Real Life, REDUCE RE-USE #1 ~ Herb and Spice Hacks, including one of the best thrifstore finds ever! ~

As a self professed steward of the planet I try to keep my impact on the environment down. One of the things I have always done to support that is to buy as much of my food as I can from the bulk section of the market. While some folks do this to cut cost( sadly not always a cheaper route), I mainly do it to reduce the amount of packaging that would be destined for the landfill.

Buying herbs and spices in bulk are a great way to do both. Most people should be able to find a store in their area that sells them this way. Natural food stores are usually a good bet.

Up until "one of the best thrift store finds ever!" occured my spice cabinet was a jumbled mess. There are a lot of herbs and spices that I don't use on a regular basis and they were really starting to build up and take up space.

Then the great day came that I found this!!!

I admit that I like the convenience of plastic. In order not to compromise my desire to not contribute to the waste stream I try to only buy plastic goods second hand. One day while looking for something in the plastic aisle of my local thrift store I found quite the treasure. It was brand new, in the box and labeled as a system for freezing single servings of pesto. I love making and freezing fresh pesto so it instantly went home with me. However it never made it to the land of the frost. I luckily realized what it's true calling was.

I am one of those obnoxious people that brings their own (very clean) reusable containers to the store to buy my bulk foods. These little containers are perfect for taking to the store for a refill. I already have them marked with what they should be filled with as well as their tare weight ready to go. I usually bring a rubber band to secure them shut just to be safe. They are also super easy to use with the large flip top opening.

I try hard to source most everything I can second hand. There is no use buying something new if I can find it used and extend its useful lifetime. I do most of my non-food shopping at garage sales, estate sales, and second hand stores. Estate sales are my favorite because they usually have a complete household full of supplies to choose from. This can also sometimes even mean pantry items, including herbs and spices! (salt and vinegar are also great household staples you can find at estate sales)

This is a bottle of Turmeric that I found with a year left til the best used by date (though most spices are good well after that date). The price was 10% of what one would've paid for it "new". Not to mention that most estate sales offer half price on their closing day for even more of a deal. While I would normally buy organic, and it is in one of those containers that I try to avoid buying, I still consider this giving something another go around before landfill and that usually wins out. Likely this little container will become my main re-usable vessel for turmeric in the future. These little spice containers are really quite handy, airtight and also very easy to take to the store for a refill. This design of container also stacks quite nice in a small cupboard like mine. If you have containers like this in your cupboard right now I encourage you to switch to the bulk refill option. Not only will the planet thank you but your wallet will as well.

Do you have sustainability practices that enhance your shopping habits? I would love to hear about them!

Look forward to more Real Life REDUCE RE-USE posts coming soon