I’m not sure about you guys but my plans this holiday season are to keep the hygge vibe going strong and host as much as I can rather than going out. Not to try and be anti-social by any means, believe me I can fit a good 25 in my 700 sq foot apartment, but there’s something so cozy about staying in, controlling the music, picking at homemade tapas and not having to fight for a table or scream over music. Perhaps that’s just Manhattan style, but if you plan to be a little hermit like me, here are my plans for hosting waste free.
When it comes to hosting, I generally try and keep it pretty simple in terms of what to serve food wise. If I need an ingredient that I know a friend has, I’ll ask them to bring something over to contribute to the spread. I generally try and make everything homemade including hummus and dips to accompany carrots, celery, broccoli and the like. I honestly used to just put out the vegetables for myself but have noticed people generally appreciate a healthy spread, and it truly does look beautiful when you lay it all out, a rainbow of colors that are even punchier in hue when they come from the farmer’s market. And yes, believe me they taste better too! With this kind of spread it’s easy to waste less because you don’t have to put everything out at once. Usually I’ll put out a base, see how the crowd is reacting, and add as I see necessary. Everything leftover I can snack on the rest of the week.
In terms of shopping, something I’ve changed this year has been shopping more and buying less. My husband and I used to spend upwards of $150-200 on groceries per week and I’d say we ended up throwing out at least a third of that simply because we couldn’t eat that much in time before it went bad. We both happen to eat a lot but between dinners out and travel, it never really got finished. So now, we both shop separately and only include what we really need for that week.
In case you’re making a bit more food, have your guests bring Tupperware so they can take home some leftovers too. Leftovers happen to be an absolute favorite of mine, but sometimes my husband will get sick of it after a day or two… This way your guests can enjoy a little bit extra as the week goes on and again, you’re helping alleviate the waste you may end up throwing out. Stasher Bags is a favorite single-use plastic replacement of mine. They seal up really well and are dishwasher and microwave safe!
If you’re trying to be conscious of your spending, encourage a potluck type night where everyone brings a dish or two to make up an entire meal. It’s a nice way to try foods you oftentimes wouldn’t make at home and is much easier on you in terms of hosting. Plus, less mess to clean up! If you’re worried about everything going together, just have your friends send what they’re bringing to a group chat or assign people different dishes to bring such as apps, mains, sides or desserts.
With regards to clean up, these are a few recipes below for your own air fresheners, bathroom and everyday cleaners using just a few household ingredients. Vodka-Citrus DIY air freshener, DIY all in one bathroom cleaner and the All purpose cleaner are a few of my personal favorites. Good on You also has some great suggestions on their website.
Some more things you can do to stay green while hosting are to use cloth napkins, save wine corks for future projects (for our wedding we used them as table number holders), ensure you save all the small scraps for composting, refrigerate all half empty bottles of wine that will help keep it fresh a little longer (unsurprisingly, we never seem to have issues with wasting wine…;), and get creative with recipes for leftovers.
Check out these items below to feature at your next dinner party: