I’ve started my eco-friendly journey from my kitchen. The kitchen is the heart of every home and where most of our waste is created therefore the faster way to a low waste lifestyle starts from the kitchen. I’m the last person who does something hard to keep up with. My greener kitchen choices are things that I can swap easily, not time-consuming and can quickly become a habit.
I’m going to share my favourite and easiest swaps for a greener kitchen. With these quick and easy swaps, you will have a greener kitchen in no time.
1- Non-stick cookie sheet
This way, you won’t need to use any parchment paper – aluminum foil or too much oil for anything your bake, roast or broil. When choosing an oven-safe dish, try to pick one that has an oven-safe lid as well to reduce the use of aluminum foil.
2- Reusable rags or towels
It just makes sense to have washed ready to use rags or towels for little messes around the kitchen and house. Using a paper towel not only is creating a lot of waste, but it feels like you are cleaning the mess with a dollar bill and throwing it out, don’t you think so?
3- Good quality food storage bags/containers
I use Fresh bags for storing vegetables in the fridge. Since I started using Fresh bags, I cut our food waste by 75%. Cooking is much easier when I have washed and cut vegetables ready to go in Fresh bags in the fridge.
I also use glass containers a lot. They help me avoid using plastic wraps to cover anything, and they go straight to the oven or toaster oven.
4- Natural cleaners
There are a ton of natural cleaners in the market. A lot of them available in a concentrated format where you can mix with water in your spray bottle. If you get the concentrated one, you will save on a lot of plastic bottle packaging as well. Another good option is the good old white vinegar and water. I add a few rinds of lemon or a few drops of lemon oil for a better smell.
5- Loofah sponges
Now using Loofah as a dish sponge was one of the easiest swaps I ever did. At first, I was skeptical and was not sure if it can clean my dishes well. But on the contrary, it did a great job and keeps doing that. The best part, after a few months of using the Loofah, when it breaks down and gets thin, you can put it in the compost and no waste!
These are my 5 easy swaps for a greener kitchen that I turned into a happy habit. Share your easy swaps in the comments.
