When you are concerned with the environmental impact your kitchen has on the environment, it is time to go green. The fact is that every kitchen around the world increases the environment’s load in a big or small way. To make your kitchen more friendly to the environment, there are a few things you can do, such as being less wasteful, being more efficient with the use of energy and doing things in the kitchen that are more friendly to the environment. These days, it does not really come as a surprise that more and more people are going towards a greener path in their homes. This includes using canvas reusable bags when doing the grocery and creating their own compost piles to recycle waste. Aside from these activities, people are also going green by doing the following actions:
Use Natural Building Materials
Using natural materials for building or remodeling such as solid wood for kitchen cabinets and flooring as well as using granite for sink and countertop will help minimize your green footprint. When you use natural materials for building, you not only discourage the use of artificial construction materials, you also reduce plastic waste which is often the result of a kitchen renovation, and dispose of acrylic countertops and other non-biodegradable substances.
Use Natural Materials for Pottery and Dishes
If your kitchen is like the most other types of kitchen, it will most likely be filled with glass storage jars, dishes, pots and pans. In order for you to enjoy a greener kitchen, use the aforementioned cookware made from all-natural materials. This includes materials that are naturally produced in the earth, such as earthenware (e.g. terracotta – the baked clay, or ceramics) and glass, which comes from sand (you’ll need a heat-resistant type designed for cooking, though). When using natural materials for all your kitchen storage jars, you will not only enjoy having a greener kitchen all-around, you can also be sure your kitchen will have a truly organized, unified theme that will make it look great.
Use Eco Friendly Cleaners
More and more homes are realizing the benefits of using eco friendly cleaners. This includes the facts that the green cleaners smell better and, above all, they’re much healthier to use. The reason for this is there are no harsh chemicals included in an eco friendly cleaner. Some knowledgeable kitchen experts recommend several great cleaners you can utilize to clean your home, such as washing soda, white vinegar, borax, lemon, unscented soap and baking soda. These not only leave your home with a fresh, clean smell, they also won’t cause abrasion or irritation to your nasal passages the way chemical cleaners do.
Recycle Your Resources
Today is trendy as well as very useful that kitchen owners recycle their resources. You can use solar panels to collect sunshine as an alternative, sustainable energy source for powering your heaters but also to collect rain water for flushing your toilets or doing the dishes. Other ways you might want to recycle your resources in the kitchen is by creating your own compost pile to produce good soil for a garden or pot plants. No matter how you look at it, recycling electricity, water and the energy in general is a green way to go.
Use Natural Lighting and Ventilation
It’s a wise decision to utilize the possibilities that nature gives us for free. Save on your electric bill and create a greener kitchen by using natural ventilation and lighting. You can do this by installing screens on your windows and keeping them open when the weather allows. Also, you can renovate your kitchen to include more natural light by replacing old windows with a bigger ones, enabling you to save on the costs of power and electricity. All you need is a good will, some skills and not so big budget.
These are just some ways you can create a greener kitchen. Doing the actions mentioned here will ensure you a better, healthier future with a decreased environmental footprint overall.