As you know if you have been following Totally Ready for very long, I have moved. I am buried in boxes, consequently I have not published much outside of our Monday and Wednesday posts. As I was sorting thru boxes today I came upon a box with resealable plastic bags. I thought about that for a minute and realized in this economy how purchasing bags and plastic wrap is really foolish. The baggies are only 7 cents each which seems really inexpensive. However, how many will you use in a year? We use baggies for leftovers, lunches, replacing the packaging for deli meats and cheese once they have been opened, and so much more. Lunches, oh my do we use a lot there. One bag for a sandwich, one for carrots or apple slices, one for cookies, a lot. If you make 2 lunch for the kids and one for yourself or your spouse that is 180 bags per month just on lunches.That equals $11.16 per month on sandwich bags. This does not include the gallon and quart size you buy for other purposes.
Insulated school lunch kits with separate containers for a sandwich, snack and dessert start at $13 and go to about $20 for the super fancy models. If you purchase three kits at $15 you can have them completely paid off in four months and from then on you could be saving $11.16 per month just on sandwich bags.
As for leftovers and other uses, think glass. Glass containers with lids can be purchased for $1.50 for a small to $11 for a large or in a variety pack for as little as $3.33 each. Resealable gallon size bags are 20 cents each. If you purchase just 6 boxes per year you could have a set paid off in just a year and after that all your storage is free. Glass containers also save as you will need far less plastic wrap and aluminum foil.
Begin thinking about permanent replacements for other things like napkins, cloth works great. Paper towels, don't throw away tattered wash clothes convert them to cleaning uses. How do you save on disposable items by replacing them with a permanent solution?
AND you'll be helping the environment!
Yep. Preparedness was what started my sustainability journey. There’s definitely a venn diagram there. Zero waste is another term to search for ideas.