Home is where the heart is, and the hearth is where eco living starts.
1. Upcycle Your Garbage
Potato peelings, onion skin, celery leaves, carrot trimmings: if you think this is the inventory of a landfill, you’ve never experienced the wonder of homemade soup stock.
Image from www.thekitchn.com.
Put all your vegetable odds and ends in a big Ziploc bag and store it in the freezer; when you’ve got around 4 cups of trimmings, it’s stock time. Cover your washed-and-chopped vegetable bits with water and simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally and adding a bay leaf for flavor. Strain, add salt if desired, and reserve the stock for use in soups and stews.
2. Stop Using Dish Soap
Many traditional soaps contain chemicals that pollute rivers and streams, affecting the local wildlife and their habitat.
Image from www.morguefile.com.
The good news is, you’re probably spending too much money on dish soap anyway. A few drops of soap are all you need to scrub and disinfect a pile of plates, so try this DIY dishwashing alternative: mix a solution of water, vinegar and just a few drops of an eco-approved, phosphate-free soap. Your new cleaning liquid will last longer, so you can save money while you’re saving the environment.
3. Be A Pack Rat
In the kitchen, you’re allowed to save everything. In fact, it’s great for the environment when you do! Keep containers from yogurts, fancy tea or take-away meals, and you’ll be able to shop the bulk aisle — spending less money and wasting far less plastic and packaging.
And buying bulk isn’t limited to food — most health food stores offer shampoo and soap in bulk too, so instead of tossing that 2-liter plastic juice bottle, wash it out and fill it with shower gel.
4. Hide Your Compost Under A Plant
If you’re not composting because you can’t find a place to put the bin, look for an innovative hiding spot — under a potted plant, for instance.
Image by Buzo Jesus, from unsplash.com.
Use a heavy-duty compost container, then balance your plant directly on top. A plant will literally make the space more green, and having a convenient hiding place for cooking scraps will encourage you to compost in the kitchen.
5. Learn To Sew
Yes: knowing your way around a needle and thread will make your kitchen more green. You can create reusable shopping bags out of old clothes or curtains, and make storage bags for dry produce (such as onions, apples and peppers) too.
Repurposed t-shirt bag from www.marthastewart.com.
6. Put More Stuff In Your Fridge
It seems counter-intuitive, but filling your fridge actually means less air to keep cool and less energy that the machine must expend. So cook in bulk and enjoy the leftovers — you’ll be saving even more energy by cooking fewer times per week.
Propane refridgerator from www.ecoaltenergy.com.
And, as long as we’re on the subject of refrigerators and energy efficiency, stick a dollar bill in the door of your fridge: if the money falls out, it means you need to replace the seal.
7. Make Pasta With Your Kettle
Boiling water for supper? Don’t bother with the stove — instead, flip on the tea kettle. An electric kettle is more energy efficient, and quicker.
Kettle from Black & Decker.
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