Helping the environment doesn’t mean you need to build yourself an eco-friendly home in the woods and become completely self-sufficient (although you can go down this route if you want!), but it can also mean being a bit more careful about what you have and what you do in the kitchen. So a couple of initial questions: Are you eco-friendly? Would you say that your kitchen is a green kitchen? Even small actions can make a big difference in the grand scheme of things and if everyone does their bit then our environment will be better off as a result, so let’s take a look at what you can do.
Get rid of energy inefficient appliances
One of the big methods of creating a green kitchen is to get rid of the appliances that waste the most energy. When you buy a new appliance have a look to see what energy rating it has. Usually the cheaper you go the worse the rating will be. If you can afford it then paying a little bit extra can result in having a much more energy efficient appliance for your green kitchen. As an example an eco kettle will use 20% less energy when boiling water and fridge with an A+++ rating will save nearly £200 in energy bills over the products lifetime compared to a A+ model.
Be clever with food storage
In the UK some 15 million tonnes of food is wasted every year, the highest in Europe, and while many people will think this number comes from supermarkets and restaurants disposing of food they can’t sell the fact is that 42% of this figure comes from household waste. If you really want a green kitchen then you need to cut down on the amount of food you waste. For example look at the proper way to store food. Many people simply put an open packet into the fridge however is this the best way to store it? Will it go off quicker? Putting food into a tupperware box can really help to keep it fresher for longer. Similarly read the labels when it comes to sauces – putting these items into the fridge instead of the cupboard can help extend their life and cut down on the amount wasted every year.
Go green with your cooking
In a green kitchen you want to get the most out of your cooking without wasting too much energy. Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly depending on how you look at it, a microwave uses less energy than an oven. Reheating food in the microwave instead of the oven for instance can cut down on energy waste. While you probably don’t want to microwave everything, and a lot of food can’t be cooked in a microwave, preheating an oven is becoming obsolete. With newer models especially they reach maximum temperature so quickly that there is no need to preheat and waste energy. Also, when heating food on the hob try and use pots that are the same size as the rings. Using a 6-inch pot on a 8-inch ring on your cooker can waste nearly 40% of the heat.
Recycle
You have probably heard the words recycle more times than you care to remember, but the reason we have put recycling in this list is because it is the most effective way in which you can create a green kitchen and a more environmentally friendly home. It takes 75% less energy to create a new plastic bottle from an old recycled one that it does from new materials. Your food wastage can cost the UK £12.5 billion per year if not recycled properly too, so taking a little more care when it comes to what you put in each bin can have a drastic effect on the environment and help to create a more efficient green kitchen.
It doesn’t take that much to make a green kitchen in your home, and the simple tips that we have outlined here will get you well on your way to not just a greener home, but also a greener lifestyle.
Have a great weekend
Clinton and Fiona