11 ways to reduce waste and live more sustainably

Forget about the dying planet, forget about your carbon footprint, global warming, what's that? You know it is important? Money.

These groceries are expensive okay. Spice jars, tiny trash bags, make-up. Forget about the future, think about your wallet now. Save your money by following these tips.

1. Use the beetroot leaves and broccoli stems

   Fun fact you can use the beetroot. Do not let them go to waste, toss them in your salad, cook them, whatever. I usually add it with lettuce to my beet salad. But like you do you babe. Broccoli stems . . . I got to be honest I have yet to use but it feels like it would be great to add in a slaw. A route for me to explore.

   
   

2. Stick to a menu and use your food before it spoils

   How can you stick to a menu? I'm not going to go into that right now, read my vegetarian cooking journey blog for those tips. Basically don't buy an eggplant because you want to, buy it because you know you're cooking it that week. Make a plan to make eggplant parm, babaghanoush, or anything. Impulse buying is the enemy when it comes to perishable items.

   
   

3. Invest in a compost bin

   A basic but sometimes we get lazy and don't want too. Buy it and drop it off every week. An excuse to walk outside once a week. It'll make you feel so much better about not finishing your meals or those berries in the back of the fridge your forgot existed.

   
   

4. Check the expiration dates. Use before you lose.

   When I go to my parents' house I always check the expiration dates of their condiments because I don't trust them. You'd be surprised about how quickly they go bad. Not even condiments, check those fine prints, you gotta drink those non-dairy milks and juices within 7-10 days. Although condiments tend to last a few months, make sure you're making the most of them before you gotta throw them out.

   
   

   Also check if they need to be refrigerated after opening. This applies to some peanut butters as well.

   
   

5. Use substitutes sometimes

   Long-story short if you need to buy a whole new ingredient for one or two recipes, look for a substitute. For example, if I need eggs but don't have them I will use a banana or apple sauce, which can be used in some cases. If I need rice vinegar but don't have it, I might use sake. I actually don't recommend doing that, but there's a fine line between vinegar and alcohol and I tend to tow that line.

   
   

   Pine nuts have gotten expensive so I've started to sub them for walnuts when I make pesto. Better for my cholesterol and my pocket!

   
   

6. Multi-purpose your makeup

   I recently bought a few liquid lip products from Colourpop and I just had a feeling it would make a nice blush. I just dot it a bit on my cheeks and blend really fast. I'm excited especially since I bought the makeup online. As a result some of them are way to light for me to feel comfortable wearing on my "medium tan" brown skin and two-toned lips. I've conformed.

   
   

7. Keep your boxes

   My sister hates when I do this, but I don't know if I'll ever stop. I definitely store too many boxes than are necessary, especially in a small NYC apartment. HOWEVER, boxes are expensive folks. If you live in an apartment and need to move every year, save your boxes. At least the big ones.

   
   

   If you don't end up doing that, some grocery stores and restaurants have extras they'll give you. They end up having to recycle a bunch when the inventory trucks come in. Save a few bucks and take advantage of their waste.

   
   

8. Re-use those paper and plastic bags y’all

   I feel like most POC already do this, we've been doing it for as long as I can remember. I always keep the plastic bags so I can use them for the small trash bins in the bathroom. I also have used them to wrap my shoes before I pack them, sometimes even before I put them in the cloth shoe bag because I feel like they are too dirty.

   
   

   Even just to give some leftovers to a friend, I treasure these bags.

   
   

9. Wash and re-use your jars

   Sometimes I buy food in jars just because I consider that jar free, like girl math. Once I'm done with a jar of tomato sauce, peanut butter, etc I soak it peel off the stickers and wash it. If the stickers still don't come out, I put some peanut butter on it and wait a few hours then peel it off.

   
   

   In rare cases, this doesn't work, and I haven't figured that out yet. Once you've washed the jar, make sure the smell from the last food isn't lingering, if so it might need another soak and wash before use.

   
   

10. Buy bar soap when you can

    There was a period of life when I wasn't buying bar soap. I was sold into believing they cause dry skin. I'm not sure if that's true honestly, but I no longer care. I think it's better not too use all these plastic liquid soap containers that are a pain to clean. So I'm back on these cardboard boxed bar soaps. After fluffing it with my loofah, it doesn't feel like there's a big difference on my skin.

    
    

    I also tried a shampoo bar, I will say that my dry dandruffy scalp hasn't loved this transition. Might not make that switch.

    
    

11. HANG YOUR CLOTHES!

    Fast-fashion is a problem, we all know it. I find it hard to escape, but I do think one way to do our part is to make clothes last. As an Asian, I grew up hang drying clothes, so this isn't news to me. I don't even think my grandma's house in India had a dryer, nor do I know when she was able to get a washer.

    
    

    Anyways, I know folks are busy and don't have the time to hang dry all their clothes. But like bras, lingerie, fancy dresses, and swimsuits, maybe? You'll be able to protect the fabric so it can last longer, thus avoiding the need to buy more clothes. Even if you outgrow them, you'll be able to donate clothes of high quality for the next person. PLEASE, PLEASE, don't throw away your clothes.

That's what I got for now. Comment if you have any tips!