This year my New Year's Resolution, well one of them anyway, was to "Go More Green". What did I mean by that? I wasn't quite sure, but I knew that I needed to make some changes now that I had my little girl in my life. I felt like a hippocrate talking about how to go green but not doing more myself!
So I started making changes, and each week I will give you tips on the changes I made and how I'm making my home, and how you can make your how, more "Green" and more Toxin Free!
This week's culprit: Plastic Food Storage Containers!
They are cheap, they are easy to use, and if they get yucky you don't feel bad throwing them away. I myself had an entire cabinet full of these storage containers, half of them we recieved from Hillshire Farms when we purchased our deli lunch meat!
A few weeks ago however, we moved from our 3 bedroom house to a smaller 2 bedroom apartment, and whenever you move, changes must happen. I thought this time would be the perfect time to get rid of these plastic containers!
We are a pretty poor family, so to just throw something away, especially something useful, seemed wasteful, and for our "Green" attitude, seemed like we'd be hurting the earth more. So during moving we packed an entire box of plastic containers and let our friends who helped us move help themselves to any and all that they wanted! They very much thanked us! As much as I talk about going toxin free and green, I do not push my friends to do so, and if they could use these containers, I was happy!
But here you are, still wondering, why are plastic food storage containers so bad?
Plastic is very hard to avoid, so many things in this day and age are made of it, but recent ( and some not so recent! ) research has shown that the chemicals that plastic is made of, including phthalates, PVC, and BPA and more, are toxic to us. Why are these chemicals bad? In the short, many of them are endocrine disruptors, they interfere with the growth and development of children especially and cause abnormal female characteristics in males, and conditions where little boys are not born with proper parts all formed. You can get some more detailed information in the very informative article "Plastics: Everyday Use, Everyday Risk" by Healthy Child, Healthy World.
So plastics are bad, but what to do about those plastic food storage containers? You don't want to waste food!
The Solution: Kinetic GlassLock Green Food Storage!
Glass storage containers are a wonderful solution to plastic food storage containers!
I had been online stalking Kinetic GlassLock food storage for quite some time before I took the plunge into buying it. I was first introduced to it online at the wonderful Toxin-Free store The Soft Landing, but whenever they had a fantastic sale deal on any Kinetic storage it sold out before I could benefit from it!! I was so antsy I couldn't wait! So I went onto www.drugstore.com, The Uncommon Drugstore! They had some great deals on many products for Earth Day and I took advantage as a first time costumer and got free shipping with my purchase of the heavy Kinetic Storage Containers! (By the way, Soft Landing also has free shipping on purchases over $100, and a flat rate of $7 shipping on ANYTHING under $100, what a deal!).
Because of the great deal and the busy Earth Day orders, plus with how heavy they were to ship, my order of Kinetic GlassLock Storage containers took a bit longer than the rest of my order to ship, but I was not charged anything!
When I did receive my Kinetic GlassLock Storage Containers in the mail I was very impressed with the care and packageing to decrease any breakage. They were shipped directly from the Kinetic company and the packaging was very specific to the size and type of container I purchased, so much, that I SAVED the boxes and wrapping so that I could use them when I was moving a few weeks later! So I had NO worries about them breaking and felt confident that my money I spent on these items was worth it!
Read more down below on Why I Love Kinetic GlassLock Storage Containers, after these stats!
The stats:
BPA, PVC, and Phthalate Free!!!
The Innovative Green Glasslock Container Set features snap-tight silicone seal lids that locks in freshness and prevent leaks or spills. The tempered glass is stain-resistant and will not react with foods. The nontoxic containers keep your foods safe and airtight for optimum preservation of flavor and nutrients. The storage sets can go straight from freezer or refrigerator to microwave. Each see-through lid has a different colored band to help with quick identification of stored foods. GlassLock is easy on the environment because it replaces nonbiodegradable plastic storage containers. Containers are top rack dishwasher-safe and come with a 1-year warranty.
Features:
I very much love our Kinetic GlassLock containers and think they were a very good decision for our household. My fiance also thinks so! He especially loves that he can store food easily, they stay fresh longer than when stored in plastic since they have the snaptight lids, and he can just put the glass container from the fridge directly into the microwave and serve onto the dinner plates from the glass storage container, he doesn't have to use another bowl or plate to re-heat before serving! Hence less dishes!
Another plus SAPsDaDa said he loves is how, since they are glass, they are safe to put in the dish washer! Less dishes to wash by hand! The lids still need to be washed by hand but that's nothing compared to the amount of dishes before!
I have found that these are very easy to use, and I like how the rectangle ones have a green silicone strip in the lids and the circle ones a red silicone strip in the lid, makes for easy finding in the cabinet!
You can get Kinetic glass storage containers in many sizes, they usually come in packs of three. You can get circle 14 or 24 oz, square/rectangle 14, 34 or 64 oz, or a combination of the three sizes of rectangle glass storage, which I find is perfect for storing those large meals for get-togethers or holidays! You could even go as far as getting a Kinetic Mixer/Shaker! Perfect for summer time!
With all these benefits with Kinetic GlassLock Food Storage, why aren't more people going GlassLock??
Some downsides:
Yes there have been some downsides to using Kinetic GlassLock Food Storage, nothing is perfect! The only downside I have though is the that they are a bit pricey, even when bought on sale. You will never have to purchase anymore storage containers again (unlike plastic, which looses lids, gets stained, warped, gets tossed and replaced quite often), so the cost will decrease over time to be more cost effective, but the real selling point for these containers is that they are green for the earth (less waste!), toxin-free, and all the benefits of less dishes etc. that I described above, which I consider more than worth it!
Want some of your own?!
You can get a wide variety of Kinetic Glass Storage Containers on www.drugstore.com, The Uncommon Drugstore! HERE is a search for all Kinetic GlassLock products, but also check out their other Kinetic household and kitchen products while you're there! Prices range from $25 on sale to $35, all for sets of 3, different sizes.
You can also get the most commonly used 3 pack of sizes of Kinetic GlassLock Food Storage Containers at The Soft Landing, $29.50, and their great Shaker/Mixer (which I havn't found elsewhere!) for $12 (on sale now for $10.20!!).
I hope you enjoyed my first Go Green / Toxin-Free Your Home weekly tip!!! If you have any suggestions or comments PLEASE leave them, I would love your input!!
SAPsMaMa
1 comment:
We store most of our leftovers in pyrex bowls that came with lids. Nice because I can serve and then store in the same container.
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