Before changing your shopping, record what food your household discards and why. A short log can distinguish buying too much from changing plans, cooking an unwanted meal or losing track of what is already available.
The EPA recommends planning, shopping and storage practices to reduce wasted food. The log below turns those broad decisions into questions about your own household; it does not promise a particular financial or environmental saving.
The reason column is often the most useful part of a waste log. Bought too much, plans changed and item overlooked each suggest a different household adjustment. Keeping those reasons beside the amounts helps connect the record with the next shopping or storage decision.
Record a normal week
| Field | What to write |
|---|---|
| Item | A recognisable description |
| Amount | Weight if measured, otherwise a labelled estimate |
| Reason | Bought too much, plans changed, unwanted or another explanation |
| Stage | Unused ingredient, prepared meal or plate leftovers |
| Possible change | A specific adjustment to investigate |
Label quantities as measured or estimated. For weighed entries, keep the treatment of packaging consistent across the log so the amounts can be compared.
Look for a repeatable cause
An unused ingredient and an unfinished serving call for different questions. Review portions for the second; review buying and meal planning for the first. Record other circumstances, such as visitors or an unusual work week, before assuming the sample represents every week.
Change one part of the routine
Choose a manageable experiment: purchase a smaller amount, check supplies before shopping or leave a flexible meal slot. Repeat the log under comparable conditions and see what changed.
Food-safety guidance remains the reference for deciding whether an item can be used. Storage and date-label instructions remain constraints on the plan. Use the log to choose a manageable change to shopping, storage or meal planning.
Work through a fictional waste log
Suppose a sample week records 300 g of uneaten cooked food after plans changed, 200 g of produce that was overlooked and 100 g of surplus food bought for a meal. The total is 600 g, but the reasons suggest different changes.
| Entry | Possible planning question |
|---|---|
| Changed plans | Could one meal remain optional next week? |
| Overlooked produce | Could its location or reminder be improved? |
| Surplus purchase | Was the quantity matched to the intended meal? |
These are invented observations for the exercise. They demonstrate how the reason field leads to a practical question rather than claiming a measured household result.
Choose one change and compare another period
For the overlooked produce, the household might choose a visible use-first record based on the actual labels and storage instructions. Keep the next period’s log on the same basis and note any changed circumstances.
A reduction in one sample week is an observation, with the week’s conditions attached. It need not be converted into a yearly saving. If quantities are estimated, keep that label; if weighed, retain the same treatment of packaging and material boundaries.
Food-safety guidance still determines whether an item can be used. The log supports shopping and planning decisions around that guidance, helping identify which manageable change is worth retaining.
At the end of a sample week, choose one recurring reason to work on. Keep measured amounts and estimates labelled separately so later entries are comparable. A second week’s notes can then show what happened after that one change.
Sources consulted
- Preventing Wasted Food At Home — U.S. EPA; checked 4 November 2026.