Keep it fresh: Stretch your food dollars with these storage tips

Have you ever opened a bag of moldy bread? Or found something funky at the back of your fridge? Avoid another stinky surprise and stretch your food dollars by following these storage best practices.

A) The freezer is your friend

Tired of leftovers? Freeze them for lunch next week. Bread going bad before the loaf’s end? Store it in the freezer, and pop frozen slices right in the toaster. You can even freeze butter to keep it fresh for up to 9 months.

Consider buying frozen instead of fresh: Frozen vegetables are nutritious, easy to cook with, and they don’t mind if you forget about them for a bit (fresh broccoli lasts a week, frozen lasts a year). Plus, a full freezer uses less energy than an
empty one.

B) Know your fridge

Crisper drawers keep carrots crunchy and celery snappy; they’re the best place for fruits and vegetables. Use the high-humidity drawer for produce that wilts and the low-humidity for fruit and veggies that get moldy. The door is the warmest spot in the fridge, so use it for condiments but not milk or other perishable items.

C) Cool cupboards

Heat, light and humidity are the enemy of preserving flavor and freshness in herbs and spices, dried beans and grains and cooking oils. Store these items in a cool, dry, dark cupboard or drawer. The same goes for potatoes, onions and garlic.

D) Countertop tips

Leave tomatoes and avocados on the counter to ripen, then move to the fridge to keep them from going bad.

Top storage tools to try

Painter’s tape & permanent marker: Label and date like a pro. (It’s how restaurants keep track.)

Air-tight containers: Clear, air-tight jars, containers and bags keep food fresh and easy to see.

Phone camera: Snap a shelfie of your fridge, freezer, cupboard or spice drawer before heading to the store, so you don’t double-buy.

Lists: Keep lists on the fridge to make notes as you run out of things. An “Eat Me Soon” list is also helpful to avoid forgotten fruit and hidden leftovers.

Find more food saving tips

Find more storage tips that are good for your wallet and good for the planet at Eat Smart Waste Less. And while you're there, check out their tips for food shopping and cooking. (The site is also available in Spanish: www.eatsmartwasteless.com/acepteelreto)

This article appeared in the Winter 2020 Curbsider publication.

These handy apps help you reduce holiday food waste

Fall and winter holidays bring opportunities to enjoy meals together. By planning ahead for all the steps – buying, preparing, cooking, eating – you can help reduce food waste to make the most of your holidays!

Plan

Search for recipes online, find tips to use leftovers faster and easier, and create shopping lists (and even share your list with your co-chefs).

• Keep track of your shopping needs, your pantry’s inventory, and manage your to-do list items with Out of Milk.

• The Guest-imator from Save the Food helps you plan exactly what you need based on the number of guests and types of dishes.

• Paprika Recipe Manager offers recipes plus interactive options so you can cross off items as you go along, highlight your current step and convert measurements.

Prepare

Colorful foods like apples, pears, cranberries, winter squash, hazelnuts, walnuts, chard, kale, leeks, beets and potatoes all look beautiful on your plate. Find these seasonal treats with the farmers market map based on the neighborhood and the day they want to shop. Many are open year-round, and even more are open leading up to Thanksgiving.

Choose up to 3 ingredients and BigOven will tell you what you can make.

Cook

While the holidays bring together family, friends and food, they also allow for time in the kitchen together. Are there dishes you can prepare ahead of time? Invite friends over for a pie night to bake together and save time and money by sharing the work and the ingredients.

Eat

Now, enjoy the meal you have prepared or the special dishes you bring to a holiday gathering, potluck or dinner at someone else’s home. Sharing your favorite dishes elsewhere allows for less cleanup and  a chance to take home leftovers (don’t forget your reusable containers!).

Chinook Book is your key to sustainable living

It’s the 20th edition of Chinook Book! As always, the annual book includes hundreds of offers that are in line with being a thoughtful consumer in Portland, and why they are a Resourceful PDX partner. 

The Chinook Book highlights local, sustainable businesses that thrive in the community by giving back. There are close to 500 offers in seven categories this year – Dining, Entertainment and Family, Fashion and Gifts, Grocery Retailers, Home and Garden, Travel and Recreation and Wellness.

Some family-friendly favorites listed under Entertainment and Family include:

• OMSI

• Oregon Children’s Theatre

• Saturday Academy

• Oregon Zoo

• SCRAP

• Cloud Cap Games 

The Chinook Book team provides criteria so the businesses that appear in the book have been vetted for sustainability practices. This year, the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability has both a recycling ad and the Resourceful PDX ad, below.

Find savings by using both the print book and mobile app, available at local retailers and through school and nonprofit fundraisers. And don’t forget, every book includes a 12-month app subscription!

Shwop is your local membership swap shop

Shwop is a membership-based swap boutique for the whole family. It is the smart way to shop and swap your unwanted or unused items in your closet, drawers and jewelry boxes. Everyone shops, members swap!

Owner Marci Pelletier is celebrating both the shop’s seventh anniversary and a recent membership drive that reached 1,000 members. Marci is celebrating both highlights on April 20, 2019.

She found the current location in Sellwood in October 2018 after she outgrew a few other places in Portland. The inventory comes from members and takes items for the family, including men’s and kid items too. They don’t care about seasons and if it’s the right time of year (think sweaters in the summer!) like some used clothing stores do. And they aren’t brand or style specific, which also sets them apart from consignment shops.

The website includes a menu of accepted items, including:

• Clothes – pants, shirts, sweaters

• Shoes

• Jewelry

• Coats, jackets, fleece

• Exercise attire

• Belt, scarves, hats

Marci shares shop and volunteer needs through social media and frequent membership communications. There is structure around volunteering for those who have capacity to help and she welcomes volunteers to sort on Mondays, when the store is closed.

She has offered free pop-up stores for schools during conferences and worked with teachers on clothing drives, particularly in outer Southeast Portland. She sees a need to help others who may have fallen on hard times. Twice a year, she hosts free weekends with no questions asked.

She is hosting events, like tie dye and upcycled t-shirt workshops. These are free to members and open to the public for a small fee.

There is recycling, and reuse efforts made for items not sellable or wearable. Some textiles and fabrics find homes through relationships with artists; items like denim, flannel and cashmere that can be upcycled into usable, sellable goods.

Here are several ways to Shwop!

1. Become a member: Swap to your heart's content.

2. No-swap shopping: Just stop by and shop.

3. Donate: Clean your closet of those items you're not wearing, and they'll donate a shopping voucher to others in need.

Curious about this membership-based swap shop? Learn more about Marci from a previous blog post, get your questions answered online or visit the store for yourself!

Reclaim the holidays

Customers at ReClaim It! and Community Warehouse Estate Store told us why they choose to give gently used gifts during the holidays and all year round.

Find more ideas to create memories in your life in our resourceful #holiday series. 

Sam

“There are so many stories to be told through other people’s items. To re-gift them to another human creates the next chapter in the story.”

Kyle

“I look for raw materials like reclaimed old-growth wood to make a memorable gift for family or friends.”

Ann Marie

“I celebrate people in my life by giving experiences, homemade gifts and sharing my time.”

Riah

“I love to create and repurpose with old items and give them a second life. This is also my favorite way to gift those who are special to me.”

CK

“The chances of finding something unique are so much greater at resale places and I usually discover special things that remind me of someone I care about.”

Lloyd

“I take friends out on adventures, make them mix tapes, or really anything I think would make them feel loved and appreciated.”

Find (more) holiday inspiration and creative gift ideas

The holidays are upon us - and that means consideration of how we celebrate the people in our lives.

We can choose to do things differently. Here’s information on two sources that provide ideas outside the gift box.

More fun and less stuff

New Dream empowers individuals, communities, and organizations to transform the ways they consume to improve well-being for people and the planet. They’ve been offering alternatives about gifting for many years, including extensive information and resources about how to celebrate the holidays in ways that are lighter on the planet and your wallet.

The SoKind Registry is a registry and wishlist service that encourages the giving of homemade gifts, charitable donations, secondhand goods, experiences, time, day-of-event help, and more.

Check out the gift ideas section!

Create memories, not garbage

Metro Vancouver, our neighbors to the North have a holiday campaign called Create memories, not garbage.

There is a collection of creative gift ideas, tips for gift wrapping and ideas for celebrating the season – all with the intention to create memories and reduce waste this holiday season.

Get inspired with gift ideas by price range too with the Merry Memory Maker.

Note: The specific places are in and around Vancouver, BC. Check out the Resourceful PDX map for local organizations.

Find more ideas to create memories in your life in our resourceful #holiday series. 

The Buyerarchy of Needs

Are you already overwhelmed with stressful holiday errands and overspending? Worried about getting buried in all the packaging?

Consider a new low-waste way to approach the holidays this year that might save you some money and bring you a little more joy. The Buyerarchy of Needs is a visual guide to remind you of your other options besides buying something new.

As you look over your holiday lists, take a creative moment and ask yourself:

Is there something I already have I could use in a new way? Could I borrow or swap to get what I need? Maybe a thrift or resale shop has it? Can I make it?

Intrigued? Resourceful PDX is your local resource for tips and ideas to make simple changes in everyday choices. In fact, the Resourceful PDX map includes community-based organizations that help residents reuse, swap, repair and share such items as tools, building or art supplies, household goods or other materials rather than throwing away or buying new.

Resolve to be a thoughtful consumer in the new year to save money and resources. Explore the website for more ideas and tips in our resourceful #holiday series. 

Learn how The Buyerarchy of Needs came to be by designer and illustrator, Sarah Lazarovic.

Chinook Book offers delicious discoveries

By Carrie Treadwell from Resourceful PDX partner Chinook Book

The arrival of the 19th annual edition of Chinook Book includes over 100 Dining offers, with new ones available each month in the mobile app.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner options? Check.

Coffee, tea, beer and wine? Check.

Pizza, sandwiches, donuts and ice cream? Check.

Some new and exciting favorites that are part of this year’s offers include:

1. Breakside Brewery

2. Spielman Bagels

3. Bridgeport Brew Pub

4. Besaws

5. XLB

6. Pollo Bravo

7. Willamette Valley Vineyard

The Chinook Book highlights local, sustainable businesses that thrive in the community by giving back. There are over 500 offers in seven categories this year. The Chinook Book team spends time thinking about businesses and their industries and the approach and criteria with which they appear in the book. The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability and Resourceful PDX included!

Find savings by using both the print book and mobile app, available at local retailers and through school and nonprofit fundraisers. And don’t forget, every book includes a 12-month app subscription!

The Chinook Book map includes many resources that are also part of the Resourceful PDX map. 

Back-to-school shopping: Think local, buy used

Get kids ready to go back-to-school with local resources. There are many places to buy smart to help save time and money.

The back-to-school shopping season accounts for about 50 percent of annual school-related spending and impacts approximately one-quarter of U.S. households. The average spending per household is $510!

While clothing and school supplies dominate back to school lists, the highest average spending is for computers and hardware. Here’s a breakdown of the average spending per family in each category:

• Computers & hardware $299
• Clothing & accessories $286
• Electronic gadgets $271
• School supplies $112

Look for local options first

Free Geek makes buying repurposed electronics of all kinds an option for any student with their focus on digital inclusion. Computer systems are the focal point of their thrift store space and you can also donate old computers and electronic equipment.

PDX Parent offers a list of the many consignment, resale and used clothing shops in the Portland region.

SCRAP PDX has supplies to create DIY one-of-a-kind items for school, like pencil bags from fabric, zippers and found objects, or to customize last year’s backpacks by adding sew-on patches or letters. They have paper of all colors and sizes, markers, pens, colored pencils, plus so much more.

If you are you interested in diving into more about back to school spending, there’s a survey about insights on spending and shopping trends. In the current survey, 98 percent of people said they plan to buy clothing and accessories and school supplies.

Check out past posts about kids in school - and use the Resourceful PDX map to locate resources near you.

10 things to do today to reduce your waste

Jenica Barrett from Zero Waste Wisdom shares her insights for creating less waste.

Jenica Barrett started a new, personal journey that began with a six-month challenge. That was three years ago and it is now part of her everyday life. The challenge she set out to complete was a waste audit - where you gather your trash to tally, weigh and itemize for a week or a month.

She was a college student back then and now as a graduate student, she leads workshops and presentations about her zero-waste lifestyle.

“I see myself as someone fortunate enough to educate others on the environmental impacts of our actions collectively and to provide resources for them to adjust their lifestyles for the better. I do this by dedicating a vast amount of time to keeping my blog up-to-date and offering local workshops. I provide information that anyone can apply to their own life, or they can adapt my suggestions to meet their current needs. Face-to-face interaction is also highly impactful which is why I focus a lot of time promoting the idea of waste reduction and environmental stewardship in my local community.”

Rethinking how to create less waste is the goal. This can be purchasing a durable coffee mug from a resale or thrift store to buying dried cranberries from the bulk section at your local grocery store.

Ask yourself questions before a purchase, such as:

• Do I already have something that can do the job?
• Can I buy this second hand?
• Is there a more durable option?
• Can I borrow it from someone?

We all have habits – some good, some not so good – that we choose to do. What we do with our waste – recycle, compost or landfill it - is part of our habits too.

The average person produces 2.89 pounds of garbage a day per year.  That’s 1,054 pounds a year. Jenica chronicles her continued journey by showing the waste she produces each year. In 2017, she created 1.67 pounds, and it fits in a jar!

Jenica gets many questions about her lifestyle from workshop participants and online. This gives her opportunities to offer tips to reduce, reuse – and refuse. She said some people get stuck on bringing things themselves (bags, mugs, cutlery). She offers another direction if this is an obstacle – like purchasing an item in a different package. This type of shift is what opens the door to reducing and creating less waste. Keep in mind - the best choice is to avoid any product that is designed to be disposed of after one use.

“The biggest thing people can do to avoid contributing to the plastic program our oceans are facing is to stop using it. Plain and simple. This can take the form of buying things in bulk, bringing your own container, and giving feedback to companies who still use excessive packaging. It is important that we start demanding change by being conscious of where our dollars are spent and make sure we are putting our money towards products that are good for the environment. We can’t kick our plastic habit overnight and I still use plastic products now and then. But unless we dramatically cut back on our reliance on disposables, these items will keep ending up in the ocean. It doesn’t matter how well we sort our recycling or whether we develop incinerators for our trash. If we are using so many disposable products, litter and pollution will continue to occur.”

Here is Jenica’s list of 10 things to do today to reduce your waste:

1. Invest in a reusable water bottle
2. Bring your own grocery bags
3. Bring containers for leftovers at restaurants
4. Buy in bulk
5. Make your own cosmetics
6. Compost your food scraps
7. Refuse plastic straws
8. Purchase second hand items
9. Switch out paper towels for cotton towels
10. Conduct a waste audit

Jenica offers tips, advice, recipes and more on her website and through social media. Learn more at Zero Waste Wisdom.