This year was the first holiday I planned to host where I actually had to do all the cooking. I hosted my first Friendsgiving this past Saturday, since I’m not going to see my family for Thanksgiving. It was a lot of firsts for me. First time roasting a turkey, first time trying to reduce waste while hosting a gathering, and first time I’ve ever used the fancy dishes my mom bought me from a thrift store a couple of years ago!

As I shopped for my first turkey and wandered around the store looking for something called browning sauce, I started to think about how much waste would be produced on a typical Thanksgiving. How many paper plates would be thrown away, how many leftovers would be tossed in the trash, and how many people don’t notice the extra waste.

How much waste is created on Thanksgiving?

All of this had me googling like crazy. I had to find the facts. One of the most credible sources I came across was a blog by the US Chamber of Commerce that talks about the amount of food waste that occurs from our beloved Thanksgiving.

The Chamber of Commerce estimates 172 million pounds of turkey are wasted, 40 million pounds of mashed potatoes are wasted, and 48 million pounds of sweet potatoes are wasted. That’s not even the half of it. Check out the whole info graphic here if you’re a numbers person!

Anyways, after all the googling and research, I came to the conclusion that I am the only person that can reduce waste at my Thanksgiving. I can’t control anyone else across the country but I can reduce waste in my home and help to make a small difference.

Here are ways to reduce waste in your home this Thanksgiving:

Cook for the Right Amount of People

Get a head count and make sure the food you make will be eaten! Or make people take home leftovers if you know you won’t be able to eat them all. If you have a lot of leftovers, consider calling your local homeless shelter and see if they would accept a donation of prepared food.

Compost Your Food Scraps or Use them for a Snack

Hear me out. I’m not crazy. You can eat some of the scraps you would normally toss in the trash or in the compost. Two things I made out of scraps this year were pie crust crisps and potato peel chips. Both can be made with food scraps while you are cooking on Thanksgiving. Anything you can’t make a snack out of, toss in the compost.

Make Pie Crust Crisps

These little crisps are as easy as grabbing extra chunks of dough, sprinkling sugar and cinnamon on top and popping them in the oven while your pie is cooking. Leave them in for about 10 minutes and check them to make sure they don’t burn. Once light brown take them out and enjoy them while you wait for your pie to be done!

Make Potato Peel Chips

My mom always used to throw her extra pie crust in the oven but this next one, I hadn’t heard of before. I first saw potato peel chips on Instagram. They were a simple solution to reduce food waste. All you need is a sheet pan, some olive oil, and salt. Leave them in the oven till crispy. For crunchier chips turn up your oven heat higher.

Use Cloth Napkins and Real Plates

One easy way to cut out paper and plastic waste during Thanksgiving is to swap them for the reusable versions. Sure you might have a little more to clean, but cleaning things is better than all the waste created from disposable things.

One swap I made this year was for cloth napkins and I love my napkins so much. Not to mention how easy they are to wash and reuse! By swapping these two things on your table you can cut out so much waste.

If you own fancy dishes and don’t use them, ask yourself: why do you have them? I had never used my fancy plates but I finally was able to this year! It made the holiday actually feel like a special occasion. The fancy dishes added the perfect amount of elegance to our celebration!

Eat Your Leftovers

Even if you have eaten them for every meal, two days straight, keep on it and finish those leftovers! Eating your leftovers is one of the simplest ways to reduce food waste after Thanksgiving. There are so many ways you can make your leftovers into better things to eat. My favorite is the classic turkey sandwich. Butterball offers so many free creative recipes to turn your leftovers from ugh to WOW! Check out their website here to turn your leftover turkey into turkey enchiladas, turkey dumpling soup, or Thai turkey grain bowls!

I hope these tips have got your brain thinking of clever ways to reduce waste in your home this Thanksgiving. Let me know in the comments if you come up with any great ways to reduce Thanksgiving waste!

Speaking of the holidays, have you started Christmas shopping? Click here to check out my article on how to start shopping more sustainably!