How To Make Your Kitchen Greener

When it comes to saving the planet at home, you can make the biggest impact in your kitchen. This is typically the room where most household energy is consumed and where most waste is created. By making some kitchen modifications and changing some habits, you can make your kitchen greener. Below are a few examples. 

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Invest in energy-efficient appliances

Are your kitchen appliances guzzling energy? Old refrigerators and ovens are some of the biggest culprits when it comes to excess energy consumption. Consider whether it’s time to upgrade these appliances and cut your carbon footprint. When buying new appliances, look out for the Energy Star symbol – any product that is awarded an Energy Star must meet strict energy-efficiency requirements and is therefore much greener. Make sure to recycle your old appliances. 

Trap heat in with insulation

Cooking creates a lot of heat which can be used to warm up your home in the winter instead of reaching for the thermostat. Of course, if you have uninsulated kitchen windows, a lot of the heat will be quickly lost through these. Switching to energy efficient windows could help to trap heat in and reduce HVAC costs. Some windows can also limit hot air getting into your home in the summer as a result of tinting, which can also save you money on cooling. All this reduced energy consumption is also good for the planet. 

Reduce disposable plastic

A lot of plastic waste is created in the kitchen as a result of food packaging. However, a lot of this plastic packaging is unnecessary. Most of us do not need to buy bananas or potatoes in a plastic bag – most grocery stores allow you to buy them loose, which cuts out the need for packaging. This is a simple way to cut down on plastic waste, but you can take things one step further by visiting a plastic free store. Such stores allow you to bring your own jars to fill up with foods like rice and pasta instead of buying them in a plastic bag. They are few and far between, but are getting more popular. 

Buy local ingredients

Buying local ingredients is another way to make a positive environmental impact in your kitchen. Many foods are shipped around the world and this creates huge carbon emissions. When you buy locally grown foods, the carbon emissions required to transport them are minimal. Such foods may also be healthier as they don’t need to be pumped with preservatives to survive travel over long distances. You’ll also be supporting farmers in your local area by buying these local foods. Farmer’s markets and local food stores are some of the best places to source these ingredients. 

Eat less meat

The demand of raising livestock for meat has a lot of environmental downsides. The beef industry is particularly poor for the environment due to the amount of methane that cows produce and the amount of deforestation that goes on to create cattle ranches. If we all ate less meat, we could greatly reduce the environmental damage we are creating as a species. If going vegan or vegetarian is a step too far, consider a flexitarian approach. This involves mainly eating a plant-based diet with only occasional meat eaten once or twice per week. Such a diet is easier to keep up and will still make a big difference.

Grow foods on your kitchen window shelf

There are some foods you don’t need to go outside and buy from a shop. Instead, you can grow them at home. Those who have a backyard can grow all kinds of fruit and vegetables, but you don’t necessarily need a backyard. Many herbs and spices can be grown on plants that are small enough to place on a kitchen windowsill. Tomatoes and peppers are also great plants to grow on a kitchen windowsill and can be infused into all kinds of dishes. You can grow these plants from seeds, or buy fully grown plants if you want to reduce the work. Buy these plants online or from a local plant nursery. 

Eat more cold dishes in summer

The summer months are a great time to embrace cold dishes like salads. By not using your oven, you can reduce your energy consumption and your carbon footprint. You can check out some great no-cook summer recipes here. If you prefer hot foods, you can still reduce your energy usage by sticking to microwavable and stovetop meals (baking often uses the most energy). 

This is a contributed post.

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