Implement these Eco-friendly Kitchen Ideas
If you’re looking forward to make your home more eco-friendly, then the best place to start with is kitchen. You can control some elements in order to reduce the carbon foot print. When you remodel kitchen for sustainability, it’s also easy to make a clean-living kitchen. Some small changes as using bio-degradable or recycled material made utensils can be a great step to start this project.
Some areas you should consider changing are –
- Cleaning Products
- Flooring
- Appliances
- Countertops
- Waste Reduction
Eco-friendly Kitchen Cleaning Products:
Generally the kitchen cleaning products are toxic. Replacing those with non-toxic ones will be good for both you and the earth. You’ll easily get such eco-friendly products in stores. Also you can make it by your own with items in your home. For example, mix one-part vodka, one-part water and 15 drops citrus essential oil (or lemon) in a glass spray bottle. The vodka with lemon works as an amazing natural disinfectant. Shake the mixture well and spray as needed.
Eco-friendly Kitchen Flooring:
Kitchen flooring is a worthy inclusion to upgrade your kitchen. With time, the floors become outdated and dirty. You can replace the old flooring with a new, modern, eco-friendly one. Recyclable materials are great in this matter. Bamboo has an important place in the trend of wood flooring over years. It’s a green flooring option as well as pocket-friendly. Eco-friendly bamboo flooring costs about $2/sq. ft. – $7/sq. ft. approx.
Eco-friendly Kitchen Appliances:
The older kitchen appliances tend to consume more energy than the newer models. Thus it taxes you more expense and also the earth. It’s a smart choice to replace those old modes with energy-efficient newer ones to save energy. Notice the energy star label on kitchen appliances when you go to shop to make sure you’re buying an eco-friendly one. Also the energy star certificate will save your money for long term, though it may seem expensive at beginning. According to Energy Star, a certified dishwasher costs only $35 per year to run.
Eco-friendly Kitchen Countertops:
When remodelling, make sure your countertops are green along with sustainability. Recyclable woods and glasses are now smart choices in this field. Recyclable glass countertops are now the most famous alternative for the old quartz ones. This gives you an eco-friendly kitchen without compromising with style and looks. These countertops use minimum 85% recycled materials. Thus they don’t increase burden on landfills and provides alternative usages. Such recycled glass countertops cost $75.09/sq. ft.-$106.03/sq. ft. approx.
Kitchen Waste Reduction:
Food wasting ruins nature’s precious gifts. If you’re not recycling, then start it with some easy steps and proper planning to step forward sustainability. You can make recycle easier by incorporating a pull-out recycle bin into your kitchen. American averagely waste 1 pound food/day averagely. Reduce such huge amount of food wastage by –
- Making a grocery-list before shopping.
- Keeping a list of leftovers in freeze.
- Freezing extra fruits and using them later wisely.
- Making compost with the waste.
Try these tips and step forward to save the nature with an eco-friendly kitchen!
