Saving the environment, one loaf at a time.

I told you I had projects going on, so here's numero uno: bags.

I've been following a woman's blog about reducing household waste, which has been a goal of mine but something I've gotten away from recently. I was inspired to start up again, and my first task was to make bulk shopping and food storage bags.

I have been baking bread a lot more lately, but the problem has been in how to store it. My loaves are too big for most plastic bags, which I don't want to use anyway since they ultimately end up in the trash after a few uses. And I hate to use plastic wrap because I feel like the plastic seeps into the bread and gives it a funny taste. I had been using foil but, again, it ends up in the trash can.

Solution: fabric bags.

I know, I know, seems counter-intuitive to store a baked good in a breathable bag, but it actually has worked pretty well so far! Yes, if it's left in the pantry for over a week it gets hard, but we don't often go past that long before it's all eaten up (toasted homemade bread with butter is one of my many addictions). And it holds up great in the freezer, too. Who'dathunk?

I also took an old sheet and some laundry bag material and sewed up some bags for bulk items at the store. My goal is to significantly reduce the amount of packaging I take from the store, so I'm buying most things in bulk (flour, oats, even chocolate chips and pasta) and from the bulk produce. To go even further, I take my own bulk bags instead of the plastic ones at the store. I write the numbers down on a piece of scrap paper (usually a receipt from the previous trip) and have the tare weights of the bag written right on the fabric. So far it's worked great! When I get home, I just put it into glass jars for storage.

It was great to break out the sewing machine and be creative again. Having projects definitely helps my sanity in this wet and cold Montana spring.