Are you looking for ways to eliminate more plastics from your life? Here’s a simple way to stop using plastic wrap as well as most plastic bags. It’s an organic cotton food wrap.
You can use it to top a glass bowl. Goodbye, plastic wrap. You can also use it to wrap fruits and vegetables, cheese, a sandwich, or whatever else you desire. Goodbye, plastic bags. And best of all, you can easily make it yourself. (If you’d prefer to buy them pre-made you can check out Bee’s Wrap, which comes in a variety of sizes).
To make your own Organic Cotton Food Wrap, you need the following items:
Griddle (we used an electric griddle)
Organic Cotton Fabric
Organic Beeswax
Organic Jojoba Oil
Organic Pine Resin
Basting brush
Tongs
Once you have the ingredients gathered, the process is very quick and simple.
Here’s how we made ours:
First, cut your fabric to size. A 15” by 15” square is a useful size to start (you can easily make them smaller or bigger depending on your needs).
Then, warm up the griddle. We used a medium setting, but I know griddles can really vary in their heat output. You want the griddle hot enough to melt your beeswax, but not so hot as to cook it.
Once the griddle is hot, you take your beeswax block and rub a generous amount over the griddle (it should melt as you’re rubbing it). You want to really coat the griddle.
Then add a small amount, about 1/8th teaspoon, of pine resin to the beeswax.
Add about 6 drops of Jojoba oil.
Mix all ingredients thoroughly on the griddle, using the basting brush.
Lay your fabric square over the griddle, and use the brush to make sure the entire piece of fabric is saturated with the beeswax mixture.
Grab a corner of the fabric with your tongs and gently turn it over. Use your basting brush to make sure this side of the fabric is also saturated with the beeswax mixture.
Remove the saturated fabric from the griddle and carefully hang to dry (we hung ours from our clothes line). They cool and dry quickly.
Use and enjoy your healthy, beautiful, non-plastic, food-storage alternative.
CARE: These wraps can be hand-washed with cool water and natural dish soap in the sink. If you find that your wrap is losing pliability after a while, you can gently rewarm it on your griddle or in your oven and it should be as good as new.
For other ideas on ways to reduce plastics in your life, please see 40 Ways to Reduce Plastic Exposure (see HERE).