3 easy ways to cut down on waste at home

(NC) The amount of home waste we can produce if we’re not careful is astonishing. Start cutting down yours with these simple tips:

Cook smarter, not harder. Having to throw out expired ingredients feels especially wasteful, since you didn’t even get to enjoy them. Managing your stock and meal planning are the keys to minimizing food waste, but can be difficult to keep up with in a busy schedule. Smart kitchen appliances, like Samsung’s Bespoke AI options, can help you with that. A smart fridge can scan the items inside to keep track of what you have. It can even suggest recipes based on what’s there to make sure you’re using what you have.

Be more critical of your packaging. Great things don’t always come in small packages. When buying items, factor in how much plastic they use, and shift your decisions accordingly. Avoid buying the smallest size of an item, especially if it’s a liquid that comes in plastic, like dish soap. Larger containers use less material and will last you longer. Consider using small dispensers for those items at home, and refill them from larger containers that you can store out of the way.

Reuse, repurpose. It’s almost impossible to eliminate plastic packaging from your food and other home goods. But just because a manufacturer intended a container to be single use doesn’t mean it has to be. There are lots of ways to give “disposable” items new leases on life. Save plastic bags for when you have something that shouldn’t go in your regular garbage, like a chicken carcass or fish skin. Many takeout containers can be washed and repurposed for leftovers or even storage.

Eliminating waste comes down to building the right habits and sticking to them. When you put your waste-cutting tricks into practice, with the help of the right technology, you’ll see the results add up over time—that’s something you can feel good about.

Find out more at samsung.com/bespoke-home.