50 budget-friendly ways to reduce your waste.
Is it possible to live waste-free on a budget? YES! We've listed 50 climate-positive shifts you can make that won't break the bank, might help you save.
With the cost of living impacting so many, we’ve found that the simple things we do to avoid waste have meant rising costs have been gentle on us. We’re fortunate to have had the lettuce investment tucked into the ground a while ago, and a patch of ground to pop it in. But according to the bureau of statistics, our cost of living is roughly half that of the average family of five, in a similar life situation to us. This little factoid blew our minds when we heard it, because we live pretty comfortably (in our eyes anyway).
People have often assumed that living waste-free, as we do, is super expensive. For example, you can spend five or six times more for oats at a bulk food shop than cheap oats at the supermarket. How is it possible to live waste-free on an average income and not break the bank? To be honest, we didn’t understand it either, until we did our first package-free shop and the budget wasn’t completely blown. We had been highly skeptical. But the difference is in all the choices we make and how/what we’re consuming across the board.
As we mentioned last week, the top tips frugal experts share are usually also waste-free climate-positive tips. Our top budget tip is to go waste-free! It’s also our favourite area of focus to reduce our ecological footprint. We wanted to break it down further and in some more detail though. So we’ve put together fifty ways to reduce your waste and ecological footprint, while on a tight budget. You might already be doing some of these things. You may find that taking on more of them saves you money. You may find that you have to outsource the doing of some stuff, which invites a whole other conversation about where your time is better spent. These are all great things to explore.
Perhaps you can think of more ideas than we’ve listed here (we can think of a couple), which is great. Feel free to share them and your thoughts in the comments below.
50 ways to live waste-free, on a budget
Buy only what you need for the week/fortnight/month (or however long it is until the next shopping trip).
Reduce the number of different ingredients you buy.
Cook simple recipes for day-to-day - save the special stuff for sometimes.
Plan meals - or at least have an idea of what you'll make with what you have access to.
Use up all ingredients in the pantry and fridge.
Cook old veggies in curries, frittatas, casseroles, soups and pet food. Cook old fruit into cakes and desserts.
Eat more fresh veggies, less meat and dairy. This might mean reducing quantities at each meal, or having an extra couple of vegetarian meals each week.
If you eat meat, choose meat from smaller animals - chicken, wallaby/roo - this is often cheaper and typically has a reduced environmental impact.
Choose cheaper cuts of meat.
Look for locally grown products - supporting local farmers means a robust local economy that can maintain food prices, even when fuel costs rise.
Cook meals that you can make a double batch of and freeze half.
Cook meals where you know you can eat or cook any leftovers to make other meals (eg. leftover meat/beans for salad, reheated leftovers for lunch).
Make your own stock with veggie scraps and old bones.
Enjoy using spices to add variety to meals. These are an inexpensive way to add variety and flavour and usually cheaper at bulk food shops.
Grow your own herbs - supermarket and grocery store herbs are so expensive and herbs are easy to grow in limited space.
Grow a pot of cos lettuce or another pick-as-you-go leafy green, so you can always throw some salad together.
Grow some micro-greens or sprouts in your kitchen, so you always have something fresh on hand.
Let edible weeds grow in your garden and learn how to use them.
Look for food you can forage in your neighbourhood.
Turn any food or garden waste into compost or liquid fertiliser to feed your garden. This way you can reduce the need to buy expensive garden inputs and soil conditioners.
Plant fruit trees in your garden, if you have space. In a few years time, you'll have a steady annual food source to enjoy, and some shade and habitat for local wildlife.
Share surplus you have so you might access to other food - join a crop swap.
Bottle some of your favourite fruits when they're abundant, for use in out-of-season-times.
Pickle and ferment so you can enjoy a range of yummy flavours and good gut health.
Avoid buying ready-made snacks - They're expensive, processed, travel from far away, and not essential. See these as an occasional splurge.
If you snack, choose things like fruit, nuts, toasted pumpkin seeds, kale or potato peel chips, popcorn, toast, yoghurt, ferments, olives, veggies, avocado dip, eggs, leftovers and baked treats.
Have one or two quick and easy melt-and-mix recipes you can bake larger batches of, that everyone enjoys - ours are anzac biscuits, zucchini chocolate cake, pikelets and muffins.
Avoid expensive breakfast cereals - these are good for a splurge every now and then, too.
Make your own cleaning products, toothpaste, deodorant, moisturiser etc. where you can. Choose concentrated liquids, bar soaps and dry powders where you can't - these tend to work out cheaper and use fewer resources than other liquid options.
Take less frequent or shorter showers, saving water and heating costs.
Turn the heater down 1°C and put on an extra layer.
Turn appliances off at the wall.
Drink water. Add a slice of lemon, sprig of mint, fruit or other herbs for flavour.
Make cordial or fermented drinks for special occasions, times of illness or occasional enjoyment.
Make a coffee or tea at home, in an insulated mug or thermos, and bring it with you when you go out.
Bring lunch and snacks for outings - this could be as simple as a loaf of bread, a knife and some spreads/cheese and a piece of fruit each.
Have a drink out, rather than a whole meal.
Save meals out and take-away for special occasions or if you can afford to splurge.
Buy second-hand clothes, appliances, gifts, tech and homewares.
Join a local buy nothing or good karma group - you may be surprised what you can receive for free, or re-home.
Mend and repair clothes and shoes so they last longer and you need to buy less.
Choose classic styles of clothes you can accessorise so you can create variety in your wardrobe.
Use the car less. Combine shopping with other errands/outings to reduce specific trips.
Choose free or inexpensive outings in nature, or visiting friends. Go foraging, volunteer with a local landcare group, go op-shopping, etc.
Learn to have fun making, pickling, bottling, gardening, baking, mending. You don't have to be great at everything, just have fun trying! You might find something you enjoy and build a skill you can share with others.
Let go of subscriptions and enjoy free resources and your public library for books, magazines, audiobooks, e-books and tv and films.
If you have access to a toy library, use one to access equipment and toys to entertain young kids, rather than buying something new. Or, organise to share/swap toys and games between families.
Make a shopping kit using old jars, pillowcases and cloth bags you already have.
Keep leftovers in a bowl with a plate for a lid, or cut fruit and veggies flat on a plate, rather than buy a new container.
Recognise places where you're saving money and use some of it for quality and regeneratively farmed staples at the bulk food shop, shopping at a butcher or from local markets. Looking for one-for one replacements for some food products may seem like a more expensive way of living (eg. oats and pasta typically cost more at a bulk food shop). But you'll still end up saving money living this way.
Remember we also offer mentoring. We had an excellent time supporting our recent mentee to reduce her waste and possibly save a little money too. There were a few tricky challenges for this client. She lives on her own, off-grid, on a disability pension and somewhat frugally. But over three weeks, we were able to provide her with lots of ideas, recipes, a shopping trip and even a practical workshop at our place, to help her start, followed by a list of suggestions and resources to keep going with. She felt like she received great value, which pleases us no-end. If there’s some wiggle room in your budget, we’re happy to help via zoom or in-person, and work with your needs. Read more here.
We’ll aim to share a few fave frugal recipes in weeks to come. Don’t forget to check in with our 52 Climate Solutions for more ideas each week. And you’ll also find more info on pretty much everything described above, in our book!
Have a beautiful weekend, friends! We hope you’re keeping cosy and dry and keeping well.
Much love,
Lauren & Oberon.
I'll be stealing some of these tips :) we built our own composting system at the start of this year and have been using it since. It's not quite compost ready yet but the waste it has reduced in our bin is amazing and the weight of guilt has lifted! It's so simple, everyone should do it!