How to make your kitchen more eco-friendly
Want to make your kitchen more eco-friendly? We do, too. That's why today we're presenting you with our guide on how to make your kitchen more eco-friendly. We've rounded up the best tips for making your favorite area of the house easier on the environment. You'll also find our favorite eco-friendly gadgets and accessories to help make it happen.
Make your kitchen more sustainable with quality, eco-friendly accessories. From compost bins to an eco-friendly oven that requires no preheating, these gadgets and tips will help make your kitchen habits more sustainable. With Earth Day just around the corner, you might be wondering how to make your kitchen more eco-friendly. Well, let’s count the ways.
With all the stories you see in the news about microplastics in drinking water and islands of floating trash in the Pacific, making your daily habits more sustainable might seem futile, but there are simple things you can do that can make an impact. And the kitchen is a great place to start because that’s where the bulk of our waste originates. From food waste to plastic packaging you can’t recycle, kitchens generate a lot of pollution. Luckily, there are ways you can make your kitchen more eco-friendly, and we’ve got the tips and products that can help.
Compost your leftovers
When it comes to your food, there are certain organic materials that you’re just not going to eat. Like a banana peel or a zucchini you forgot about in your fridge. Sadly, most of the food we throw out winds up in a landfill where it begins to rot, releasing methane gas—a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere. The good news is, you can avoid sending your food to the landfill altogether by composting your leftovers. It’s not as complicated as it sounds, and you can set it up in any space. There are some great gadgets out there, such as the Subpod Grow, that can streamline the process and keep it smell-free.
Practice energy-efficient cooking
Think you need to preheat the oven before you mix up a batch of cookie dough? Contrary to Betty Crocker’s instructions, these days, it’s not actually necessary to preheat your oven. This is because most modern ovens heat up so rapidly that preheating is superfluous. So the next time you want to bake, check your oven’s instructions to see how long or even if you need to preheat it. Also, if you want to cook something small or reheat a meal, cooking with a small toaster oven or a microwave can save energy, too. WebMD reports that Progress Energy Company, a North Carolina-based energy company, estimates that you can reduce cooking energy by about 30% if you use a smaller appliance rather than heating your whole oven. It also amounts to a reduced energy bill, which everyone can appreciate.
Keep your fridge door shut
When you’re trying to figure out what to cook for dinner, it’s tempting to stand in front of the refrigerator door, scanning your options. But according to Good Housekeeping, that open door accounts for up to 7% of the appliance’s total energy use. In a nutshell, when the fridge door is open, the cold air inside escapes and gets replaced by warm air from the room. The compressor then has to expel the warm air and bring the temperature back down, increasing your environmental footprint and energy bill. Good Housekeeping reports that according to the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida, careless opening and closing your fridge wastes 50 to 120 kWh a year. But don’t despair. Nowadays, some fridges let you see what’s inside without even opening the door.
Research what you can recycle
Recycling is good, but your local recycling center might not accept every sort of plastic, depending on where you live. It’s worth researching what your recycler accepts, whether you need to sort it, and if you need to take certain items to a recycling center. Recycling is a great way to make your kitchen more eco-friendly, but you have to do it the right way. That being said, some product designers have taken matters into their own hands and developed devices that produce recyclable material right in your own home.
Grow your own greens and herbs
You know that package of mint you bought for the mojitos you never made? Its plastic container might not be recyclable, and if you don’t compost or have a garbage disposal, the unused mint is also heading for the landfill. You’re only human, though, and the potential to waste food is huge because it’s just so available. However, if you grow your own bean sprouts, for example, you can snip off the amount you need, when you need it, so nothing goes to waste. This also means you won’t have to buy expensive herbs and greens from the supermarket.
Use sustainable packaging
It’s often not possible to choose your foods’ packaging when you buy it. But there are more sustainable options for the way you repack your meals once you open them or cook them. Instead of running for the plastic wrap the next time you have half a lemon you want to save, reach for reusable options like beeswax paper or containers. They keep foods fresh and are reusable. And beeswax paper even biodegrades.
When you think about the amount of waste the typical kitchen produces, it’s easy to feel disheartened. However, there are real ways you can transform your kitchen habits into more sustainable ones. And to make that easier here are some eco-friendly products that can help.
Eco-friendly gadgets and accessories for the kitchen
Lasso Loop Smart Recycling Solution
It looks a little like a Sci-Fi dishwasher, but the Lasso Loop Smart Recycling Solution turns your used plastic, glass, and metal into usable material. In just four steps, this home recycling solution creates something sustainable from your discarded items. The new material is ready for pickup, and you’ll even get cash for it.
LG 2021 InstaView Range with Air Sous Vide Air Fryer Oven
The LG 2021 InstaView Range with Air Sous Vide Air Fryer Oven needs no preheating. So it’s definitely a great way to practice energy-efficient cooking. But that’s not its only selling point. The built-in air fryer lets you enjoy guilt-free versions of your favorite fried foods among many other great features.
LG InstaView Refrigerator 2021 Series
The LG InstaView Refrigerator 2021 Series is another of our recommended products for how to make your kitchen more eco-friendly. It has DoorCooling+ technology that lets you see the food inside of it without opening the door. That way, you don’t have to waste energy by opening and closing the door all the time.
KALEA Automatic Kitchen Composter
In just 48 hours and three steps, the KALEA Automatic Kitchen Composter turns your food scraps into nutrient-rich compost. You can use this soil-like fertilizer to enrich your garden. Plus, this device connects to an app that makes the whole routine easier. With its modern design, this eco-friendly kitchen gadget looks lovely anywhere you place it.
Smell-Free Compost Bin
If you’re wondering how to make your kitchen more eco-friendly, another great composter to consider is the Smell-Free Compost Bin. It has a smart airflow feature that eliminates the odor that can sometimes accompany compost. It also has a charcoal odor filter that keeps the smells trapped inside.
Hamama Microgreens Kit
It’s easy to grow your own microgreens with the Hamama Microgreens Kit. It comes with a mess-free seed kit that you only have to water once a week. And in just seven days, you’ll have a crop of greens for salads, smoothies, sandwiches, and more. Best of all, the plants thrive whether you place them near a window or just in a room with regular lighting.
Bee’s Wrap Variety Starter Pack Beeswax Paper
The Bee’s Wrap Variety Starter Pack Beeswax Paper helps you reduce plastic use in your kitchen. These reusable and biodegradable wraps store sandwiches, cheese, vegetables, fruits, and can even cover a casserole dish. Made with organic cotton that’s coated with beeswax, jojoba oil, and tree resin, these wraps are a sustainable way to store food.
We hope you found these eco-friendly kitchen tips and products helpful. They really can help if you’re wondering how to make your kitchen more eco-friendly. What are your favorite tips and products for a more sustainable kitchen? Let us know in the comments.
