Making a House a Home

Looking to make your kitchen more environmentally friendly and save some money in the process? Here are a few tips for things you can do, large and small, to make your kitchen more green.

1) Hot water cooker – A hot water cooker is a staple in Great Britain, but it can be a great green tool for any American kitchen as well. You plug in your cooker, fill it with water, and the water boils quickly. This tool is much more efficient than heating water on a stove. You can use it to make a cup of tea or to add water when making rice or pasta. Often I heat my water in the cooker and then add it to whatever I am cooking.

2) Recycle your refrigerator – Throwing away an old refrigerator may seem wasteful, but if your model is an old one, a new refrigerator will be much more environmentally friendly. Many states have refrigerator recycling programs where they remove your old fridge for free (some even pay you!), and make sure it is recycled responsibly.

3) Water filter – A small water filter, installed under your kitchen sink, can filter out all of the unwanted particles from your drinking water. Never buy a plastic water bottle again. You can use a reusable metal water bottle and fill it from the tap. This change will save you money, toxins in your water, and bring down the number of bottles taking up space at the landfill.

4) Keep a compost bin under the sink – These days there are some great compost collectors that can fit under your sink. And they don’t smell if you empty them regularly. Keeping compost under the sink means you just dump your leftover food and organic waste directly into the bin and then to the compost. If you want to save money, use brown paper bags and cover the bottom with coffee beans. This keeps the smell to a minimum. When the bag is full, I just throw the whole thing in my compost.

5) Eat healthy, locally produced food – This is the best way to stay green and healthy. Try to focus your grocery shopping on farmers markets. Try local cheeses, sauces, and other goods. Visit local farms and see what they have to offer. Double check that the products are made on site; one of our local farms sells delicious pies that are baked on site, but they are mass produced somewhere else. This doesn’t count. This is green because it cuts down on transport costs and supports local business.