9 Non-Aesthetic Ways to Reduce Waste at Home

Reducing waste at home has become all the rage in recent years — which is a great thing! And with that, an entire “eco-friendly” sector of the market has emerged, which again — is a great thing. I’m glad large corporations and small businesses alike are evaluating the ways they can contribute to the fight against plastic, food and other types of waste.

But today, I’m going to focus on some of the “non-aesthetic” ways we can reduce waste at home. Sure, there are some more picture-perfect, flashy ways to cut back on waste, such as using reusable water bottles and mugs, recycling your cardboard and plastic, and purchasing adorable products that are labeled as “eco-friendly.” Don’t get me wrong: those are all admirable things to do (and I do many of them!), but they can also cost a lot of money.

Instead, let’s zero in on some of the less sexy ways you can reduce waste at home. Most of these are somewhat passive (or low-barrier-to-entry) actions that won’t take up many resources, including your time, money, and energy. And while they may not make it on your Instagram feed, they can make a significant impact on the size of your personal carbon footprint in the long-run. Bonus: Most of these strategies will also save you money!

Use Baking Soda Instead of Laundry Detergent

One of the biggest ways we’ve saved money — and reduced waste — over the years is by not buying into the idea of needing products for every little thing, whether it’s a complicated skincare routine or fabric softener that makes your clothes smell like fresh linen hanging in a lavender field. More often than not, there are cost-effective, natural, age-old solutions to most of your household needs. For example, for almost two years now, we have exclusively washed all of our clothes with baking soda. That’s it — no added essential oils or extra ingredients whatsoever. Straight up baking soda that we “baked” in the oven for an hour to turn it into what’s called washing soda, which is essentially a more intense cleaning agent with a higher pH. In fact, baking soda can be used for SO many things — from removing stains to eliminating odors, and whitening teeth to exfoliating skin. As for the cost? We buy a massive bag of Arm & Hammer at Home Depot for $9.99 about every six months or so, and slowly go through it, batch after batch in the oven. It costs us PENNIES with each load, which in the long run, has saved us hundreds of dollars (not to mention, plastic waste) on those monstrous jugs filled with who knows what.

Rip Paper Towels in Half

Remember when paper towels used to only come in those full squares? And then finally, they started offering perforation in the rectangle shape, so you could go through a roll at half the speed. We take that a step further by ripping each rectangle into a smaller square pretty much every time we reach for a paper towel. This is because we found ourselves only using that amount of the rectangle for each use, usually to wipe our mouth or fingertips while eating. I posted about this on my Instagram stories a few weeks ago, asking if anyone else had similar “ration like it’s the Great Depression” tendencies, and many people said they do this too — and had other creative frugal hacks to share. Plus, I found out that they actually make paper towels that are perforated in this smaller size!

Don’t Use the Small Plastic Bags for Produce at the Grocery Store

In addition to using reusable bags at the grocery store, you can also forgo those small plastic bags available in the produce section! Don’t worry — there are no rules in place saying we must use those. We’ve been doing this for a few years now and it is such a small but easy way to reduce the number of plastic bags you bring into your house. It can feel strange at first to put naked produce in your cart — and especially on the nasty conveyor belt at checkout — but you will (hopefully) be washing them before you eat them anyway! Sure, it’s a tad more inconvenient that the produce could separate and roll around in your cart, but unless you’re getting 15 potatoes or 20 apples, it’s usually not a big deal.

Compost Your Food Waste

Composting may be all the rage — but it sure ain’t pretty. There are several aesthetically pleasing products that help with the composting process, but you don’t necessarily need to invest in those to have a successful compost system in your backyard. For example, we have this beautiful compost bin that sits on the counter in our kitchen, so we can easily collect food scraps, such as egg shells, banana peels, and potato skins, before they make it to our outdoor bin, which we got for just $50 from the City of Nashville. But these tools aren’t necessary to compost; there are plenty of DIY methods that cost much less and can be made with supplies you might have sitting around already.

Do Less Laundry

At this point, we do laundry much less than the average family, for a couple of reasons: Brandon and I both work from home so we don’t cycle through outfits as often as most people. Plus, we tend to put clothes back on their hanger or in a drawer if we wore them lightly — meaning, we didn’t sweat or dig around in the garden in them. More often than not, our clothes (especially jeans and sweaters) can get several wears out of them before needing to be cleaned. This also helps extend their life, as washing and drying often can wear them down! Of course, this will all change when we have a baby, but for now, we only do laundry about once a week or once every two weeks, which cuts back on energy and water use.

Reuse Plastic + Glass Containers

In a perfect world, the food in our fridge and pantry would not come in plastic containers — but that just isn’t reality. While we all love a good cute matching glass Tupperware set (which I actually have), sometimes, you can simply reuse plastic containers from your greek yogurt or cottage cheese, even if they have ugly labels. And if you take the time to remove labels, you can make some pretty storage using empty glass containers as well. You’ll just have to ignore the fact that the lid says “pickles” or “pasta sauce!” Both plastic and glass containers are perfect for storing leftover food — just make sure you don’t microwave the food in the plastic, as toxins and microplastics can leak into your food when heated.

Dispose of Electronics Properly

I’m admittedly very bad at this practice, but it’s an area I want to do better at. When electronics break or batteries run out, it’s tempting to simply toss them in the trash, but there are much better and more environmentally friendly ways to dispose of them! Each state has different legislation for e-waste, and you can see if yours has one here. To recycle your electronics, use Earth911 or e-stewards.org to find a recycling center near you that accepts electronics. And for the most part, Best Buy, Staples and Goodwill all accept e-waste for recycling!

Use Less Water

It’s easy to let the water flow when you’re brushing your teeth, taking a shower or doing the dishes. But if you cut back on water use in all of these areas, you’ll likely see your water bill decrease! Simply turn off the water while you’re brushing your teeth or washing your face and turn it back on to rinse. Also, see if you can reduce the length of time you’re in the shower overall — or at the very least, turn off the water while shaving your legs. In the kitchen, try hand washing your dishes and skipping the dishwasher if you have a lighter load in the sink, as the dishwasher actually uses more water than hand washing dishes. Cutting back on water is another area I struggle with, especially as an avid bath taker. Plus, I tend to hand wash dishes AND put them in the dishwasher, as our dishwasher doesn’t do a great job at scraping off gunk so I have to do a lot of the heavy lifting myself. But this is another area I want to improve in! We have also considered getting a rain barrel for the backyard, which collects rainwater and recycles it back into your yard for watering plants and the grass.

Stop Junk Mail

The amount of junk we get in the mail is laughable — and it usually goes directly into our recycling bin. Credit card companies are always offering some new APY, airlines are trying to entice you with their limited-time bonus mileage, and furniture and clothing companies are always hosting a flashy sale of some kind. While it’s easy to allow these to continue to trickle in, did you know there are actual steps you can take to make it stop? The Federal Trade Commission has outlined some ways you can stop junk mail, from both marketers and credit card and insurance companies. While it won’t filter out every piece of mail, it will likely reduce the outrageous influx.

What Else?

What non-aesthetic, unsexy ways do you reduce waste at home? I would love to add to this list!