image courtesy of onpaperwings on flickr
A few ideas for using things you might normally throw out:
Old bread…
when you have left the last few pieces of bread in the bag and moved on to a new, fresh loaf, cube them up, throw them in the toaster with herbs and olive oil and make croutons for salad or soup, or throw them in the food processor and make a big batch of bread crumbs. (Bonus: this is much healthier than store bought alternatives, particularly when using sprouted whole grain bread) Favorite uses for bread crumbs: veggie burgers, the famous chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon, falafel, and eggplant parmesan.
Stale bread also makes for great french toast or bread pudding or stuffing if you feel so inclined.
Veggies…
Save the ends of your veggies that you chop off, throw them in the freezer and when the container is full, make some broth.
If you know you have vegetables that are about to go bad and you know you can’t use them all, chop them up and freeze them, use them in just about anything, or cook them, add some stock, puree and fresh herbs and you’ve got soup!
Save your broccoli stalks. save them for a “cream” of broccoli soup. or just peel and chop them up and add whenever you’re using broccoli florets.
Oh, and you eat beet greens, right? please tell me you don’t chop them off and throw them away! add to smoothies or sautee as you would any other green – with garlic!
Fruit…
Same as veggies, if you have some you know you won’t be able to use up before it goes bad, wash/peel/chop it and throw it into the freezer for later use in smoothies or baking or to top your breakfast of choice – oatmeal, pancakes, waffles, french toast, cereal, whatever…
If you will only be using the juice of your lemons/limes/oranges, you can zest them first and save the zest in the freezer for later use. Use the lemon rinds for cleaning (as I mentioned in a previous post). You could also make candied orange peels.
Old Clothes
Turn a pair of socks into baby leg warmers. My sister did this for Elena. I’m thinking it would be a great thing to do with my socks that have lost their little mates somewhere along the line. She could either look crazy and mis matched or more likely, they would be the ones i put on under her jeans when it’s extra cold out.
Turn old undershirts into rags or baby wipes with just a pair of scissors.
Of course there’s all sorts of re-fashioning ideas you could go crazy with. I hope to experiment someday when I have a sewing machine.
Save all that plastic…
I’ve learned that I don’t need ziploc bags. I save plastic bags from bread or those re-sealable bags some things come in and use them instead of buying ziploc bags. I just squeeze the air out and twist them closed or re-use a twist tie. I save gift bags that are too crumpled to re-use and pack my husband’s lunch in them. I’m currently saving mesh produce bags to make a dish scrubber…. obviously it is better to not buy things that come in these bags at all, but I think most of us have them creep into our houses despite our efforts, but if not, good for you, you can ignore me.
Containers…
I probably don’t need to mention saving glass and plastic containers – obvious, right? But seriously, I save almost all of them. Glass jars are used for storing bulk goods, leftovers and homemade sauces and dressings. They keep things so much more organized than tupperware or ziploc bags. I save large glass jugs and re-use for home-made iced tea, smoothies, lemonade or almond milk, etc. plastic tubs are perfect for sending leftovers home with friends or family and for keeping things organized all over the house. I want to reuse some aluminum cans for something like this or this.
Paper…
Scraps of paper that are about to go into the recycling are thrown into my purse so that Elena has something to color on when we’re out (I also take the crayons from restaurants that give a fresh plastic wrapped package to each child, because I know they will just throw them away) Or, you can save paper that has one unprinted side and cut it up, staple together and use as a message pad before recycling. I also save paper grocery bags, which tend to trickle in when my husband goes shopping or extended family comes to visit, and I turn them inside out and use as gift wrapping. Oh, and I use newspaper (and vinegar) to clean glass surfaces before recycling it.
Other random things…
When pillows go flat, fold them over and stitch one edge and then stuff inside a cute cover.
Use the heat from your oven by leaving the door open for a bit after you’ve turned it off.
Reuse coffee that you don’t drink by putting it in the fridge and save for an iced coffee later. Throw the used coffee grounds into your outdoor garden/plant bed.
Rinse and reuse aluminum foil until totally unsalvageable.
Use empty toilet paper rolls to keep electronic cords neatly coiled or use them to make puppets or other crafts with your kids. Find more creative ideas here.
Any more things you can think of? let me know!
p.s. If you eat cheese or meat – I saw a chef on martha stewart today make two types of broth – one from parmesan rinds and one from prosciutto ends and trimmings. I thought the parmesan one sounded like a particularly useful and tasty idea, for someone else of course.
