When going green is discussed, your kitchen isn’t usually the first thing to come up. But you can’t forget that your kitchen is a huge energy hog, with your refrigerator, dishwasher, stove, and the food you consume. Follow these tips to take steps both small and large toward reducing your kitchen’s environmental impact.
Appliances
Get a handle on your energy-burning appliances with these tips.
- Go solar-powered: Get a solar-powered refrigerator to cut out waste from this traditional energy hog.
- Buy an Energy Star refrigerator: If you’re not ready to make the leap to solar power, at least invest in a more efficient Energy Star refrigerator when your old one goes kaput.
- Install a range hood: Keep your indoor air quality cool and top-notch by installing a range hood that exhausts outside.
- Use an induction cooktop: These cooktops use induction heating, which causes a heating reaction in a ferrous pot or pan.
- Cover foods and liquids in your refrigerator: Uncovered foods will release moisture into the air and make your refrigerator’s compressor work harder than it needs to.
- Keep appliances in good repair: Always make sure that your appliances are in good working order so that they’re as efficient as they can be.
- Buy efficient appliances: Always look for the Energy Star logo on any appliance you buy.
- Get a solar cooker: Use the sun to heat your food with a solar cooker.
- Replace outdated appliances: Although it’s best to keep appliances as long as you can to cut down on waste, some older appliances are woefully out of date and horrible for efficiency.
- Get an electric ignition system: Buy a gas stove that uses an electric ignition system instead of a pilot light to save gas.
- Wash with a full load: Wait until you have a full load in the dishwasher to make the most of your energy, water, and detergent.
- Keep appliances separate: Keep your cooling refrigerator away from your heating oven, for example.
- Look for blue flames: When using gas, make sure your flame burns blue. If it’s yellow, that means it’s burning inefficiently.
- Store water in the refrigerator: Keep drinking water in the refrigerator instead of letting the tap run until it’s cool.
- Get a dishwasher drawer: Use a small dishwasher drawer for small loads, and you’ll use less water.
- Use an aerator: Put an aerator on your tap, and you’ll get good water pressure while using less water.
- Give your refrigerator a checkup once a year: Unplug your refrigerator and wipe off its condenser coils to prolong its life.
- Choose a top and bottom refrigerator unit: Instead of a side-by-side model, choose a top and bottom refrigerator, which lets less cold air escape.
- Keep your refrigerator at an appropriate temperature: A good temperature would be between 36 and 40 degrees Farenheit for a refrigerator, and between 0 and 5 degrees Farenheit for a freezer.
- Invest in a recirculation pump: With one of these pumps, you’ll keep hot water at the tap, which saves water because you don’t have to run water while you wait for it to warm up.
- Use a tankless hot water heater: Another option is a tankless hot water heater, which also heats water at the source and uses less water and energy.
- Get a self-cleaning oven: Self-cleaning ovens are often better insulated than others.
- Get a convection oven: Use this smaller, more efficient type of oven to heat small quantities of food instead of a conventional oven.
- Check your refrigerator’s seal: Shut your refrigerator door on a dollar bill and see how easily it slides out. If it comes out easy, cold air is, too, and you need to replace your seal.
Cooking
With these tips, you can reduce the waste you create by cooking meals.
- Put less water in your kettle: By using less water to heat your cup of tea, you’ll take less time and energy to make it.
- Work in naturally-lit areas: Cook in the sunlight so you don’t have to use artificial light.
- Use the right size cookware: Use the smallest size pot or pan that you need to cook, and you’ll use less energy.
- Use smaller appliances whenever you can: If your microwave will do just as good a job as your oven, use it instead.
- Turn off your stove and oven: Turn your oven or stove off earlier than you normally would, and let residual heat finish the job.
- Cook smaller portions: If you’re throwing away food, you’re wasting it, so cook only what you need.
- Avoid preheating: Most new ovens come up to temperature quickly, so preheating is not necessary.
- Put lids on pots: You’ll bring the contents to a boil faster, using less energy.
- Match your cookware to your burner: Use a burner that is smaller or the same size as your pot or pan, and you’ll waste less energy.
- Cook in batches: Cook once, and store your leftovers to eat again.
Textiles & Cleaning
Make sure that your cleaning supplies and towels are earth friendly by using these strategies.
- Carry groceries in a reusable shopping bag: Cut down on plastic bag waste by using a bag that can be carried over and over again.
- Buy bamboo: Buy towels, rugs, table runners and more made of bamboo, and you’ll be using a renewable resource.
- Buy hemp: Just like bamboo, hemp is a renewable resource, and makes for a great scrubber.
- Use biodegradable kitchen bags: Make sure that your trash has a fighting chance at biodegrading in the landfill by putting it in a biodegradable bag.
- Run your dishwasher at an off-peak time: Use your house-heating dishwasher at a strategic time, like in the cooler evenings during the summer, or cold winter mornings.
- Set up recycling stations: Make it easy to recycle with handy places to throw reusable plastics and other materials.
- Take advantage of recycling events: Find toxic recycling days in your area to dispose of items that are too toxic to put in the trash.
- Use cloth towels and napkins instead of disposables: Reuse your napkins and towels instead of buying paper ones.
- Air dry your dishes: Open your dishwasher’s door at the end of the cycle, and they’ll dry naturally in less time than you think.
- Find eco-friendly dishwashing cleaner: Choose natural, biodegradable, and harmless chemical-free cleaners. You can also look for cleaners sold in bulk to save on packaging.
- Open your windows: Let fresh air in instead of using air freshener sprays.
- Use vinegar whenever possible: This natural cleaner is effective and free of harmful chemicals. Baking soda and lemon are also great natural cleaners.
- Clean your air with a plant: Filter air with a broad green leaf plant.
- Start a compost: Put food scraps like banana peels into an under-the-sink compost, and you’ll save waste while gaining fertilizer.
- Skip air fresheners: Instead of using air fresheners, boil cinnamon, cloves, or other great-smelling herbs.
Furniture & Fixtures
These tips are especially helpful if you’re planning to remodel, but even the small steps highlighted here will make a difference.
- Hire a green pro: If you’re undergoing a complete remodel using a contractor, hire one that knows how to go green, and will dispose of waste properly.
- Buy healthy cabinets: Invest in cabinets that are made of solid wood, wheatboard, and other alternative materials to avoid the off-gas urea-formaldehyde.
- Run your water on cold for small jobs: If you’re only using a little bit of water, make sure you put your faucet in the cold position so that you won’t be heating water that never reaches the faucet.
- Get salvaged materials: Find cabinets, countertops, and more that have been previously used or repurposed.
- Find alternative countertops: You can find countertops made from recycled paper, hemp, or even recycled glass.
- Replace outdated plumbing fixtures: Invest in low-flow products to cut down on water consumption.
- Avoid granite countertops: Although granite looks great, it’s definitely not sustainable. Once it’s removed from the earth, you can’t put it back.
- Stain your concrete: Instead of bringing in flooring, spruce up the concrete below.
- Use eco-friendly wall coverings: Check your paints, wallpaper, and other finishes for VOCs.
- Get linoleum flooring: Linoleum is making a comeback with its natural materials and durability.
- Avoid recessed lighting: Generally, recessed cans will allow hot air to escape into your attic. They can work, however, if they’re airtight and use fluorescent bulbs.
- Create an indigenous stone countertop: Use stone from your area, often found in salvage.
- Walk on glass: Check out EnviroGLAS to find beautiful recycled glass flooring and other products.
- Install skylights: Use a sunny skylight, and you won’t need bulbs in the daytime.
- Use safe finishes: Make sure that your paints, stains and finishes are safe and water-based with no VOCs.
- Don’t throw away old kitchen fixtures: If you’re remodeling, give away or repurpose your old kitchen appliances and fixtures, or at least research how you can dispose of them properly.
- Step up insulation: Whenever possible, use good insulation to keep the cool stuff cool and the hot stuff hot.
- Work with what you’ve got: Going green doesn’t have to mean a full kitchen rehaul. For example, instead of throwing out your old cabinets, repaint them with low-VOC paint, and update the hardware.
- Shop at Habitat for Humanity: Habitat for Humanity has many local stores that sell unused supplies for great prices.
- Use a high-efficiency fan: Improve ventilation and cool with less energy using a ceiling fan.
- Get Energy Star windows: Keep your environment more efficient with well-insulated windows.
- Use fluorescent lighting: Let your old incandescent lights burn out and replace them with more efficient fluorescent bulbs.
- Use alternative woods: Get cork or bamboo floors for durable, renewable flooring.
- Install sensors: Use motion and occupancy sensors to save energy by automatically turning lights off and on when you need them.
Food
Make the way you purchase and eat your food just a little bit greener with these tips.
- Walk to the grocery store: If you’re within walking distance of a good grocer, make the trip using your own power.
- Buy local: Transporation of food has a great impact on the environment, particularly through fossil fuels, so cut down on this by purchasing food that’s from your region.
- Avoid processed and prepared foods: Make your own food, and you’ll cut down on preservatives and packaging.
- Pack reusable lunches: Use a lunch bag and reusable containers instead of plastic and paper.
- Grind your own food: Retain the nutritional value of grains by using a hand grinder at home.
- Grow your own: Eating from your own garden means you know all of the chemicals that have gone into growing your food, and you’ll save fossil fuels from transportation. You’ll also cut down on waste because you can use food as you need it.
- Get a reusable coffee filter: Instead of throwing away a paper coffee filter every day, get one that can be used over and over again.
- Start a dinner co-op: Take turns creating meals for several families, and you can buy ingredients in bulk while saving time and energy.
- Reuse scraps: Before you throw out scraps, consider whether they’d make a nice stew, stock, or a snack for Fido.
- Buy in bulk: Buy food in bulk to cut down on packaging, then freeze or share with a friend.
- Eat sustainable seafood: Choose fish that are not subject to overfishing, like tilapia, striped bass, and Pacific halibut.
- Buy organic: Organic foods are less taxing on the earth to produce, so they’re an obvious choice if you’d like to make your food a little more earth-friendly.
- Let food cool: Save energy by letting your food cool naturally before putting it in the refrigerator.
- Get a water filter: Instead of buying purified water in bottles, get a water filter to enjoy the same quality without the waste.
Tools
Get your gadgets to go green with these tips.
- Use a bamboo cutting board: Chop away with a bamboo cutting board, and rest assured that you’re using a renewable resource.
- Buy tools that last: Get utensils, cookware, and other tools that will last, so you don’t have to throw them away and get new ones.
- Avoid one-use tools: Find gadgets that deliver multiple uses, such as an egg slicer that also works for avocados.
- Buy eco-friendly disposable silverware: If you must use disposable products, make sure that they’re made of eco-friendly materials.
- Get reusable plasticware: Instead of disposable plates and utensils for outdoor eating, invest in some plasticware that can be used over and over again.
- Avoid Teflon: Teflon has been debated as hazardous, and it has a limited useful life.
- Use cast iron cookware: Cast iron is durable, so you won’t need to replace it for quite some time, and it has excellent heat retention, so a little heating goes a long way.
- Buy high-quality knives: Get knives that will be useful for a long time, and that you can sharpen by hand.
House Rules
These rules are good to keep in mind with everything you do in your kitchen.
- Use recycled materials: When shopping, look for products that are made of recycled materials, like paper towels and toilet paper.
- Use renewable resources: Using renewable resources like solar power, bamboo, and hemp will give you a green step up.
- Always recycle: Whenever possible, recycle every piece of waste that your collection will take.
- Repair before replacing: Don’t jump the gun and make a new purchase when all your appliance or fixture needs is a good repair.
- Always buy reusable items: Invest in cloth napkins, a reusable travel mug, and other items that replace disposable options.
