Organizing and Recycling in Your Kitchen

“People cannot change their habits without first changing their way of thinking” – Marie Kondo

Swap Disposable for Reusable

Swapping disposable items for products you can clean or reuse is the easiest way to implement healthy, eco-friendly habits into your home – your wallet will thank you, too! Consider swapping the following items to make your kitchen a functionally conscious space:

• Swap paper towels for reusable rags or multi-use paper towels
• Swap sandwich baggies for washable Stashers or glass containers

How to Buy Less

Before making a purchase, ask yourself: Was it ethically made? How many of this item do I already own? Is this durable? What can I get rid of to make room for this item?

At Horderly, we love to encourage clients to shop their homes, but if they do get something new, something old needs to be donated or repurposed!

Shop Smart

The first step in shopping smart is to make a grocery list at home. Make sure you’re only putting the items you need on that list. Once your list is set, it’s time to go to the store!

Pro Tip: Think of your local grocery store as if it were a farmer’s market! Instead of using the plastics that the store offers you, bring your own containers to shop.

At the store, buy in bulk and decant into reusable containers when you’re back from the store. Make sure the bulk items are packaged in easy-to-recycle packaging.

Minimizing Waste

About one-third of all food produced globally goes to waste. How many times have you bought too much fruit or vegetables that you didn’t eat quickly enough, and then it went bad? How many times did you buy a huge carton of milk that went sour or bread you let get moldy? Prevent clutter and save your food with these tips:

• Use smaller plates to prevent overserving your friends and family
• Don’t toss overripe produce, compost it or freeze it for baking
• When dining out, try to order only what you can eat
• Reinvent your leftovers

For those of you following Jamie and Fillip’s Hord Home Renovation, and might be considering a home renovation yourself – consider installing systems that will help minimize waste and save the environment.

In our home, we’ve installed a Zip Water HydroTap to cut down on water bottles in our home. The Zip Water HydroTap dispenses filtered boiling water, filtered chilled water, and even filtered sparkling water – saving us lots of space and money on sparkling water we’d normally buy at the store!

Go Paperless

Consider typing your grocery list into your notes or reminders section in your phone! It’s super easy to check items off that list and you won’t need to go hunting for a piece of paper in your purse or pockets.

Set Up A Recycling System

Once your kitchen is stocked with only the food and products you need, make sure you have a functional recycling system in place. The key here is to set up something that’s not only functional and eco-friendly but to set up a system that you will actually use!

Setting up a recycling system is different for each home because of layout and lifestyle. If you set up something that seems right but doesn’t make sense during your day-to-day, you may as well have not set up anything in the first place.

Remember that placement is key! Do you take the recycling out through the garage or the front door? Do you typically collect recyclables in the kitchen, mudroom, garage or another area? Do you live in an apartment with a recycling area on your floor, or do you need to take your items downstairs or outside?

When setting up your recycling system, place your recycling bin or bag in an area that’s easily accessible and in a location where you will utilize it daily – whether that be in the kitchen or near your front or garage door.

Recycling Correctly

Now that you have a recycling system in place, it’s extremely important to make sure you’re recycling correctly. Here are a few steps to stay on track:

Keep it simple! Focus on recycling cardboard and paper, aluminum/metal cans, and plastic jugs and bottles.

Make sure all materials are empty, clean and dry before it goes in the recycling bin. Don’t ruin perfectly good recyclables by mixing in items that are wet or soiled with food.

Don’t bag or bundle your recyclables unless that’s required by your city.

When in doubt, throw it out! For more tips and information, check out Recycling Simplified by Republic Services.

Horderly professional organizers are trained to help create functional, maintainable systems in your home – any recycling is no exception!

Changing your lifestyle to consider healthy recycling techniques can be an adjustment. However, with the help of RecyclingSimplified by Republic Services, Horderly can help put functional systems in place for you and your family.

Do you have more questions about recycling? Let us know in the comments!

For more information on all things Horderly – including lots of great tips, tricks and other #HorderlyHabits – check out our blog or reach out!