No matter how big or small our kitchen is, it is the place where we spend lots of time preparing our meals, enjoying tasteful food, and cleaning up. However, preparing food and cleaning up are the two things of great importance to find the ways to go green in the kitchen as much as possible.
So, health is not only eating green food, it is also the way of preparing it and cleaning afterwards.
How to be sustainable in the kitchen…
Reuse Water
Water used for washing fruits and vegetables is reusable. You can use it to water the flowers. Fill a bowl with water, wash your fruits and vegetables thoroughly in the bowl (and give them a quick rinse in running water).
You can then use the water from the bowl to water your flowers – for example.
This way you will give water a second life, and even watch it grow in your beloved plants.
Go Green When Storing Snacks
Some foods need to be stored well so they don’t dry. Your sandwich you are taking with you to a short picnic in the park, or slices of the other half of that big pear will be kept in the fridge until somebody eats them, they need beeswax snack bags so they keep nice and juicy.
They are easy to use, put your snack in the beeswax bag, close it with the warmth of your hands and slight pressure. When empty, put them in your bag and when you are back home wash them with some liquid detergent solution in cold water, let them dry naturally, and put them away until next time you need them. No need for plastic bags.
Reuse Everything You Can
There is no need to waste all that baking paper or aluminium foil every time you prepare some food. Often sheets of baking paper or aluminium foil stay in good form, so why not use them again? Give baking paper a quick rinse, dry it, and put it in the separate, previously used box for baking paper.
Same goes for the foil, but it is easier to fold the sheet. Also, there is no need to toss plastic zip-lock bags, they are easy to wash with a little liquid detergent and water solution, dry and put in a drawer for the next time you need them. Of course, this does not work for bags that used to hold meat, as they should not to be used again.
Choose Durable Cookware
How to be sustainable in the kitchen can often start with the utensils you have.
When it comes to cookware, you will go green buying the best pieces that will stay in use in your kitchen for a very long time. Those pieces are expensive, but if you can use them very long, they pay off every coin you invested. It’s up to you and your family to decide what pieces of cookware and how many of them you need. Depending on the number of family members and your eating habits of course.
When speaking of the stove, it depends on your preference. You can choose between gas stoves, induction cooktops, ceramic glass cooktops or electric stove.
Keep in mind that you should use the devices in your kitchen according to the amount of food you are preparing to prevent wasting energy.
Save Water While Washing The Dishes
We already know that dishwashers save water because they need less water. However, although they already save water, we have to complete the puzzle before turning them on. Meaning dishes are correctly arranged that the dishwasher is only turned on when it’s full.
If you’re washing dishes by hand in a sink with two compartments, use one compartment to fill it with hot water and washing liquid. Wash the dishes in it and put them in the other compartment with clean, warm water to rinse from the detergent. After that, give them a quick rinse in the running water. Or, if you have only one sink, hot water and washing liquid can go in a big bowl on a kitchen cabinet next to the sink. The rinsing can be done in the sink. This will save tons of water.
There still are many more ways to save energy and be more eco-friendly in the kitchen. These are just some of them. Hopefully this article has helped you when it comes to how to be sustainable in the kitchen.
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