Driving through nearly any neighborhood on the day when the local trash service is due to collect the garbage can be very revealing. The trash bins brought to the curb by some families will be neat and carefully closed, with no actual garbage in sight while the bins from other homes are filled to overflowing with bulging, smelly bags full of garbage. If your family's trash bins have become a source of embarrassment on trash day, you should know that it is surprisingly easy to learn how to drastically reduce the amount of trash your family produces and the following tips will help! 

Reducing kitchen trash begins at the grocery store

A simple way to reduce the amount of trash produced in your kitchen is to simply purchase the largest size of the product that you can use or store without risking spoilage. If you normally purchase items like flour, sugar, salt, cooking oil, rice, oatmeal and cereal in small bags or boxes, consider choosing the largest size available instead and storing the excess in glass jars or canisters. This will allow you to throw away a single empty bag or box for each product every few weeks, instead of throwing out one or more empty bags after each shopping trip. As a bonus, this practice usually also results in saving money on your grocery bill. 

Learn to say no when shopping for clothing

When shopping for clothing at the department or big box store, learn to say no when asked if you would like to keep the hangers. The hanger is not necessary to prevent wrinkling and will likely end up in your trash can if you allow it to be put into the bag with your purchase. 

Choose reusable goods instead of single use items when possible

Making a choice to use reusable goods instead of disposable items is another way to save on the amount of trash your home produces and keep more money in the household operating budget, too. Some good examples of this include: 

• choosing to use cloth napkins at the dinner table
• choosing to use cloth dish towels and cleaning cloths
• investing in reusable mop heads and floor cleaning pads that can be laundered and used over and over
• investing in washable, reusable grill mats instead of using aluminum foil to line the grill
• investing in inexpensive, reusable plastic cups, dinnerware and cutlery for picnics and meals eaten outside instead of using paper products
• investing in a pizza stone and learning to make delicious pizza at home instead of ordering out and having to dispose of the large cardboard boxes

For even more ideas on how you can quickly and easily reduce the amount of household trash your family produces, contact your trash collection company.