How to Reduce Household Waste for a Cleaner Home and Mind
Protect the environment—and your wallet—with a few simple habit changes
Are you overfilling your trash bin every collection day? Household waste can take up a lot of space, not just in the landfill but in your home and mind, too. Cutting back on what your household consumes and making thoughtful choices about what you bring into your home can reduce household waste and help make your home a cleaner, more peaceful place to live.
Our top tips for reducing household waste will help you take charge of what comes into and goes out of your home. These 12 easy habits will make you feel good about protecting the environment and improving your own well-being.
1. Invest in Reusable Supplies
Empty plastic water bottles and the like take up a lot of space in your recycling bin. And while they can be sent to a recycling facility, there’s no guarantee that they’ll actually be processed and reused. If issues like this are top of mind for you, switching to reusable tools can take a load off—literally and figuratively. Start by investing in a metal, temperature-controlled water bottle for your daily needs. Bonus: It’ll also keep your drinks fresh or hot for much longer than plastic.
Once you’ve gotten comfortable with a change like that, look for other items around the house that can be swapped for a sustainable counterpart. Metal straws, for example, are easy to clean and will reduce your use of single-use plastics, and switching to an old-fashioned mop will eliminate the need for buying individual floor cleaning pads.
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2. Bring Your Own Bags to the Store
If your supply of plastic grocery bags is overflowing, stop getting new ones every time you go shopping and reuse what you have. It’s likely you have at least one (or several) promotional tote bags lying around. These are great for carrying food products because they’re sturdy and won’t break easily—no need to worry about a jar of tomato sauce falling through and smashing on the floor.
Alternatively, you can simply reuse the plastic bags you already have stocked up. Store them in your car’s glove compartment or trunk so you don’t have to remember to bring them to the supermarket with you.
3. Meal Plan
If you grocery shop with the best of intentions but find yourself regularly throwing out sad-looking wilted veggies or expired dairy products before your next trip to the store, try meal planning. Coming up in advance with an outline of what you’re going to cook can help reduce food waste from impulsive grocery shopping.
You don’t necessarily need to meal plan down to the last detail if it seems a little overwhelming. Even listing out rough ideas for the week’s major meals, plus the staples you always need on hand, can help you fine-tune your shopping list and prevent the demise of yet another neglected bagged salad in the back of your fridge.
4. Avoid Products in Non-Recyclable Packaging
While you might think most packaging can be recycled, that’s not always the case. Glass, metal, and paper can usually be recycled, but there are often exceptions or special preparation steps to take. When it comes to plastic, recycling depends on the kind of plastic and what the recycling program accepts. Always consult the program or facility’s guidelines to see what can and can’t be recycled so you can avoid buying products in non-recyclable packaging.
Knowing what can be recycled will also help you avoid buying things that can’t be reused. You can find out what you’re dealing with by checking the bottom of a package or bottle for the triangular recycling symbol. The number at the center of the symbol will tell you what you have on your hands.
5. Compost Your Food Scraps
Composting is a great way to divert your food scraps from a landfill and build up a supply of highly nutritious fertilizer for your plants. If you have the outdoor space to build your own compost pile, doing so is a relatively easy DIY project—but you can also find ready-made compost bins at the hardware store that can be set up in just minutes. Keep in mind that not everything can be composted. Avoid adding scraps from animal products and pet droppings, as they’re likely to attract pests.
You still have options if you don’t have a backyard, balcony, terrace, or any outdoor square footage. Many cities and states now provide compost pick-up and drop-off services so that you can collect and deposit your waste once a week with your other trash. A number of community gardens also offer compost services where you may be allowed to take compost to go for your indoor plants if you’re regularly contributing.
6. Switch to Eco-Friendly Alternatives for Common Products
Reducing carbon emissions is an important issue for many, and many brands are responding to the call to action with sustainable alternatives to common household products. Things like compostable plastic wrap and paper towels, bar versions of shampoo and conditioner, and dry toothpaste are all widely available and as good as the originals.
7. Shop Bulk Goods
Shopping in the bulk section of your supermarket is a great way to reduce your single-use plastic purchases. Be sure to bring along containers labeled with their tare weight so the cashier can easily subtract it from your final bill. While you’re at it, stock up on a bunch at once so that you have to make fewer trips (and use less gas), too!
8. Upcycle Leftover Construction Materials
As long as they’re in good condition and stored properly, leftovers from building projects like bricks, wood, caulk, and the like can all be used in future projects, too. If you have only a small amount of something like bricks, build up your supply until a larger DIY is possible—like building an outdoor pizza oven from scratch. And don’t feel boxed in by supplies like wood. Maybe you don’t have enough for a large construction, but crafty ideas—like building a birdhouse—may still be possible.
9. Reduce Your Use of Hazardous Products
While hazardous products, like oil paint and bleach, are sometimes the only option, swap them for alternatives when possible. For example, acrylic paint doesn’t emit as many harmful fumes and is easier to dispose of. Similarly, baking soda and bleach are said to eliminate stains without the volatile compounds and bad smells.
10. Go Paperless and Cancel Unnecessary Mail
Paper waste, especially mail, makes up a large portion of household waste. Bills and other mail can contain private information, so it’s not always a good idea to just throw them in with the recycling—and some mail is made of non-recyclable material. Rather than spending hours shredding mail, try to reduce the amount coming to your home in the first place.
Enroll in paperless billing wherever possible for bills. Your bill will come right to your email inbox—saving paper and not creating waste. You can pay most bills online or enroll in autopay, reducing the amount of time you spend dealing with bills to almost zero.
To cut down on junk mail, the FTC offers consumers ways to opt out of marketing mail and credit card and insurance offers. Take a few minutes to opt out and watch the amount of unwanted mail drop, leaving you with a lot less paper waste to deal with.
11. Resell or Donate What You Can’t Use
When you try to sell what seems like junk, you’ll quickly realize that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. As long as something is in good shape, consider whether it’s possible to donate or sell before resorting to throwing it away.
12. Hire a Junk Hauling Service
If you need a quick way to get rid of a lot of trash—maybe because you’re moving or you missed trash day—a local junk hauling service will take care of the job in no time. These pros will do all the work of removing trash, packing it up, and hauling it off. Hiring a junk removal service or garbage removal service is a great way to get a fresh start for your home. Paring down and getting rid of unwanted items will keep you from feeling like you’re drowning in clutter. It can also help you to be more discerning about what you bring into your home in the future.
Junk removal costs are about $240 on average but can range anywhere from $60 to $600, depending on just how much you need to get rid of. If you have a huge pile of construction debris or other trash to get rid of, consider renting a dumpster instead.