Once again, one of our favorite magazines/websites compels us to share some amazing information. We are big fans of Whole Living and are pumped to share these top ten ways to green your kitchen. We'll be sure to follow up with other areas of the home but we've found our readership is just as green conscious as we are (yay!) We love learning about new ways to green our home especially with our tiny bundle of joy arriving in a few months. Read on for these great ideas and click HERE for the entire article over on Whole Living.
Also, make sure to check out whether or not we're on board and practicing some of these green kitchen habits. We're 6-for-10! What's your score?
Cookware safety often relates to factors in your control: the quality of the pots you buy, their care, and choosing the right pan for the job. A cast iron skillet browns meat beautifully, for instance, but reacts with certain acidic foods, such as tomatoes, altering the taste of ingredients. Knowing your cookware (read more HERE) is your best bet for cooking well and safely.
Are we on board?
YES! We use All-Clad and we love sharing all their green company practices HERE.
Because it continually circulates heated air, thereby reducing cooking time, a convection uses 20 percent less energy on average than a conventional oven.
Are we on board?
NOPE! We have a gas stove and we totally weren't in the know about how green a convection oven is. We'll be sure to look into this option for future purchases!
On average, each American uses a staggering 2,200 paper napkins a year, none of which are recycled. Why not reduce waste (and deforestation) by choosing cloth instead? You might even boost your mindful eating quotient: It's much easier to linger over dinner with the table set the old-fashioned way.
Are we on board?
YES! We literally only use cloth napkins! Our only exception? When we're entertaining large crowds and then we score cheapies from IKEA and put those out on occasion. Plus, we re-use our napkins for 3-4 nights before washing them which saves on water/energy too. Try this option, we love it!
By eating locally, we could cut our carbon footprint (no long-haul trucking or air travel required), potentially support sustainable growing practices, and help out our own farming community. On a more basic level, food simply tastes better freshly picked.
Are we on board?
YES! It's one of our goals for fall as a family...more farmer's markets. But we do support HEB which is a Texas based supermarket chain that carries a huge array of Texas produce. We're also starting to really look at produce and see which option has traveled a shorter distance too. It's the little things! We also love supporting local restaurants that source their ingredients locally too.
If you need to use plastic, learn a little food-storage know-how, so you can easily spot the best and the safest-plastic for the job.
Are we on board?
NOPE! We're horrible about knowing our plastic usage and what the rules are. We'll absolutely be reading THIS to freshen up on our best options and combos for storage, reheating and freezing. What we really need to do is just invest in all glass tupperware containers. Note to self: DO THIS!
Keep a pitcher of water in the fridge so you don't waste water waiting for the tap to run cold; kitchen faucets flow at an average rate of more than a gallon per minute.
Are we on board?
KINDA! We have an in-door filtered water dispenser and we use that thing like mad. Back when we didn't have this option, we did have a pitcher in the fridge for cold water consumption.
Use aluminum foil sparingly and reuse it before you recycle it. Stop wrapping leftovers in foil; store them in glass containers instead. The manufacture of new foil is energy intensive -- another reason to ration. Buy recycled foil, which is produced using 95 percent less energy.
Are we on board?
NOPE! We do use foil and sometimes we reuse it. But we mostly use it when baking casseroles with cheese on top so it's always a 'hot mess' when we're finished using it. We also don't purchase recycled foil so I'll be checking that option out the next time we need more foil.
Fill up your freezer, since the fuller it is, the less energy it uses to keep food frozen.
Are we on board?
YES! This is almost laughable in our home. Our freezer is always packed. We're really good about purchasing a large amount of meat (if, let's say, organic chicken breasts are on super sale...we'll scoop up a massive amount and freeze them) and frozen produce too. We also love Gimme Lean's tofu that we use in the place of ground beef. So yes, our freezer is always busting at the seams!
Refrigerators use more electricity than any other appliance. Older ones are worse, so give top priority to replacing a pre-1993 fridge.
Are we on board?
NOPE! The previous owners left all appliances so we're sporting an older model fridge. I don't think it's pre-1993 but it might be. Regardless, we're running that baby into the ground before purchasing a new model. But you better believe we'll do our research and learn which options are greenest and energy efficient when we're ready to make that big purchase!
This isn't really a discussion anymore. Everyone should be carrying reusable shopping bags to the grocery store or farmer's market. Cutting down on plastic and paper usage not only decreases your footprint but is an easy routine to get into.
Are we on board?
YES! I think we've been doing this before it was commonplace. We have a massive basket of reusable shopping bags in our laundry room (HERE) and also always have about 10 in my car for my grocery store runs. If we happen to to forget our bags, we actually always ask for paper and use it for wrapping paper later. So it does get reused/upcycled!
