Use those jars

So, I have to admit that back at the beginning of the year, when we really began our campaign to become a Made in China, Walmart, and plastic free household, one of the hardest things for me to get over was trying to no longer use our plastic storage containers, plastic zip bags, and plastic wrap. I mean, what do you do with your left overs? How do you cope, without spending a fortune on high end glass containers?

At first, we purchased little Frigoverre glass dishes made by Bormioli and these are cute, and work great, but, $$$$. So, we only had a few of them, and I never had enough STORAGE. Then I started using “wax” paper, until it occurred to me that these are made with petroleum products as well. But, even the “natural” wax papers I was using wasn’t keeping my food fresh for very long..

sooo, nearly 6 months into this whole process, and I have finally arrived at an amazing discovery. Leftover jars, of all sizes. They’re amazing! I had previously only thought to use them for liquids. For instance, except for the rare occurrence, I no longer serve my children liquids in plastic drink cups. I purchased these half pint canning jars you find in grocery stores, and they drink from those. It’s been about 2 months, and surprisingly, we’ve had one break.

But, about a month ago, something happened. I really started to focus on how much we actually throw away, and I tried to find ways to reduce what is thrown away. Which led me to start saving those leftover glass jars you have after finishing a jar of pickles or jelly, or roasted peppers and artichoke hearts. Then, out of necessity, I started using those left over jars more creatively. Bulk cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds, etc. needed a home, into the smaller salvaged salsa jars they went! I use them for leftovers, and ooooohhh man, I LOVE these things now. Adrift at sea I am no more!

I use the little jars to store cheese I’ve removed from the wraps, opened packages of hot dogs, leftover pasta sauce, the list goes on and on. And, the best part, these jars are effectively FREE. I would normally have thrown these bad boys away. Why, oh why did I ever spend GOOD money on “disposable” plastic storage contianers? These are just as “disposable”, but these get recycled when you’re done 😀 And no need to cry over them if they break.

While we had already ridden our household of all of our phthalate laden plastics (soft plastics), we had assumed polycarbonate (hard plastic) was safe. But with the recent BPA scare, we’ve also ridden ourselves of all of our polycarbonate plastics (which includes our nalgene bottles!). Oy! So, what to do when away from the home? We try not to buy our drinks while out and about, because then we’re consuming more packaging (plastic bottles, paper cups, straws, etc.)/makeing more waste. So we’ve been taking beverages out with us in our “trusty” nalgene bottles. The solution? The Oragnic Juice we’ve been buying fits perfectly in the insulated cover for our nalgene bottles, yay!

hahhhhh, I can sleep in peace, knowing my food is well preserved and not wasting away in the fridge 😀

Of course, now this has me thinking about canning! LOL, the list of skills/hobbies is endless, is it not?