The key element to making a kitchen more sustainable is to minimize the use of plastic or disposable products from your daily cooking habits. Long story shorts, throw less, recycle more!
If you’re just a beginner, starting from simple ways to make your kitchen more sustainable will encourage this good lifestyle to develop. Below are some for you!
Organize Your Trash Bins
If the organization of your trash bins at the current make it difficult to access or you hate the way they look in your kitchen, consider doing some small changes.
Remember that you'll be more likely to recycle if having a recycling system with easy access.
Consider using a compost bin if most of your kitchen wastes are organic and you also have a garden. Or, replace the current trash units with an all-in-one bin that allows you to have trash, plastic, and paper in one space.
If the current trash bin is too big and cumbersome in your kitchen, think about switching to a smaller size or one with the same capacity but featuring smarter interior organizing.
Swap To Renewable, Compostable, Or Recycled Cleaning Products
Although those industrial cleaning products do a great job at removing grease and stains from dishes, they contain some chemicals that will cause harm to the environment once buried in clog landfills or released in waterways.
For example, synthetic sponges, dishwasher pods, and dish detergent.
To protect the globe as well as make your kitchen more sustainable, consider switching to renewable, compostable, or recycled cleaning products.
Try DIY dish detergents from Kosher salt, unsweetened lemonade drink mix, baking soda, and washing soda, if you have lots of free time. Store them in a plastic or glass bumper.
Fewer Paper Towels, More Reusable Cloths
Another simple way to make your kitchen more sustainable is to change your habit of using paper towels to reusable clothes.
Most of us have a tendency to get some tissues or paper towels to wipe off grease or dirt around our kitchen. But don’t you know that to produce one piece of paper towel, it requires lots of wood materials and many trees have been cut down.
Change it by swapping into reusable cloths or recycling your old t-shirts or worn-out cotton sheets.
Besides, there are many eco-friendly fabric towels or sponge cloth available on the market.
Once they get dirty, just clean them with dish detergent or washing detergent powder, and they’ll be ready to be used again while nothing is thrown away.
Use A Kitchen Water Filter
We find that many people store lots of water bottles in their fridges and will throw them once they’re empty.
While plastic delivers huge impacts to the environment, it’s not really budget-friendly if using water bottles. Instead, consider installing a kit of kitchen water filter and water faucet.
There’ll obviously be less empty plastic bottles thrown daily and you will always have clean, fresh water to drink at any time. It’d be better if you have a reusable water bottle (commonly made of BPA- and phthalate-free metal, water-based liners, or polyester.
The initial cost might be larger at first compared to buying water bottles. But it is an efficiently money-saving option in the long run.
Replace Plastic Food Wrap
This small change will help reduce a huge amount of plastic wastes released daily from your household to the environment.
Instead of using plastic food wrap, considering reusable beeswax food wrap that is made with certified organic cotton coated with tree resin, organic jojoba oil, and sustainably sourced beeswax.
Once done with your wrap, just clean it with cool water and mild dish detergent, then let it air dry.
A beeswax food wrap can last for over 200 uses, equivalent to around one year of use, which is also very economical.
Organic Cotton Food-Storage Bags
Some supermarkets require their customers to store the items that they’ve just bought in old, reusable cardboards, which is a good idea.
But a more proactive way than that is to carry your own reusable shopping tote. Make one or buy one, depending on your preference.
These bags are varied in terms of sizes, shapes, colors, and materials but commonly, they can last for years of use and can hold up well if being washed in a washing machine.
When not in use, just fold them in half and store them in your bag. They’re very lightweight, convenient, and compact.
Organize Your Fridge
One of the most popular reasons that American adults release a huge amount of wood waste each year is they don’t organize their fridges properly.
Learn how to extend the life of fresh foods (such as veggies, fruits, and raw meat), such as cut off herb leaves from stems before storing them or keeping fruits and vegetables in dedicated bags.
Label your leftovers and store them in an air-tight glass jar.
With those goods that need finishing as soon as possible, place them on the fridge shelf that is at your eye level so you won’t forget them.
It is also important to plan your weekly menus before going shopping.
Conclusion
Above are some simple ways to make your kitchen more sustainable, but if you want more, here are our extra bonuses for you:
- Remember to choose energy-efficient appliances when you want to buy new ones
- Swap to LED bulbs
- Avoid using plastic straws. Instead, use bamboo or metal alternatives
- Keep reusable shopping bags in your vehicle so you won’t forget to bring them whenever going to a supermarket
Hope you find this article was helpful to you. Thanks for reading!
