Our Trash, Our Selves 1.1: No Waste Flu

Shortly after starting to keep our trash, I got the flu, which put a wrinkle in my trash-minimalism goals. With no sick food in the house, I found myself craving Campbell's soup, and before long, I had a big stack of empty tin cans to show for it.

I knew I had to be better prepared next time, so when I got better, it was time to make a stockpile of soup. Luckily, making soup from scratch is the second easiest thing ever (after making applesauce).

Here's what to do:

1. Save veggie scraps for a week. What can you save? Just about anything! Ideas are here and here.

2. Toss everything in a pot. Fill with a bunch of water. Add herbs and spices if you'd like.

3. Bring to a boil and simmer for quite a while. Most people recommend 30 minutes to an hour. I let mine boil even longer.



4. Strain and use as broth! Ta da!



5. Freeze for future use or make soup and freeze for a quick sick-day dethaw solution!





Another zero waste sickness necessity is handkerchiefs. My grandmother was a child of the Depression, a sort of proto-zero-waste innovator, and she never left the house without one.

g-ma

Luckily, I inherited these two lovely handkerchiefs. 

You would be surprised how much snot these guys can absorb. Having two is nice because you can use one while the other sits out to dry on the heater after a good hand-washing. At my sickest, I think I would have liked to have had three, but I'm making two work for now.

Voilà! Surviving the flu with minimal waste.