living in 700 square feet before moving into our home so the extra space was hugely welcomed. At the same time, all the responsibilities of parenthood come head-to-head with full time jobs and the suddenly having to remember when trash day is and find time to clean more space.
It has been a whirlwind. A constant tug between being grateful for a place to call our own and a struggle to keep up. Looking around I found myself asking, what are these things? They were (and in some spaces, are) everywhere. In the kitchen I would feel like we had nothing to cook. And even if we did, it would take too long to find things. It made me really sad. Family meal times are so important to us. We love to cook together and eating as a family is essential to our happiness. It felt out of control and like a problem that could never be solved. Turns out, we just needed to make some big changes, starting with our mindset.
My approach to tidying up was influenced greatly by the Japanese organization method by Marie Kondo. I read her book years ago but I did not really get it until watching the Netflix series. Seeing real people using the method helped me see my own unhelpful habits around the house: letting mail pile up, putting things "away" to be out of sight but never really organized... I'm happy to say I have broken these habits by being totally fed up with myself (ha!), along with cheap and effective solutions. In the kitchen we began by going through everything to see what we needed or not. We actually do one section at a time because realistically, that's what we can manage. So, one day I went through all our spices. Another day Max sorted through our appliances. And it continues on even now.
It has been a slow but significant process and the results have led to healthier eating at home, saving money, and feeling warmly content.
All of this led me to consider a zero waste kitchen. For us it means we will try to use and waste as little as possible in our kitchen. Max was totally down for it and here are some impactful things we have done. Please keep in mind this is a work in progress! We're not perfect at this and never will be. But, I think it makes a huge difference to have a BIG goal like zero waste.
We replaced our trash with these! Easy on the eyes, and OFF the ground (!), I love these bins. We use them for recyclables and trash. The small size of these makes us aware of how much we are putting in them. Our trash output went down immediately just by using them. And our recyclables decreased once we began the bulk section of our local grocery store.
We save veggie scraps in the freezer to make vegetable stock and that cut down on a ton of trash.
The bulk section of the grocery store has become our best friend. It is way cheaper and less overwhelming than wading through endless packages and brands.
These are the bags we have been using for bulk items. Our usual items are nuts, brown rice, coffee, granola, and oats.
Nothing fancy here, friends, but it's working out really well! The transformation was made possible with the use of chalkboard labels, glass jars, Ikea bins and containers. I would love to replace the big containers at the top with glass ones but we already had these plastic ones so for now, they work just fine. The first time I started keeping stuff in jars I labeled the side but it is much more helpful to add a bold, easy-to-read label on the top. These labels fit perfectly on top of jars!
When I go grocery shopping I feel more empowered as a consumer. I know what I need and what I don't need. And overall, we are eating healthier at home. We spend less money and buy all organic foods. That feels good!
What else should we try? Is your kitchen zero-waste? Has the tidying buzz gotten to you? Share your experience, please, as I would love to hear.
wishing you joy on your journey,
kristen
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