After years of doing things a certain way, we become conditioned. Such is the case with reaching for that a box of plastic film wrap. After decades of adding a thin plastic seal over freshly baked goodies, leftovers or half cut fruit before placing them the fridge—it becomes a foreign concept to think food can be stored a different way.
The great news is there are many other ways to store your food other than using plastic wrap.
Reusable Food Wraps
Reusable Food Wraps come in many different forms. The most common are Beeswax Wraps, or for those that prefer to skip the beeswax Vegan Food Wraps work exactly the same way (they're just made with a plant based wax).
To use your reusable wrap, simply place your hands around the edges of the bowl/dish or food item you are wanting to cover. The heat from your hands will help mold the wrap around your container or food item.
After use, simply rinse the wrap with warm soapy water to clean. If you have a dish drying rack, hang the wrap on the rack to dry out.
Reusable Food Wraps are the perfect alternative to plastic film wrap. With the added bonus that they are plastic free and zero waste!
When your wraps start to loose their stickiness you can simply melt a bar of pre-mixed wax and brush the wax over the top of the wrap, pop them in the oven to melt and you have fresh new wraps ready to reuse.
Bonus: Reusable Wraps also make a great zero waste gift. Head to your local florist and pick out a bunch of flowers. Wrap the flower stems in a reusable beeswax or vegan wrap. (You'll want to use a medium or large size wrap for this). Add a card and your gift is complete! No plastic, just nature at its finest.
When you hand your flowers over, the recipient can remove the food wrap and place the flowers directly into a vase. The food wraps are the second gift, a gift that keeps on giving!
Compostable Cling Wrap
Okay so not everyone loves reusable wraps, and they aren't always the best option for food storage. You can't see through them to know what's under the cloth and they aren't suitable for meat and seafood products.
If you've tried reusable wraps yet keep reaching for the cling wrap, there is a more environmentally option.
Yes you can have your cake and cover it in plastic too!
Eco Cling Wrap is made from plant based materials and is 100% compostable. There is a catch — it's best to dispose of this cling wrap in an industrial composting facility as it's not certified for home composts. We can however tell you that we have been testing this cling wrap in our home composting system and the product does decompose without a trace.
Just remember the EORTH golden rule: it won't compost unless you compost it.
Reusable Storage Containers
Most homes have containers floating around in the cupboard. Some are more organised than others. (It's easy to let this part of your kitchen get out of control). But it's January—it's a new year and we're resolving to do things differently this year!
Take a look at your "reusable storage container" cupboards and see what treasures you have hidden in the cupboards or draws.
It doesn't matter if they aren't uniform, or if they're used takeaway containers, or even if they're plastic! What matters is that they have a base and a lid to match.
Put the lids on the bases of your containers and put them aside. Anything that has no lid, or if you have too many lids—purge those from your kitchen. If they are recyclable place them in the recycle bin.
Figure out how best to store your containers. Many people like to store their lids and bases separately.
If you have the room in your cupboard, storing the sealed containers stacked on top of one another is an easy way of knowing what lids fits with what base.
Happy reusable food wrapping and Happy Plastic Free January.
