Homemade Potato Chips

These are so delicious! Nice and crispy just like (but better) store bought ones!

I peel my potatoes first but you don't have to. Then I slice them thin. I usually do 4 potatoes for my family of 4. Once they are all sliced fill up your bowl of potatoes with cold water and stir them around. Drain off the water then do the same thing again. I keep the potatoes in a strainer and press some more of the water out then I put them on a clean towel to dry a little. This process helps get the starch out so they won't turn out soggy.

Next step is to add a little oil to your frying pan and sprinkle with salt and let it heat up a bit. Once heated I cover the bottom with sliced potatoes and sprinkle a bit more salt. Let them fry a little then flip. I add another sprinkle of salt (my family loves salty chips...and everything else) then I flip them again. If they aren't wiggly any more they are done. I put them on a plate with a towel so it soaks up some of the oil. Repeat the process till they are all cooked! 

It takes a little while but it's so worth it and completely waste free!! I buy the salt in bulk (no packaging) and I buy my olive oil in my own jars, and I buy the potatoes in my mesh bags. No Waste!! :-)

Zero Waste Laundry

First I will share my laundry soap recipe with you. I have been using this for about 6 years so I don't even remember where I found it.

I grate 1 bar of soap and put it in a pot with 2 quarts of water. Stir till the soap is melted. 

(shown below)

 In a 5 gallon bucket fill with 4 1/2 gallons of hot water. It looks soapy because I had a little leftover soap in the bottom. Once you fill the bucket add in 1 cup borax and 1 cup washing soda. Both come in cardboard boxes and can be composted or recycled. Stir in the ingredients.

When the pot of soap is ready pour it into the bucket. Stir it in. You can then put into pour-able containers or leave it in the bucket. I leave mine in the bucket. Let it set 24 hours. Stir it up good before you use.

Secondly, I hang dry a lot of my clothes. I do dry some in the dryer too. It's pretty much half and half. Someday I will have a place to hang dry everything outside all spring and summer! Again, this zero waste life takes baby steps. For now I have 3 drying racks for inside all fall and winter and I set them outside during the spring and summer. I have a little spot in my laundry room where I can hang dry a few things as well.

When I do dry things in the dryer I use a wool dryer ball sometimes with a little essential oil. The dryer ball helps with static!

And there you have it. Pretty simple. I have been doing it all this way even before we started our zero waste journey. Once you get into a routine with doing something new it's like you have always done it this way.

No Bake Granola Bar Recipe

These are a favorite in this house so I thought I would share our recipe with you. 

1 cup quick oats

2 cups cereal

(I use rice puffs though I can't get them zero waste) You can probably put any thing in here like actual granola, fruit and nuts.

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix all of those in a bowl together.

1 cup peanut or almond butter

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup brown sugar

Mix these in a pot on the stove over low heat. Mix completely and when you see it start to boil slightly, remove from heat and pour over the mixture in the bowl. Get everything mixed up good. In a greased pan (I use coconut oil) pour the mixture in and with a spatula flatten it out over the pan. Let it sit in the fridge for an hour. Once solid you can cut it up into bars and store in an airtight container. 

These do not last long in our house. I make them every couple of weeks. Also, I absolutely love that you don't have to bake them. 

My Zero Waste Beginning

This is what I did to start at home. I have been at this for a year. It can be overwhelming, but if you start out slow you'll pick up good habits in no time. I started out with cloth napkins, micro fiber towels, and cloth feminine pads and the big change…I switched from wearing contacts to wearing my glasses.

I furthered my zero waste start by grocery shopping. I found a couple of stores that have zero waste food options and called them to see if they did tare weight. Tare weight is just the process by which the weight of the jar or bag you bring in for your bulk goods is zeroed out or removed from the weight of the bulk goods you're buying. I re used old jars made and thrifted a couple of cloth bags and went on my first zero waste grocery trip. It felt so good to not create so much waste. Even after a year my family of 4 plus a dog, 5 ducks, and 11 chickens…we still create waste.

Through out the year I began rethinking everything we were doing and purchasing. If I need something I stop and look around my house and see if I can find a way to do with out it. If I can't I try and thrift it or find it on Craigslist. I do with out if I can't find it. I love the saying "Use What You Have". I repeat it in my head daily. I have a long ways to go but we are doing so much better. I have done this in baby steps. Start with one thing and build on it.