Cleaning out our kitchen clutter is one of our favorite chores. Tossing out the old gives us a reason to stock up on new foods, and we always welcome a trip to Trader Joe’s. But sometimes, all the expired food, tired produce and seemingly trash-worthy items may actually find purpose someplace else in our home. Recycling is just good common sense, so here are some tips and tricks for putting all your kitchen trash to good use and getting the most bang for your buck!
- Composting is one of the obvious ways to reuse any unwelcome cooking scraps and trash, which will save you from piling up smelly garbage in your trash can and help your growing garden. And freezing veggie scraps or fruit toss-always is a cheap (and fun) way to create your own vegetable stocks or fruit jams.
- Thinking about tossing that stale loaf of bread? Think again. Cubing leftover rolls or toast scraps is a simple way to make croutons by baking them in the oven. Throwing less than perfect bread or stale crackers in the food processor also make for instant breadcrumbs!
- Lemon is the absolute goldmine of the kitchen. Not only can it be mixed with water, vinegar or baking soda to produce and array or chemical-free cleaning products, but it’s also got healing powers that’ll treat everything from sunburn to a sore throat. Its rinds are great for smoothing over your skin as well for a super easy facial!
- Consume one too many glasses of wine and you forget to plug the bottle back up when you’re done? – we’re guilty of this. Instead of dumping alcohol, save it for cooking up some yummy sauces or dressings. It may have lost its buzz, but it’ll still retain its flavor when sautéed or blended.
- Don’t forget the pets! Most any leftover (unbleached) paper towels or cardboard boxes are great for small critter bedding and can save you the trip to the store (and a lot of money!)
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