4 Steps To A More Eco-Friendly Kitchen
By: Madelyn Ostendorf Living in the dorms has made me dream of when I get to have my kitchen (and bathroom!), so I have spent a significant amount of time creating concept boards for my ideal kitchen. In my research, I have come across a new trend in appliances: eco-friendly gadgets. I don’t mean just energy-efficient appliances, but kitchen staples that help to reduce waste are so obvious, and best of all, aren’t that expensive of a swap! 1 First on the list: paper towels. Kitchens are some of the messiest places in the house, and paper towels are the easiest thing the grab, clean up, and get rid of the spill. This is a swap that you can buy from Etsy, or if you are crafty, you can just make yourself! This alternative is a roll of quilted towels that snap together and sit on a paper towel dispenser, making it easy to grab one, “rip” it off, and throw it in the wash pile when it is dirty. Once the roll is low, you just wash them, snap them back together and roll them back up, ready for the next spill! 2 Second swap: plastic baggies. I don’t know about you, but my fridge is filled with plastic bags and plastic wrap in an attempt to keep my food fresh. Another potential DIY opportunity lies in wait here; beeswax wraps! You can either buy it from a small business or find a tutorial on how to coat fabric in hot beeswax and let it cool until you have your own beeswax wrap. The wrap is washable in cold water and is completely moldable to whatever you need to store in a lunch bag or refrigerator. Big enough pieces can even replace Saran wrap over the top of traveling dishes! 3
Third swap: produce bags. It is less for operating in the kitchen, but it certainly helps to slow down the plastic-bag-that-holds-other-plastic-bags mess that either hides under your sink or in the pantry. Grabbing a few reusable produce bags cuts down on waste for bags you know you are never going to have a purpose of reusing, and they can be tossed in the laundry when they start to get dirty. Any type of mesh bag works, so the price range is totally up to your budget. Just toss them into your purse when you are headed out to the grocery store, and you are good to go! 4 Final swap: tea and coffee. Instead of getting pre-bagged tea that you toss in the trash, try looseleaf tea and a tea ball! Or, if you are more of a coffee drinker, use a reusable K-Cup or coffee filter. Not only are you not throwing out several bags, cups or filters a week (or maybe a day!), but you can better control the strength of the cup you brew. If you have a little higher of a budget and are on Team Coffee, you might even enjoy a french press; less waste, same taste.
20
