With the new year comes a time to pause and reflect on our habits. Did you know that in California, we generate 6.2 lbs of trash per person per day (2024, CalRecycle)?  Many of the things that we use on a daily basis are only used for a few minutes before throwing them away. It doesn't have to be that way! By choosing to reuse instead of throw away, you can help keep materials out of the landfill, and often save money in the process. Here are the small habits we're adopting in 2026 to work on throwing less away.

1.  Stop buying paper towels.

We're replacing paper towels in the kitchen with reusable alternatives that we can throw in the wash at the end of the week. Some local stores sell "paperless paper towels"-- small cloths made of absorbent fabric, that you can use the same as regular paper towels and just wash in the washing machine after use. But making the switch doesn't require an investment, you can also use old rags or cut up t-shirts for the same purpose!

2. Shop at the bulk bins.

Pantry staples, like rice, pasta or coffee, often come in un-recyclable single-use plastic packaging. This new year, we're bringing our own containers to the grocery store, to fill up just the amount we need without any packaging waste (pro tip: old pasta sauce jars work great for bulk shopping). There are lots of grocery stores locally that sell a variety of products in bulk, for stores that sell in bulk try checking out Sunshine Health Foods in Morro Bay, the SLO Food Co-Op, or the Central Coast Refillery in Atascadero to get started.

3. Saving online packaging for next time.

Orders from online stores often come with a lot of waste: layers of tissue paper, bubble wrap and cardboard boxes. We're designating a corner of our storage closet to saving these materials for the next time we need to mail a package or wrap a gift.

4. Save scratch paper for notetaking.

When we misprint at the printer, or only use one side of a document, we're saving the sheet of paper for the next time we need scratch paper.

5. Stop bagging the recycling bin, and instead bring the whole container to the curbside bin.

Bags are not accepted in the blue recycling bin, because they can get caught on the sorting lines at the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) where our recyclables are sorted. Instead of lining our recycling bin with a plastic bag, just to empty the contents in the blue bin and throw the bag away, we're keeping our recycling bin bagless to cut down on plastics. If you really want to line your recycling bin with a bag, try a paper bag, or reusing the plastic bag to line your trash container after it held the recycling.