We have been smug. I admit it. When we look at all of the garbage that our neighbors have out, we tend to feel that we are on the right track. This is because we know that the smaller our garbage is then the less money we are spending. While the neighbors can have three or more extra large trash cans a week, we have trouble just filling up half of our can per week. Once we are past disposable diapers (we just don’t want to do cloth), we may even cut that little bit in half.
There are so many ways that reducing the amount of trash you contribute can also reduce the amount of money that you spend. By finding alternatives to generating trash, you’ll save more money. Here are some of the common things that wind up in the trash and how avoiding them is frugal.
Food waste
One recent study determined that Americans throw out 25 percent of the food that they purchase! Buy only the amount of produce that you can consume, use up leftovers and make use of your freezer to avoid food waste. Use the tops of celery for soup stock, the rinds of citrus fruit for cleaning the garbage disposal. You can also compost.
Packaging
Convenience foods are one of the biggest suppliers of packaging. All of those frozen and boxed meals add up. Cook from scratch, pick fresh produce, grow some of your own food and buy in bulk to reduce your packaging. Basics usually come in packaging that can be recycled, such as paper flour sacks. Other types of packaging can be avoided as well. For instance, we usually buy or are given used toys in excellent condition. Toys tend to have so much extraneous packaging, as many a frustrated parent knows.
Household items
I can’t tell you the number of household items that a good friend of mine retrieves from curbside trash. There are plenty of perfectly good household items that can be donated. Books, toys, furniture, etc all wind up in common trash. Usually you can even call a charity to come and pick it up for you. You’ll save money by writing the donation off on your taxes. Reusing items and giving them new life will also save when you don’t have to purchase something new.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right.
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