40% of all food is thrown away. Think of how much money that is. Think of all the resources that went into a particular item of food that is, well, literally being thrown away.


And that’s not even the worst. The worst is that food waste, when thrown in a landfill, doesn’t break down and biodegrade (a common misconception I used to have). That’s because the food doesn’t receive enough oxygen in a landfill in order to properly compost. Instead, it slowly releases methane gas – a very strong greenhouse gas.


According to one source, “methane is 28x more potent than carbon dioxide”.


Additionally, “decomposing food scraps in a landfill are also a potential source of organic leachates that can contaminate surface and groundwater” (source).


Basically – not good.

So what can we do?

We can work to be more active in reducing food waste at home with some fairly easy activities – many that you can implement today and for free – and that your whole family can help with.

This post has 11 tips on how to do just that!

Let’s dive in.

How to reduce food waste at home

Make a list of what is in your freezer

Is your freezer where items go and never see the light of day until months later? Have you ever purchased something from the grocery story, only to find that you already have that item in your freezer? Do you curse whenever you open the freezer because it is incredibly unorganized and when you’re trying to find something stuff falls out and smashes you on the toe? Just me?

I am embarrassed to admit that all of these things have happened to me more times than I care to admit. Our freezer used to be a source of frustration because of lack of organization, food I didn’t want to eat, food that had gotten so freezer burned that it wasn’t good anymore but I felt bad throwing it away so it just sat in the freezer getting more and more burnt…

As a minimalist, this went completely against my ideals of reducing clutter for better mental clarity. It also prevented me from wanting to go into my freezer. All around not good for preventing food waste and saving money.

So what did I do?

I took a page out of Marie Kondo’s book (not literally) and reused some smaller cardboard boxes to organize parts of the freezer. Then, after everything was organized, I wrote down what exactly was in the freezer so I wouldn’t have to dig around for stuff, and could save energy by not having to open the freezer every time I needed to look in there.

If you think this would help you as well, I created a free printable checklist that you can use TODAY. Of course, you can also use a blackboard, whiteboard, etc. if you have one on hand. Yes, I realize the irony of writing about reducing waste and then creating and sharing something to print. However, for me, there are just some things that are easier for me to write down on actual paper. And in my mind, my printing on a piece of recycled paper has less impact than a bunch of food waste because my freezer was so unorganized. Anyways…

Additionally, I use this list to sort out my meal plan which I do bi-weekly. Which leads me to…

Related post: 19 Ways to Prevent Food Waste with Kids

Learn how to meal plan

Meal planning could be an entirely separate post because there is so much information out there on the topic, and so many different methods.


I’ve been meal planning for years, and I have to say, it helps my family reduce a TON of food waste, and save money. Over the years I’ve tweaked my method to really ensure that we utilize food we already have on hand, incorporating at least one ‘flex’ night a week (for eating out or other unexpected scenarios), and also a night for leftovers.


Additionally, I’ve pulled together certain resources (see below)/food blogs where I can type in a particular ingredient that I may have on hand that needs to be used up to spit out recipes that utilize that ingredient.

This has been instrumental in keeping our food waste down (which side note, made up 75% of our weekly waste before my family and started our zero waste journey.) Yeah. I know.

If you’re interested in learning about my method or see the template and resources I regularly use, check out my ‘reduce food waste and save money’ meal planner here.

Still not convinced? Meal planning is a great way to:

• Use up food you already have on hand – thus preventing food waste and save money
  
  
• Ensures that you only buy what you actually need for meals – keeping grocery shopping trips short and sweet – my kind of trip.
  
  
• Plan meals around food items that spoil first to reduce food waste
  
  
• Keep your sanity and reduces mental clutter because there are less decisions to make (such as the age old ‘what’s for dinner?)
  
  

I personally use ‘Wunderlist’ to store my recipes and meal plan. I plan my meals two weeks out (because I really really really dislike grocery shopping), so I only have to go to the store once every two weeks.

I used to use Wunderlist for organizing my online recipes, but unfortunately they are no longer in existence. Now, I just use a Google Spreadsheet organized by protein types so I can easily search based on what protein I want to base the meal around (or what protein source I have on hand.)



Additionally, you can check out this source to check out some Wunderlist alternatives.

Add a ‘flex’ night

When I’m meal planning, I always include at least 1-2 flex nights (usually one per week). This is for those nights that you end up grabbing lunch with a friend last minute, or the nights that you’re too tired to cook and just end up eating pasta with olive oil (this can’t just be me…).

I can’t think of any time that we haven’t used the flex night! If by some off chance we don’t, we can easily run to the store and grab something on the way home.

Having a flex night ensures that you don’t over buy on food that may end up going bad.

I include flex nights built in to my ‘reduce food waste and save money’ meal planner printable to make it easy to remember and plan.

Related post: 19 Super Simple and Budget-Friendly Ways to Save Money and Reduce Waste!

Have a plan for leftovers

Are you in the love or dislike leftovers camp? I’m definitely in the love! That being said, if there is one area that my family and I struggle with food waste the most, it’s leftovers.

Here are some tips for using up leftovers in order to reduce food waste:

• Eat them for lunch (this is what we do 95% of the time) the next day
  
  
• Incorporate them into a new recipe (for example: I made a pasta salad with roasted veggies as a side dish. The next day, I added chickpeas and turned it into a lunch and ended up getting two more meals out of it)
  
  
• Save them for your ‘flex night’
  
  
• Reserve a night specifically for leftovers (ex. the flex nights mentioned above)
  
  
• Freeze them (don’t forget to write it on your freezer checklist!)
  
  

And if you’re in the ‘dislike’ leftovers camp? Half recipes the next time you make them so you don’t have as much (or any) leftover. Or, bring the other half to a friend, family member, or neighbor!

Plant your own vegetables and incorporate meals around them

Yes, this one may seem a little off-topic at first, but hear me out. I promise gardening can be a way to reduce food waste at home.

During the summer months, I love going out to my garden to get vegetables/herbs for dinner that evening. Not only do they taste better, but doing so saves money and reduces waste, because I don’t have to buy produce from the store. I simply keep the vegetables on the vine until I need them, thus ensuring each one will be fresh!

If you start having a surplus of vegetables, you can prep and freeze them, can them, and/or plan your menus around them! Have a ton of tomatoes that need to be used up? Make some salsa or tomato sauce for spaghetti or pizza.

Want some tips for growing your own vegetables/herbs? I’ve got two huge guides for you!

• The ‘So Big it Should’ve Been an E-book’ Guide to Growing Your Own Vegetables (Zero Waste Style) In Any Sized Space
  
  
• The Beginner’s Guide to Growing, Harvesting, and Preserving Fresh Herbs
  
  

Related post: 11 of the best FREE apps to help you live a more mindful, minimalist, & eco-friendly life

Create an ‘Eat Me Now’ section of your fridge

If you’ve been following the blog for a while now, this will be a familiar tip for you. If not, let me explain.

My family and I created an ‘eat me now’ section in our fridge (there is literally a sign – see above). Anytime there are leftovers, produce that needs to be eaten, etc., the item(s) get put into the eat me now section.

If anyone in the family is looking for a snack, lunch, or if we’re in search of food for leftover/flex night, this area is where we go to first.

Doing this has significantly helped us reduce our food waste, because it has prevented stuff getting shoved to the back of the fridge!

Plus, it’s super easy and free to do.

What are you waiting for? Go! Now!

Your freezer is your friend

Yep – talking about the freezer again – because it really is that good for reducing food waste. If you’ve got food that you know is going to go back before you get to it, you can probably freeze it. There aren’t a ton of foods that you can’t freeze, and I’m definitely in the camp of ‘let’s try it and see’ (that may not be the smartest move so I’m definitely not advocating you do the same). If you have a food item that you aren’t sure if you can freeze or not, an, EcoAsia (the environmental version of Google), or Pinterest search will help you out.


Otherwise, my favorite food blogger Budget Bytes has two resources on freezing food.

1. How to freeze leftovers
2. 10 foods to freeze to save money and reduce waste

The book ‘Zero Waste Kitchen’ is also a great resource for learning what foods you can and can’t freeze.

Just remember to write down the item on your freezer list so you don’t forget!

Running out of room in your freezer? My family and I have a chest freezer that we use to buy items in bulk, and to freeze items from the garden. I see these all the time secondhand, so if you’re in the market, check your local community groups/thrift store first!

Finally, the freezer is also a great option if you are going out of town for a while and have food you won’t be able to eat in time (giving it away to family, friends, and/or neighbors is another option as well). Or, you can check to see if the Olio app is active in your area. It’s an app that connects those who need to get rid of food to those who are looking or could use something – all in the name of reducing food waste!

Bring your own container while eating out/Split your meal with a friend

Restaurants can be a big source of food waste. Have you ever gone somewhere and the portions are HUGE? If you know you’re going out to eat, be prepared by bringing your own container to take any leftovers home (if you have any).

Or, I’ve seen some people split the meal with a friend or partner to ensure it all gets eaten up.

And of course, if you do take any food home, make sure you put it in the ‘eat me now’ section so it actually gets eaten! Additionally, if you know you’re going out to eat, be sure to include that in your meal plan. Or, utilize one of your flex nights!

Related post: 5 Zero Waste Essentials You Must Have (that aren’t actually things)

Know how to store your food

Dumpster dive

We’re going to file this under ‘advanced’, and also ‘could be illegal’. Please note that I am in no way advocating that anyone goes out and does something illegal. All I’m saying is that in some areas, dumpster diving is legal, and is a way to prevent food waste.

For those that are unaware, dumpster diving is really what it sounds like: where someone goes to a dumpster – usually from a grocery store, and finds food items that can still be eaten/used. There are a number of Instagram accounts where people do this and show their findings. The results are actually quite sad because SO much food is thrown out simply because of a ‘best used by’ date or because the item is not in a condition where the average person would want to buy it.

I know this isn’t for everyone, and again, it is illegal in a lot of areas. But I wanted to throw it in this list because:

1. it may be something that someone in an area that it is legal wants to do
   
   
2. because following people who do this and seeing their results is quite the motivator to want to work to reduce food waste on your own. Here is a list of 40 Youtubers who dumpster dive.
   
   

Look to your local community for organizations doing the work

If dumpster diving isn’t for you (don’t worry, it’s not for me either), there are other ways you can get involved outside of your own home.

There are lots of organizations out there working to reduce food waste from grocery stores, restaurants, and individual homes. Some of these organizations provide connections between individuals within the same community, all the way up to food organizations that help at-risk communities.

There are too many to list here, but here are two posts that may help:

• 16 Apps Preventing Food Waste
  
  
• 8 Apps for Tackling Food Waste
  
  
• 5 Apps Helping to End Hungry and Prevent Food Waste
  
  

Check them out, and get involved!

Compost!

If all else fails, and you find yourself with food that has gone bad (it happens), the next best thing you can do is compost it to avoid sending it to the landfill.

Composting is a whooooooooooole separate topic, but lucky for you, I’ve written a huge guide to help you start composting in any sized space. And if you’re already composting, but have found yourself with some questions, I also answer ALLLLL the questions!

You can find the post here:

The Ultimate Guide to Composting (in Any Sized Space)

I was super intimidated by composting (as in, I put it off for almost two years after I moved in to a house with a yard (not having a yard was an excuse before that, but as you’ll see in my post, it’s not an excuse!)). However, it is actually super easy, and plus, you get beautiful and beneficial ‘garden food’, as we call it, at the end! Oh, and of course, reduce methane. Win. Win.

There you have it! Do you plan your plans in order to reduce food waste at home? What are some of your tips?

Want to learn how to adopt a reduction based lifestyle (through mindfulness, minimalism, anxiety management, and zero waste living but not sure where to start?

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