On the path to a zero-waste or more eco-friendly kitchen and life? These handy and often beautiful gadgets are our family’s favorite way to reduce kitchen waste for a greener home.
At Janery, we’ve always been focused on making the best pet beds on the planet. Equally important is knowing that our pet beds are ethically manufactured by people who are treated with respect. But we also want to respect our planet in the process.
While we aren’t yet zero-waste, we already take steps to reduce our environmental footprint, from turning large scraps into the biggest, most irresistible cat toys, and donating our smaller fabric scraps to educational institutions. We package our tough Catnip Logs and extra long Catnip Kicker toys in biodegradable sleeves for freshness.
If you appreciate how we’ve created washable, durable pet beds that bounce back from the inevitable messes pets sling at them - keeping more beds out of landfills - you might appreciate our list of time-tested items for a less wasteful kitchen.
1. Travel Pouches for Straws + Cutlery
Keep reusable straws in easy reach with this purse or backpack-ready storage pouch from Beego Handmade. It also holds a fork and spoon easily.
2. Stainless Steel Drinking Straws
We’ve been enjoying reusable glass straws for over 10 years, but these American-made metal straws are more convenient on the go and a lot less nerve wracking with kids! Find durable USA-made metal straws at Mulled Mind.
The Final Straw is the fabulous collapsible metal straw. We recommend only purchasing from their website, as the market was quickly flooded with knock-offs that were not only copying this inventor, but sometimes injuring people.
3. Stasher Silicone Zip Top Bags
Stasher bags are becoming our favorite replacement for disposable ziplock bags in the freezer, and whenever we need to store something that could leak out of the cloth snack bags above.
4. Food Huggers
When you need to stash half a lemon or a bit of cucumber in the fridge, Food Huggers to the rescue! Their 4 sizes of machine-washable silicone produce “lids” are perfect for the job.
5. Beeswax Wrap
We’ve been using beeswax wraps for about 3 months now, and are completely sold. Not only is it cute and washable, it conforms to awkwardly shaped food and bowls much better than plastic wrap. (If you’re a fan of Saran Press&Seal, this is the perfect replacement.) Good brands include BeesWrap and Meli Wraps.
6. Waterproof Cloth Snack Bags
These fabric snack bags from Beego Handmade are surprisingly useful, durable, and washable. Perfect for stashing snacks for adults and kids alike. Lined with food-safe waterproof fabric, they’re available with three kinds of closures - snaps, velcro, or simple foldover.
7. Cloth Produce Bags
Not pictured but equally important - cloth produce bags. We’ve been using them for over 10 years and they’re still going strong! Ethically manufactured and light as a feather, these drawstring bags from EcoBags are great for far more than just produce.
*You’ll notice that we avoid linking to the products on Amazon. At Janery, we prefer to order products from smaller businesses when we can, to avoid lining the pockets of massive corporations like Amazon.
Uncommon Goods stocks most of these, and many more eco-friendly, reusable kitchen goods - and they often feature the work of artisans.
If you love your pets and our low-waste kitchen ideas, you're probably a perfect fit for the Janery VIP club. Our bimonthly emails promise to never be boring, and share behind the scenes peeks as well as exclusive access to our private sales.
