One of the key ways to reduce food waste (see HERE) is to eat leftovers, and part of making those leftovers desirable to eat is storing them in a way that keeps them fresh. In many houses, storing leftovers is synonymous with plastic containers or large amounts of trash (for example, disposable plastic wrap or aluminum foil). This isn’t good for your health (see HERE) or for the environment. There are better ways to store your food. Storing leftovers without waste and without plastics is actually fairly simple.

While I have an assortment of containers that I use specifically for storing our leftovers, you don’t have to buy anything special to do this. For example, I save wide-mouthed glass jars with lids to store items. You can save these jars from items you already purchase, such as nut butters or coconut oil, wash them out, and use them to store a wide array of foods.

Here are some other options:

Mason jars are a great way to store leftovers. Foods you place in them may end up tipped on their sides, or mixed a little more than they would if stored in a wider, shallower container, but these have the benefit of making sure nothing will leak from your containers, not even liquids or soups.

I have a couple of rectangular glass containers that have both glass bases and lids. I love these because they won’t leach anything odd into my food no matter how full I pack them. However, they do not seal super well, so you don’t want to put anything in them with a strong scent, otherwise you’re entire refrigerator will smell like whatever is in them (such as, onion or egg salad), or anything that will quickly and easily dry out.

I also have a few all-glass terrines that seal very well.   These and the all-glass Le Parfait canning jars are wonderful for pantry storage.

Pyrex makes glass containers with lids. While the lids are plastic, the food doesn’t touch them if they’re sitting upright. I have a variety of these, and like them because they seal well. There are glass containers with stainless steel lids that would probably work as well, and be totally plastic free, but I haven’t tried them.

If you have no non-plastic containers or jars, consider placing your leftovers in a bowl and setting a plate over the top. It may not be the prettiest solution, but it’ll work to keep your leftovers fresher than simply sitting them on an uncovered plate in the refrigerator.

Finally, I have this word of advice, though it pertains not to health concerns but to organization. If you’re buying new containers, you may want to purchase containers that are squares or rectangles instead of circles or ovals. Non-round containers are easier to store in the refrigerator, as they take up less space in comparison to their volume.

You also can find some nice non-plastic (glass and stainless steel) food storage options HERE.