SO of things you save: Ziplocks.

[MayDay]

We wash and reuse but they wear out so fast. I am mostly wanting to eliminate for environmental and health reasons (we try to avoid putting food in plastic).  Also I hate washing them!

But they are so handy for freezing garden veggies, big batches of soup, I divide my 25 lb bag of bulk flour into 5 gallon ziplocks, etc. Last summer I froze probably 30 bags of shredded zucchini, whole beets, kale, basil, diced bell pepper, whole tomatoes. I like that if I freeze them flat in a bag I can break off however much I need. I do freeze single servings of soup in wide mouth pint canning jars, but that is the largest freezer safe size.

So if you live a ziplock free life, how do you do it?

[GuitarStv]

Yogurt, margarine, cottage cheese, and various other plastic containers seem to work OK for freezing and will last longer than zip-lock baggies.  When the containers to crap out on you, you can wash them out and recycle them (unlike zip-lock bags).

[soccerluvof4]

^+1...I like that idea.

[golfer44]

I've heard of people using mason jars in place of Tupperware or Ziplock bags.

[ketchup]

Yogurt, margarine, cottage cheese, and various other plastic containers seem to work OK for freezing and will last longer than zip-lock baggies.  When the containers to crap out on you, you can wash them out and recycle them (unlike zip-lock bags).

Not sure why I haven't been doing this!  Thanks for the tip!  We actually get our full-fat yogurt and sour cream in two really good sizes for stuff like this.  We do use mason jars as much as possible too. 

[Russ]

+1 for reusing any containers from your regular groceries. big peanut butter jars are my favorite: wide mouth, screw top, waterproof.

[Elaine]

I freeze in mason jars

[Rural]

+1 for reusing any containers from your regular groceries. big peanut butter jars are my favorite: wide mouth, screw top, waterproof.

How do you get the dang peanut butter residue out of the jar without stopping up drains/ smearing the whole house/ screaming in frustration? I love PB jars, and this is a constant headache.

[windawake]

I freeze things in mason jars. I use the pint ones for soups and liquids and quart ones even though you're not 'supposed' to, I just don't put liquid in them. I'll freeze beans, or bits of veggies I'm saving for stock, or whatever in the big ones. I also freeze in Pyrex containers which are technically freezer safe. I use Ziploc bags on occasion, for example I bake bread and cut it into slices and freeze these in a Ziploc.

+1 for reusing any containers from your regular groceries. big peanut butter jars are my favorite: wide mouth, screw top, waterproof.

How do you get the dang peanut butter residue out of the jar without stopping up drains/ smearing the whole house/ screaming in frustration? I love PB jars, and this is a constant headache.

I give the peanut butter jar to my dog and let her lick all the residue out! She loves it. Whatever her tongue can't reach I get out with a small spatula.

[Frankies Girl]

I grew up saving the butter tubs and other plastic bowls with lids for storage. It actually was a shock to me that you could buy sets of plastic/glass storage at the stores when I first started stocking my own house.

I use them for guests for take-home leftovers too. I just tell them to toss them in the recycle bin instead of trying to return it to me.

I do still use plastic baggies tho. I still like the convenience but I wash and reuse and I don't buy ziploc - I get generics.

Oh! I just remembered something else I keep meaning to try to eliminate smaller baggies and plastic wrap:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-make-reusable-bowl-cove-108271

You can use the oilcloth to make little pocket sized baggies for snack foods as well - just use snaps or velcro.

[Rural]

+1 for reusing any containers from your regular groceries. big peanut butter jars are my favorite: wide mouth, screw top, waterproof.

How do you get the dang peanut butter residue out of the jar without stopping up drains/ smearing the whole house/ screaming in frustration? I love PB jars, and this is a constant headache.

I give the peanut butter jar to my dog and let her lick all the residue out! She loves it. Whatever her tongue can't reach I get out with a small spatula.

I did the same thing when we had smaller dogs, but the current dogs ruin the screw-on threads on plastic jars (and chew through the side if we don't watch carefully), and I don't give them glass ones because they could crush them and cut themselves. No problems with tongues not reaching, though!

One partial solution is to put in some of their kibble and a little water, screw on the lid, shake the heck out of it, and then give the kibble to the dogs. Gets out a lot of PB residue, but not all of it. You do have to be comfortable with the idea that kibble has been in your jar, but since our dogs are big fans of French kisses, I'm kind of over that ick factor. :-)

[ASquared]

Check out these (or many similar kinds) for reusable ziploc style bags.  These are great for sandwiches, snack foods, fruit, etc.  Would be great for kids too.

http://www.reuseit.com/reusable-sandwich-and-snack-bags/lunchskins-lunchskins-reusable-sandwich-bag-large.htm?aff=5151&gclid=CLb5t9_z9rwCFUiGfgodT3sAiQ

http://www.reuseit.com/reusable-sandwich-and-snack-bags/planet-wise-planet-wise-reusable-sandwich-bag-with-zipper.htm?aff=5151&gclid=CPvEmbrz9rwCFRaSfgodQoYAiw

Oh and on a similar note we use these instead of plastic bags when market or grocery shopping for produce:
http://www.amazon.com/flip-tumble-Reusable-Produce-Bags/dp/B002UXQ7QQ/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1393868291&sr=8-14&keywords=lunchskins

[Russ]

+1 for reusing any containers from your regular groceries. big peanut butter jars are my favorite: wide mouth, screw top, waterproof.

How do you get the dang peanut butter residue out of the jar without stopping up drains/ smearing the whole house/ screaming in frustration? I love PB jars, and this is a constant headache.

my quick and pain-free Patented Laser Peanut Butter Removal^TM

or: soak in water overnight, then agitate most of it away with my hands rather than clog up a sponge. if it's really tough, spreading a little vegetable oil on the sides is more effective than water for dissolving/loosening

[Dr. Doom]

I avoid using and re-using plastic stuff as much as I can because of concerns about BPAs and other toxins in plastic.  Glass containers for leftovers, mason jars for freezing, all the way.

[lexie2000]

I put chicken, ground beef, etc. in Ziploc sandwich bags and seal them as well as possible.  Then I put that in a Ziploc freezer bag.  I re-use the freezer bag, but throw away the sandwich bag after thawing the contents.

[Rural]

+1 for reusing any containers from your regular groceries. big peanut butter jars are my favorite: wide mouth, screw top, waterproof.

How do you get the dang peanut butter residue out of the jar without stopping up drains/ smearing the whole house/ screaming in frustration? I love PB jars, and this is a constant headache.

my quick and pain-free Patented Laser Peanut Butter Removal^TM

or: soak in water overnight, then agitate most of it away with my hands rather than clog up a sponge. if it's really tough, spreading a little vegetable oil on the sides is more effective than water for dissolving/loosening

I need me one of those PLPBR^TM devices!

Meanwhile, good tip on the vegetable oil, and I'll go back to my first-world PB problems. :-)

[ashley]

If you freeze anything liquidy in glass jars, remember to leave some head room for expansion! Otherwise, your jars will crack. I learned that the hard way.

[iris lily]

I save and wash baggies, had quite a pile of them. Then last night we moved the microwave and found that a mouse had been living there, nesting among the baggies. ick, they all had to be thrown out. There was probably 10 - 15 of them.

[ketchup]

If you freeze anything liquidy in glass jars, remember to leave some head room for expansion! Otherwise, your jars will crack. I learned that the hard way.

Yes!  Leave more room than you think you need too.  Salvaging half a gallon of frozen raw milk from a very cracked glass bottle sucks. :(

[PMG]

I am almost plastic free.

Like several others posted, I use a few butter tubs and dairy containers to freeze things in.  I prefer them over peanut butter containers because if I forget to let something thaw ahead of time, then it's stuck in the PB container.  With a dairy container I can just wiggle it a bit and pop it out into a pan or glass bowl for the microwave. 

I never heat things in those plastic containers.

Most food is stored in an assortment of glass jars (pasta sauce..) and mason jars for leftovers.  With glass in the freezer you can't just stuff things in haphazardly, but it's worth. You can also pop it in the microwave to thaw and get past the top if you forget to get it out early.  I eat a lot of soup, and that stores easily in jars.  Easy to pour a portion out of a narrow mouth jar, and my ladle fits in a widemouth jar. 

I have a set of glass dishes with locking plastic lids that I use for non soup leftovers.

I LOVE Elite Mason jars.  They are wide mouth 8 and 16 oz jars with have the footprint of a quart jar.  I use them for lunch packing, left overs, food prep... everything.  I especially like the 16 oz elite for soup.  It can go straight from the freezer to lunchbox to microwave.  The 8 oz Elite is great for veggies and humus.  I pack tea in quart jar and I'm good to go.  You ALWAYS have lids that fit! 

Amazon has a selection here.  I bought mine at Target for around $5 per 4 pack. 


I also feel like the world should know that most blenders fit a narrow mouth mason jar.  Cocktails, smoothies, pureed food, humus... less waste and dirty dishes.