Avoid food waste: Strategies for better housekeeping

Each year, approximately 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted globally. This isn’t just a waste of valuable resources like water, energy, and labor—it also means that a significant amount of money is thrown away. You might think that the hospitality industry is the main contributor to this problem, but the reality is different. Around 40% of global food waste comes from households, making them the biggest offenders. The good news? Reducing food waste at home is actually easier than you might think and can have a huge impact on both your wallet and the planet.

This highlights just how important it is to tackle food waste on a personal level, and with simple actions, each of us can make a difference!

Well planned is half as much thrown away

A good purchase needs to be well planned, regardless of whether you are a consumer shopper (which is what we are in our household, for example) or a stock shopper. The shopping list is essential. You can write it down on an old-fashioned piece of paper or digitally on your smartphone. There is now an app for almost everything. Before you go shopping, you should think about what your menu might look like for the week (for us, that's every day or every two days). Then you should check what you have left in the house. Incidentally, the shopping list always helps me to only buy what we really need, which in turn has a positive effect on my wallet.

Don't shop hungry

How often has this happened to me? I've gone shopping with a growling stomach and suddenly, for some inexplicable reason, the shopping cart was full to the brim. Since then, I've gotten into the habit of eating at least a snack before I go shopping.

Best before - not immediately expired

The best-before date simply indicates the date until which the manufacturer guarantees that their product is still edible - provided it is unopened and stored correctly. Once the best-before date has been reached, this does not mean that you have to dispose of the product immediately. Rely on your sense of taste and smell. If the food still tastes good and smells appetizing, then it is very likely that it is still edible. I know people who have even eaten yogurt that had been expired for over a year - and they survived. However, I am careful with meat and fish that is past its best-before date.

Get inventive when cooking

Personally, I can't stand it when I have to throw food away. We recently had a case at home with eggs that were a few days past their best-before date. So we spontaneously decided to make spaghetti carbonara. One egg didn't pass the “egg test” and had to be thrown away, but we were able to use the rest without any problems. So if you have food in your fridge/storage cupboard at home that has reached its best-before date, why not see what you can conjure up from it? I find that one-pot dishes are perfect for using up food that is about to expire. If it gets too much, you can simply invite friends over and eat the portions together.

Weekly planning is the key

To prevent food from being bought pointlessly and then thrown away, you should plan at least roughly what you are going to eat throughout the week. For example, Monday spaghetti, Tuesday schnitzel with chips and vegetables and so on. Planning your week can help you to go shopping in a targeted way. For example, I'm currently testing out a cooking box, which I'll blog about later. If you have the opportunity, you can also go shopping in an unpackaged store and get the exact amount of food you need. This is also good for the environment as it saves on packaging waste.

Freezing, preserving, canning

Food can of course also be preserved by freezing, preserving, canning or dehydrating it.

Correct storage

The shelf life of food naturally also depends on how it is stored. What belongs in the fridge should of course be stored in the fridge (logical, right?) and dry food should be stored in such a way that it cannot absorb moisture or is protected from pests.

Bonus tip: Use the Smantry.app

If you want to fight food waste, our Smantry.app can be a very helpful tool. With the help of our app, you can get a targeted overview of what food you still have at home. After shopping, simply scan the barcode and assign the right storage location to the food in question. As the cherry on the cake, you can also record the best-before date for the respective food in our app. Our Smantry.app also allows you to keep track of what food you still have in the house and how much of each product - so it no longer disappears into the depths of the freezer or store cupboard.