The habits I took from zero-wasters to cut my grocery bill in half

Looking out for the environment has become an increasing priority of mine. For the past month or so, I’ve been trying to live with less disposable packaging in my life.

Living in Seattle, it ended up not being hard at all to find pantry staples in bulk — chain stores like Fred Meyer and local co-ops alike offer bulk, package-free options. But, they can be found all over if you know where to look. I found Literless’ “Where To Shop” guide very helpful. Facebook zero-waste groups were also great for getting specific advice from others in the area.

In addition to being eco-friendly, buying fewer packaged and processed foods has been very budget friendly. And while I expected to spend more, buying zero-waste ended up having the opposite effect — I saved big.