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Cut the Clutter

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21.01.2022 Today's tip: buy stuff with a long shelf life in larger amounts, or from a bulk store. Buying "consumables" that have a long shelf life such as food, drink, and cleaning supplies in bulk means less packaging waste. There's two ways of doing this: 1. Buy from a store that lets you BYO reusable containers and bags to fill with amounts that are suitable for your household use. The store buys larger containers and bags of the product, rather than selling lots of small containers ...- less waste! This is particularly good for stuff that you only use occasionally, or for stuff that's likely to go off before you can finish it if you get larger amounts, or if you have limited storage space at home. 2. Buy in bulk yourself. For example, rather than buying a 500mL bottle of cooking oil every few weeks, buy a 4L can - or even a 20L drum! - of oil to last you a few months or even a year. Just make sure you don't buy so much that it goes bad before you use it all. This is good for items that have a long shelf life, or for items you use frequently, assuming you have a suitable storage space at home. Bonus points if you can find a supplier who takes their packaging back for reuse! What stuff do you buy in bulk? Are there stores that let you BYO container near you? This is just a very small example of the types of simple but effective actions that I help people make towards a more sustainable lifestyle though Cut the Clutter. If you're an individual who is interested in getting help putting together a more comprehensive and personalised plan, please feel welcome to get in touch with me! - Catalina, Cut the Clutter

20.01.2022 Reduce Waste Wednesday! Today's tip is a double waste reduction whammy - cracker packaging AND sourdough starter discard. It's also quicker than running to the store to buy crackers. How has everyone's sourdough experiments going? Well, or , you're probably going to have a bunch of excess sourdough starter lying around. Sourdough crackers are a much more achievable goal than sourdough bread. The basic recipe is: Ingredients... - 100g sourdough starter (50g flour and 50g water is also fine, it just won't be sourdough!) - 2 tablespoons olive oil (or any cooking oil) - 50g plain flour - 1 teaspoon salt Directions 1. Mix all ingredients together (add extra flour if your mixture is super wet) 2. Leave in a covered bowl for around 8 hours to double in size (or skip this step, if in a hurry). 3. Dust surface with flour and roll out dough, roughly rectangular and thin as possible (or use pasta maker, size 2). 4. Cut into desired pieces - making an indent with a knife is enough, so you can crack it along that line after cooking 5. Cook in oven at 180C and cook until golden, around 15mins (or put it under the grill to cook for 5min or so - just watch it closely or it'll burn) This recipe is flexible and forgiving - add your favourite herbs or seasoning, adjust the salt, or any other adjustments you like. How have your sourdough experiments been going?

17.01.2022 Today's Reduce Waste Wednesday tip: using leftover and off wine, beer and cider. Wondering what do to with those half finished bottles of wine, beer or cider from all those Christmas parties you've hosted? Or maybe you've tried a new type, and found it's not up to scratch. I have two ways I like to reuse left over alcohol. For wine, beer and cider that's still ok, but not quite drinking quality, a good idea is to freeze it for later use in cooking. Risotto is just that much n...icer with a splash of wine in it! As an added bonus, alcohol defrosts relatively quickly, so just get it out of the fridge when you start cooking and put it on the bench next to your pan. By the time you need it, it'll be defrosted enough to use, and then can go back in the freezer for next time. If you're freezing it in it's bottle, check out my tip from the other week about freezing in jars. Or check out my freezing food into ice cube tips. For wine that's starting to taste vinegary - embrace it! Leave it out until it tastes very tangy - you've just made wine vinegar! You can use a splash of this to add extra flavour to your cooking, or you can use it for cleaning. You can even pour a generous splash of it into your toilet and let it sit for a while to remove scale (the more scale, the longer you need to let it sit). What other creative uses can you think of for wine that's past its best?

09.01.2022 Reduce Waste Wednesday! Today's tip is a shout-out to my favourite kitchen appliance: the pressure cooker, also known as an instant pot. They come in stove-top or electric plug in. Time saving, packaging reducing, energy saving (and so environmental footprint reducing). And easier, quicker cooking means you're more likely to cook up something, rather than reach for your phone to order in. If you want to make a stew, curry, risotto, pilaf, cooking dried beans, or even just wan...t to precook a pumpkin so it's easier to cut into smaller pieces, the pressure cooker has you covered. No, I don't sell them I just genuinely think they're awesome, and mine has been a big enabler for waste reduction in my household. There's heaps of resources online, but if there's enough interest in this topic, I can do a series of posts about it in the future. Do you use a pressure cooker? What's your number one waste reduction appliance?

08.01.2022 The next few days are going to be hot here in Melbourne! If, like most of us, you're in a home that doesn't stay cool in hot weather, here's something to help keep the air-con use moderate. If you keep your fan blowing a breeze on you even when you have the air-conditioning on, you won't need to have the air-con set as cold. Simple, less energy usage, less chance of contributing to blackouts when everyone has their air-con on at the same time, lower bills, happier planet :) What tips do you have for keeping cool?