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Eating green is just the start of having an eco-friendly kitchen, but it’s not even close to the end. If you want to have a truly healthy kitchen, you should practice energy-efficient food preparation and cleaning routines, use equipment built from sustainable materials, and avoid toxic chemicals. Fortunately, making the best decisions for your health is also beneficial for your wallet and the environment. Plus, nowadays, it’s very easy to find any eco-friendly alternative on your favorite eco-friendly online store! From the fridge to the food to the cleanup, our easy-to-follow tips will help you make your kitchen more eco-friendly and convert you into a greener gourmet in no time.
How to make your kitchen more eco-friendly?
Making your kitchen more eco-friendly is a great way to reduce your home’s carbon footprint and save a lot of money on your monthly bills. On the other hand, it’s also a great way to teach your kids sustainability and help them adopt greener habits. So what’s stopping you?
If you’re not sure what you can do to make your kitchen greener, don’t worry, as we’ve prepared seven simple ways. When you see how easy it is to go green, we guarantee you’ll feel inspired to transform other parts of your home!
#1 Invest in quality, long-lasting cookware
The first step towards having a green kitchen is to choose cooking tools and cookware that will not break down or have to be thrown away with your leftover casserole. That means you have to forget about Teflon. Even though there are still disagreements on the health risks of non-stick surfaces, there is no doubt that they have a limited useful life.
Instead, think about switching to stainless steel or cast iron. Though it’s a little pricey, a good cast iron skillet will last for years. In the same way, don’t buy cheap utensils. Wooden spoons can rot, and plastic will melt if you leave it on the stove too long. Or, instead of plastic, think about using reusable silicone straws.
#2 Cook your meals from scratch
Avoid buying pre-prepared, frozen foods and instead make them at home. You can make many meals that can be frozen and reheated without losing flavor or quality.
You’ll also know what’s going into your food. You can even take it a step further and grow your own fruits and veggies using your composted kitchen trash as fertilizer. Of course, if you have room.
#3 Invest in energy-efficient appliances
There are a lot of new appliances that are getting energy-efficient upgrades very quickly. People who use a good dishwasher, for example, don’t have to use as much water as people who wash their own dishes by hand in the sink. When shopping for your new appliances, look for the Energy Star rating.
When it comes to your old appliances, you can rent a storage unit and leave them in a safe place if you don’t want to sell them. As you want to avoid damage, before storing kitchen appliances, prepare them properly.
If it’s time to get rid of an old appliance, keep in mind that many communities have programs that help you get rid of them in a safe way. They likely contain harmful chemicals and materials and need to be handled by experienced professionals.
#4 Buy local ingredients
Food miles are nowadays one of the biggest environmental concerns. The fewer miles from the farm to your table, the better, so make sure to buy food from local sources whenever you can.
Sure, organic grapes from Brazil might taste wonderful in the winter, but consider the pollution generated by flying them to wherever you are. Also, when visiting your local farmers’ market, make sure to forget about plastic bags and invest in a reusable cotton tote bag instead.
#5 Cook in a sustainable way
Many popular cooking methods use energy that isn’t needed. However, a few simple changes to how you cook can go a long way toward making your kitchen more environmentally friendly:
- Forget about preheating. Many newer ovens are so quick to heat up that they don’t need to be preheated at all. So, if you’re roasting or baking something that can be a little more flexible about how long it takes to cook, you can put it in right away.
- Use your stove efficiently, and use the right-sized pot for each stove burner. This can make a lot of difference. The good idea is to use lids when cooking. Keeping the heat in the pan will speed up the process.
- Don’t use your oven too much. Try to make the most of it by cooking more than one thing at a time, for example. For small dishes, you can also save energy by using a toaster oven or reheating in a microwave. In fact, you can cut cooking energy by up to 80% by using a microwave instead of the oven.
- Use a pressure cooker as it can help you cut cooking time by 70%.
#6 Cut down on your waste
Do you know which room in your home generates the most waste? You guessed it – it’s your kitchen. So to make it greener, it’s crucial to find ways to reduce your waste.
For instance, try your best to reuse whatever you can, like old glass jars or grocery bags. Also, if you noticed that you regularly throw food away, consider making smaller portions. Lastly, even if you don’t have a garden, compost any uncooked organic waste. There are plenty of organizations that will gladly take it off your hands.
#7 Little things matter, too
Paying attention to detail can help you go a long way in making your kitchen greener. For instance, replacing your old light bulbs with LED ones is an excellent way to start.
Also, consider switching to eco-friendly cleaning products. Nowadays, you can find anything from compostable sponges and cloths to eco-friendly cleaning pods and even bin bags made with recycled materials. There are so many options to choose from that will make your transition to a greener life easier.
Making your kitchen eco-friendly is just a start!
As you can see, it’s not hard to make your kitchen more eco-friendly. Plus, it comes with literally no downsides but only benefits for you, your wallet, and the environment. So wait no more; go to your favorite eco-friendly marketplace and start working on transforming your entire living space into a sustainable one!
