Bye plastic wrap. Bye plastic baggies.

Time to go join all your friends in the landfill where they’re still busy NOT decomposing.

It’s never too late to make some room in your drawers and cabinets for three safer, cheaper, and less wasteful alternatives to single-use plastics in your kitchen.

1. SILICONE SUCTION LIDS

If the thought of that unnecessary piece of plastic ending up in some whale’s stomach isn’t enough to inspire you to rid your life of Saran^TMcling wrap, remember that you’ll probably throw more of it in the trash because it stuck to itself than you would successfully get on any actual containers.

A more sustainable AND money-saving alternative is the silicone suction lid.

I use a set of silicone suction lids you can find here (top shelf in picture), but I was happy to discover that Bed Bath & Beyond and Target are now carrying their own versions of the same thing.

Don’t be fooled by a similar product that is advertised as a stretchy alternative (bottom shelf in picture). In my experience, the lids won’t hold the shape you stretch them into, so they require a certain sized bowl or cup.  

2. BEESWAX FOOD WRAPS

Beeswax wraps have been gaining popularity recently, and you can even make your own at home out of an old shirt. Using beeswax to preserve food is nothing new, but sustainability is trending as it makes its way into the mainstream. 

Many businesses are taking notice. A wide variety

of different wraps are now available from a growing number of stores. 

Vegan? No problem.

Want one with little hedgehogs on it? You’ll find one.

Don’t want to buy one? Make your own.

Trader Joe’s came through for me (as always) with a set of three waxed cotton food wraps for $8.99 – a lower price tag than I had seen anywhere online.

They start out rather stiff, but each wash and use not only improves the cloths but also increases your return on investment.

The heat from your hands also helps to mold them into the desired shape. In addition to directly wrapping food, these can be used for some of the same purposes as the silicone lids -like covering a bowl in the fridge.       

3. SILICONE MESH & CLOTH BAGGIES

The last step is replacing all those plastic baggies- both big and small (believe it or not, baggies are, in fact, the technical term).

Yes, they’re great for sandwiches, chips, cheese, fruit- literally anything that will fit-, but so are these lovely REUSABLE alternatives that you won’t need to repurchase each month.

As an added bonus (or the primary bonus in my opinion), you can sleep peacefully knowing you didn’t throw a bunch of plastic “away” (wherever that is) after merely a single use.

There are many different types of reusable bags to choose from based on your personal needs and habits.

Love cooking large batches of food and freezing leftovers? These bigger airtight, heat-resistant silicone bags are perfect for saving space in the freezer or even daring to cook something sous vide (do yourself a favor and follow the link if you don’t know what this is).

Do you pack a lot of snacks for work or class? Try these reusable cloth baggiesavailable on Amazon or some airtight silicone ones (smallerthan the last ones I mentioned) that you can buy from Stasher, depending on the type of food.

Buy a lot of produce at the farmer’s market or grocery store?  Get reusable mesh produce bags to avoid bringing home the plastic ones you would be offered while shopping or make your ownfrom materials you already have at home.

If you take the time to really wrap (no pun intended- I promise) your head around how many plastic baggies and rolls of plastic wrap you have gone through in the past year, let alone your whole life, it seems silly not to make these small changes. There is nothing to lose, yet so much to gain.

Make sure you take notice of the small benefits that you can see firsthand like no longer needing to buy Ziploc baggies or seeing less plastic in the trash. Also, it’s important to let yourself bask in the bigger picture sometimes and take a second to consider how much waste could be eliminated if everyone made these three easy swaps.

While these products aren’t all biodegradable (shame on me), reusable items are always a better choice than single-use plastics, and silicone is still a better choice than plastic.

Don’t forget that baby steps are okay, especially when they’re taking you towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

Happy plastic-free eating!

S.