Start with the shelves you see every day

Open the cupboard above your kettle and you will usually find the same thing: a half-used bag of rice pegged shut, a roll of cling film, a bottle of oil, a few plastic tubs with mismatched lids. None of it is a crime. But the pantry is the one room in the house where plastic is almost entirely optional, and where swapping it out makes everyday cooking easier rather than harder. That is the Nordic approach in a nutshell: fewer things, better made, kept where you can see them. A shelf of glass jars and labelled bags looks calm, and calm kitchens get used.

Glass jars do most of the work

If you only do one thing, do this. Decant dried goods — pasta, rice, lentils, flour, oats, sugar, dried fruit, nuts — into glass jars with well-fitting lids. Food lasts longer, you can see what you have before you shop, and nothing hides at the back going stale. Clip-top jars with rubber seals are excellent for coffee, spices and anything that needs a tight seal; screw-top jars are cheaper, easier to wash and stack better.

• Choose two or three sizes and stick to them, so lids stay interchangeable and shelves stay tidy.
• Square jars waste far less space than round ones.
• Buy once, then add to your collection from charity shops, car boot sales and the jars that come with pickles and jam.
• Write the contents and the date opened on a paper label, or use a chalk pen on the glass.
• Keep strong-smelling spices in smaller jars, away from light and never above the hob.

Wash second-hand jars well, and if a lid still smells of its previous contents, leave it filled with a little bicarbonate of soda and warm water overnight.

Beeswax wraps and cloth covers

Cling film is the hardest habit to break because it is so quick. Beeswax wraps fill the same gap for most jobs: a bowl of leftovers, half a lemon, a piece of cheese, a sandwich for the next day. They mould to the shape with the warmth of your hands and hold there.

Look after them and a set will last a year or more. Wash in cool water with a little washing-up liquid, never hot, never in the dishwasher, and keep them away from raw meat and fish. When the wax starts to look tired, refresh the wrap in a low oven between sheets of baking paper. Alongside wraps, keep a few fabric bowl covers with elasticated edges for proving dough and covering salads, and a clean tea towel for resting bread.

Refillable bottles and containers

Oils, vinegar, soy sauce and washing-up liquid all arrive in plastic, and all of them can be refilled. Take your own bottles to a refill shop or a zero-waste stall at the market, weigh them first, and fill up. A small funnel lives in the cupboard and pays for itself within a month.

For leftovers and freezing, glass containers with clip or snap lids are the workhorse, with straight-sided jars for soups and sauces. Leave a couple of centimetres of headspace before freezing, and let food cool first. Stainless steel tins and lunchboxes are the sensible choice for anything that travels, and unlike plastic they do not hold on to yesterday's curry. Buy containers in one shape family so lids match and stacking works.

Keeping food fresh so plastic does not creep back

Most plastic in the kitchen is a response to food going off. Fix the storage and the plastic mostly disappears.

• Potatoes, onions and garlic: dark, cool, dry and ventilated — a cloth sack, a wicker basket or a paper bag, never a sealed tub.
• Bread: a linen bag, a bread crock or a paper bag in a tin. Freeze what you will not eat in a cloth bag inside a container.
• Salad leaves and herbs: a clean tea towel or a damp cloth in the fridge drawer. Stand soft herbs in a glass of water on the windowsill.
• Cheese: beeswax wrap for hard cheeses, a covered dish for soft ones.
• Mushrooms and berries: paper bags, and never wash berries until you are about to eat them.

Make it a rhythm, not a rule

The trick to keeping this going is a rhythm. Keep a basket by the door for empty jars and bottles, and take it with you on the weekly shop. Do a refill run once a month rather than trying to be perfect every day. Label things as you decant them, so nobody has to guess whether the white powder is cornflour or icing sugar.

Be gentle with yourself, too. There will be cling film at Christmas and plastic bags that arrive with a takeaway, and that is fine. The goal is not a spotless pantry shelf; it is buying fewer things you throw away, and enjoying a kitchen that feels calmer and more considered.