Last week, after a short baking session in the kitchen, I decided to go through the kitchen cabinets to declutter what’s not needed. And I was left baffled by the amount of plastic that my kitchen had been unnecessarily holding onto. There were so many plastic water bottles, travel mugs & cups, plastic containers, plastic cutlery, grocery bags and all sorts of plastic takeout supplies.
Every time I step out to buy storage containers and bottles for my home, I end up buying more than I need and stuff it all in my kitchen cabinets without getting rid of the old ones. But last week, when I didn’t seem to find a water bottle in my fridge despite owning a dozen of them (because my have a habit of never keeping them back into the fridge), I realized that organizing plastic was another task that I needed to put on my To-Do list in order to keep my home clutter-free.
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Although I do realize that it’s nearly impossible to completely eliminate plastic from our lives, what most of us fail to notice is the size of the unnecessary plastic we keep hanging on to and how it ends up occupying the valuable space in our homes.
If you’re looking for ways to cut on the amount of plastic in your home, here are a few things you can do to kick-start your plastic-free journey:
1. Get Rid Of The Bad And Unneeded Storage Containers
The first question you need to ask yourself before decluttering the food storage containers is ‘how many containers do I actually need?’ For me, there’s a dedicated cupboard for containers and whenever it seems that the number of containers has outgrown the storage space in the cupboard, I give myself no option but to declutter them.
When decluttering the plastic containers, you need to first get rid of the ones that are distorted, stained and lidless (plus the lids that don’t have containers). Of the ones that remain, get rid of those that are of inferior quality. If you are still doubtful about the right number of containers you should keep, hold on a number that is enough to store a 10-day worth of leftovers. Besides that, keep a few extra airtight containers to store snacks and other stuff.
2. Reuse And Recycle The Plastic Grocery Bags
Don’t we all have a large plastic bag full of other plastic bags sitting in a drawer of our kitchen? Well, that’s one of the most useful things in our house. These plastic bags come in handy when our family is travelling or when there’s a party or a celebration inside the house.
But the problem with these plastic bags is that their inflow exceeds their outflow. I bring along a plastic bag every time I go out to buy something and before I know it, there’s a bunch of them lying needlessly in our home. I usually carry these plastic bags when going out for grocery shopping instead of asking for a new one from the store.
You can also use them as dustbin liners or as a packing material.
Many clothing companies and brands like Nike, Adidas and Walmart tend to buyback plastic bags from general public as a part of their CSR efforts. You can also drop the excess amount of grocery bags to a Walmart store near your home.
3. Reuse The Food Delivery Boxes
There was a plastic box entering our home every time we ordered food, which used to be a headache until our family managed to make them useful instead of throwing them away. While our house-help takes away most of these boxes to store stuff at her home, we use the remaining ones to store vegetables, dairy items and other things in our refrigerator. My Mom also uses these boxes when she’s sending out sweets to neighbours and relatives. Well, she hates it when people don’t return her expensive storage containers, and these disposable food delivery boxes really help.
4. Reuse And Donate Plastic Cutlery
One of my kitchen drawers is specifically reserved for plastic cutlery that adds up every time we order food from outside. It can be spoons, knives, plates, bowls or forks, and it all gets tossed in the drawer that’s barely ever opened unless there’s a party in our house. Although we do occasionally use this plastic cutlery when we are carrying food while travelling, the pile of cutlery grows faster than we use it. While a lot of it is given away to the maintenance staff of our society who use it to eat their lunch, the rest of it gets used when our family goes out for a picnic or camping.
5. Cut Down On Plastic Usage
There won’t be a need to declutter plastic from our homes if we become a little mindful of the impact it creates in our home and on the environment in general.
Here are some things we can do to reduce the amount of plastic we allow in to our homes:
- Use paper bags, and reuse shopping bags as often as possible
- Use stainless steel sippy cups instead of the plastic ones for the kids
- Repurpose plastic containers wherever possible. You can use those lidless containers to store things like hair accessories, bills and receipts or small skincare products.
We all have different reasons to cut down on plastic. Some of us want to reduce wastage in our homes while others wish to be more environmentally responsible. Many of us see plastic as a serious health hazard and wish to get rid of it wherever possible. Whatever your goal is, what always matters in the end is to create a living space that sparks joy within you.
If there are any other ways that you implement in your daily life to cut down on plastic, feel free to drop a comment below or write me at hello@theaestheticabode.com.