While I did some recycling in Ohio (and a lot of composting!), recycling took on a whole new meaning when we moved to Washington two years ago. Not only can I recycle practically anything, I don't have to sort and or drive to the recycling center to drop things off -- it gets picked up at the curb!

Because I don't have to sort, I just have two cans under my kitchen sink: Trash and Recycle. When the bag gets full, I take it outside and dump it into the trash can or recycle bin out there. Once a week, I take the trash out to the road, to be picked up. So convenient!

When we moved to this rental house, we got a different trash service and they sent a flyer listing everything we can and can't recycle. I knew there was no way I could remember everything, and I didn't want to either put the wrong stuff in the trash OR in the recycle bin.

So, I taped the list of "dos and don'ts" to the side of the recycle trash can. I love having it there for quick reference, but it's not another paper cluttering up my kitchen counter. :)

I also put a big "TRASH" label on the trash can, so everyone could remember which can was which. I explained it to all of the children, including Ruth (who was just 2 at the time) and they can easily follow my instructions of putting something "in recycle" or "in the trash can". :)

(This tip was shown/mentioned in my kitchen tour video.)

I'm also extremely happy that after nearly a month, switching to a smaller trash can size has worked out okay. I switched to the smallest size of customer-provided can, which is 20-gallons once a week (and unlimited recycling), and would save $7/month. I was a little worried that we would make more trash than that, but we haven't! In fact, there's even been a little extra room each week still. :)

My top 3 tips for making less trash:

• Use cloth everything! Napkins, towels, diapers, etc. We've been doing most of this for years, so it's not difficult (most of the time...)

• Recycle as much as possible! I'm glad this is an easy option for us.

• Compost, or use the garbage disposal. I love composting and hope to get back to it some day! :)

More tips for reducing trash output (from Ohio, when we paid per bag for trash pickup)

And, just because I'm curious, please vote in my poll about trash pickup prices! :)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please!

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Leave your tip links in a comment. I'll manually add them to this post!

1. Creamier oatmeal
2. Bean dips from leftover beans (Donna)
3. Getting homemade meals on the table quickly (Gretchen)
4. Dishwasher tip (Jill)
5. Kneading a large amount of dough (Tereza)
6. Hamburger tips (Kolfinna)
7. Easy lasagna noodles tip (Linda)
8. Citrus fruit tips (LeAnne)
9. Stove top percolater