4 Reusable Kitchen Products that Save You Money
Living a more eco-friendly lifestyle is really important to me as a person who cares about the environment. But it’s also often much more cost effective and convenient! Replacing many of my kitchen disposables with reusables has not only reduced my waste, it’s saved money and made kitchen clean up way easier. Here are some of my favorite reusable kitchen products.
Silicone Sandwich Bags
My best friend has sworn off Ziploc bags forever, and it has nothing to do with the environment; she simply finds that the silicone bags keep her food fresher and they’re a lot more sturdy. I love them because they can go in the cabinet, fridge, freezer, and dishwasher. You don’t need to buy separate bags for different purposes. They’re great for carrying trail mix on a hike, keeping uncooked scrambled eggs safe in a cooler for a camp breakfast, and storing overripe bananas in the freezer. Plus, they’re super easy to clean! You can easily find reviews online for the best brands.
Silicone Non-stick Baking Mat
Between roasting veggies and making homemade granola, I have a need for parchment paper multiple times a week. But since it can only be used once and it’s not recyclable, I use a reusable silicone mat instead. It does an excellent job of keeping food from sticking to the baking sheet, and you can just wash it when you’re done. They even make versions with printed guides for consistently sized cookies or macarons. I love it because it never runs out.
Beeswax Food Wrap
My favorite kitchen replacement has to be beeswax food wraps over plastic or cling wrap. Fighting with the plastic wrap is so annoying that Glad invented “Press N Seal” to avoid the hassle of having the plastic stick to itself, but in my experience that stuff doesn’t cling to anything. Beeswax wrap is exactly the opposite. You warm it up in your hand, and it does exactly what you want. I use it to cover dishes I can’t finish eating, an apple I cut in half, and leftovers from casserole dishes. It’s so easy to use and easy to wash, you couldn’t pay me to go back to plastic wrap.
Cloth/Microfiber Towels and Napkins
I made the switch from paper towels to reusable towels last year when there was a shortage on the paper goods due to Covid, and I haven’t looked back. Good cloth towels are much more absorbent than paper towels, making them better for cleaning up spills, drying your hands, and pressing tofu. I mainly used paper towels for cleaning counters until I switched to microfiber kitchen cloths. Not only do these cloths replace paper towels, the ones I use are designed to actually remove bacteria from surfaces eliminating the need for that kitchen counter spray too. They also have self-cleaning properties, which means you can get multiple uses out of them before you have to throw them in the wash. And they’re way better at collecting crumbs and scrubbing food off the stovetop than their paper counterparts. My other main use of paper towels was as napkins. Maybe I’m just messy, but I almost always need to wipe my hands or face when eating and cloth works great for this. You can buy cloth napkins just about anywhere that sells dinnerware, or you can make your own. My sister made some for me out of squares of fabric, and they’re perfect for small face clean-ups.
Switching to these four reusable kitchen products has definitely reduced my waste while also saving me money — and they work so much better than disposable alternatives. Although these products are more expensive than their single-use versions, you only have to buy them once! Or not at all if you’re lucky enough to receive them as a gift (most of my products were presents from my mom). I’ve been using these products for a little over a year now and in that time I haven’t bought (or run out of) sandwich bags, freezer bags, parchment paper, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, paper towels, napkins, or kitchen counter spray, which is a savings of about $30 every few months or so. It feels really good to align my daily kitchen habits with my values for living a more sustainable life and to actually save money doing that is even better.
