Ways to reduce waste and save money

Do you want some tips on how to reduce waste and save money? I’m sure you do! More money in your pocket is always a good thing. Knowing that you are doing something good for the environment? That is great!

I’m always asked how I stretch my food budget and some of the ways I reuse, reduce, and recycle our daily things. To see how I feed my family real food on $150 per week, read this post. For everything else, stay here.

I can’t stand taking out the trash. I always feel guilty pulling the big bin to the curb. Each week I ask myself, is all this stuff necessary? Oy! Here are some small changes you can do that will be good for your wallet and the environment.

Don’t toss your fruits and veggies. Repurpose them!

At the end of the week I am always left with overripe bananas, dented apples, soft pears, and a lonely strawberry or two. I use my Blendtec to make smoothies and I store them in Squooshis. Squooshis are perfect because they are reusable, dishwasher safe, and the perfect way to transport smoothies in the lunchbox.

Otherwise, I make smoothie freezer packs. Those are stuffed with all sorts of veggies too! Since my blender can handle just about anything, I even throw raw carrots and celery in the bags.

Ditch the plastic wrap.

I know, this is a serious one and what seems to be essential for keeping foods in the fridge, right? Wrong.

I recently discovered Abeego. Abeego is an all natural alternative to plastic film that is made of beeswax, tree resin and johaba oil. There is no chemical alteration and all of these materials have been approved by the FDA for food contact. The best part…Abeego keeps your food fresh longer.

Abeego has helped me completely eliminate plastic wrap from my storage life. Just the other day I packed my entire work lunch in Abeego packs and I LOVED IT.  They last up to a year! They were super easy to clean with cold water and soap. And the Abeego website is beautiful, clean, and fresh – just like their product.

I ordered an assortment of flats and pockets. When my package arrived a few days later, I couldn’t wait to open it.  The packaging was beautiful! Not only did I want these all to myself I immediately decided what my family and friends would be getting for their birthday this year.

Abeebits are waxy twisties that can be used to secure a bouquet of flowers, resealing bags or posting a recipe on the fridge. When I finally got to the pockets I was beaming ear to ear (I wasn’t the only one!).

So far I have stored blueberries, pancakes, ½ an avocado leftover from lunch and a block of cheddar I will be using to make goldfish crackers later today. The flats can be secured with an Abeego wax square or simply press the ends together.

The pockets are secured with a simple colorful string with a beautiful bead at the end of it. My little girl and I are fighting over the purple one. They fit great in the kid’s lunch bags and they love how cute the pockets are, how can you argue with that? I will just have to order more! Which is why I partnered with them so you can get a discount too!

 Bonus: Abeego is offering MOMables fans 10% off any $30 or more order by using the code MOMables14 during checkout.

Reusable Produce Bags

Day 2 of Operation Eliminate Plastic Bag I found myself searching for thin produce bags. I’ve owned these produce bags before and now somehow I own none. I’ve reordered some but I also searched Pinterest and found these adorable DIY reusable Produce Bags that are a cinch to make and I can make them with the kids and bring to the store.

Ditch Plastic Water Bottles

Have you seen this water bottle with a built in filter? Each reusable water bottle comes with a replaceable carbon filter designed to make ordinary tap water taste better with every sip!

By now everyone knows I am not a fan of juice boxes in the lunch. I love sending my little ones off with bottles of water. But… in full effort to reduce waste, I gave up buying plastic bottles years ago! Until now, my son has taken two or three bottles to school, and that used to make his bag heavy. Since he doesn’t like the way the fountain water tastes at school; the Bobble does the trick. He can take one to school and refill it as he needs it.

Plan your meals.

Let me assure you that the only way to stay well within your grocery budget is to make a weekly plan. I am not talking about a quick sketch of the things you need…but a detailed list of meals and a shopping list for the ingredients to go with it.

Of course, if you have picky eaters and are stumped for school lunches and kid friendly meal ideas, you know we provide our members with just that: kid friendly ideas your entire family will love. Each week you get 5 lunch ideas, a shopping list, and a complete prep ahead sheet. Get a sample plan here.

Lunch gear shown: EasyLunchboxes and Lunchbots.
For more awesome supplies, click here.

So yes I may be a little biased in this department…but my members also think MOMables’ meal plans helps them each week! The emails that really stick out are the weekly letters from busy moms thanking me for the grocery list. They love getting the email, printing the shopping list, going to the store and crossing off the list. They zip through the store (even with kids in tow) and save money by sticking to their plan. Check out our testimonials.

If adding variety to your lunches and getting kids to try new foods isn’t your issue, check out The Fresh 20. Their dinner plans are excellent and with their classic, vegetarian, dairy free, gluten free, kosher, and for-one dinner plans…you’ll never want to buy frozen meals again.

Helping people make real food choices convenient is one of the things my friend Melissa Lanz at The Fresh 20 and I LOVE about our businesses. We can help other moms feel good about the foods they prepare for their families.

What are some of the things you do to reduce waste and save money?