Environmental Waste

I have a confession to make...

I am not green.  I am the antithesis of green.  I am a wasteful, resource gobbling demon.

What I'm referring to, specifically, is my use of Ziploc baggies.  I love them. Last night's flank steak dinner leftovers were carefully measured into individual portions, baggied, and then placed within a larger freezer safe bag.  They then joined the pre-measured and double-bagged chicken breast on the shelf in the refridgerator.  This evening, whatever I don't think I'll consume within the next few days will be relegated to the freezer.

Ah, the baggie.  They come in a myriad of sizes, even ones with a real zipper, in the shape of a cube!  If you've got a storage need, food or otherwise, I bet you that there is a baggie for it.  Seriously.  I'll put money on it.

But when it comes to food - well, let's just say the baggie rules supreme.  Don't get me wrong, I've got a tupperware (gladware, etc) cabinet that is so overfilled you need a hardhat to protect  your noggin when you dare to open the door.  But I can never reach the container I need (I'm a pipsqueak), and if I can find the one I want you'd better believe that the top is nowhere to be found.  Probably hanging out with my missing socks behind the gym, sneaking a siggy and wasting their youth.

I've got bento boxes.  Boxes with built in ice packs, sectioned off to hold a full meal. 

But I always come back to my baggies.

I can see what is in them.  I can fit 7 days worth of meals on one fridge drawer.  My lunch bucket (cooler) actually closes without me breaking a sweat.

Of course, there is the occasional mishap.  Sometimes the zip top doesn't entirely close and I wind up with oatmeal scattered across the bottom of my cooler like fertilizer.  But generally, I can get to work without a hitch.

And, not to pat myself on the back - I do reuse any baggies that held dry goods (bread, oats, powders, etc).  So, I'm not such a terrible person, right?

Right?

There you have it.  I am not a perfect, green, organic, saver of nature.  Whew.  Feels good to get that off my chest!

How about you?  If you're a brown-bagger, how do you transport your meals from home?

5 comments:

  1. Baggies rule. For a while the Suit was saving up the used ones, but even Queen Cheap here is not THAT cheap. (Ew, mustard residue! I love mustard, but three day old dry crusty bits? Nope.) And I even break up the nasty double packs I shouldn't pack in my kids' lunches (Little Debbie rejoice. O! the shame) so at least it's only half the creamy badness--but yup, needs a baggie. I buy the generic brand or the real thing, whichever has the better deal that day.

    But I do recycle! Just not baggies.

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  2. I recycle most of the time. Not nearly as much as I should :(

    But I don't litter!

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  3. I do use baggies - but the big huge ones. I can get multiple lunch items into one bag ( usually veg type things that it doesnt matter if they mix ) and I do wash out the big baggies and re-use.

    The little ones I use in the kid's lunches --- yeah i'm bag , we just throw them away ( unless it was a dry item , like you )

    I'm trying really hard to embrace wrapping sandwiches in parchment paper or light butcher paper. It's a couple of extra steps , but atleast when they throw it away it can actually decompose within their lifetime.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I do use baggies - but the big huge ones. I can get multiple lunch items into one bag ( usually veg type things that it doesnt matter if they mix ) and I do wash out the big baggies and re-use.

    The little ones I use in the kid's lunches --- yeah i'm bag , we just throw them away ( unless it was a dry item , like you )

    I'm trying really hard to embrace wrapping sandwiches in parchment paper or light butcher paper. It's a couple of extra steps , but atleast when they throw it away it can actually decompose within their lifetime.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Baggies do rule for freezing steaks, chicken,...., but I prefer tupperware when it come to lunchs. We had the same problem with our tupperware with years of mix matching and not able to find a lid without tearing everything apart. I finally had enough and tossed all the old stuff and got new tupperware and what a difference.

    ReplyDelete

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