How to Make a More Sustainable Kitchen

We hope you like the products we recommend. Just so you are aware, Freshome may collect a share of sales from the links on this page.

When you think about it, the kitchen has more potential for waste than any other area in the home. It’s where the majority of your appliances run. It’s where you cook and generate food waste. And it’s where you run water almost constantly, between the faucet, the dishwasher and any icemakers. So if you want to have a more eco-friendly home, the place to start is in making a sustainable kitchen.

As far as costs go, you could be looking at hundreds to thousands of dollars if it’s time to get more sustainable appliances. Or simple measures like labeling food by date so it doesn’t go bad can be basically free. Planning and implementing more sustainable measures in your kitchen can also take as little as a weekend. So whether you’re ready for a complete appliance overhaul or looking for easier ways to be less wasteful, below are some tips for a sustainable kitchen.

It might be time to find more energy-efficient appliances. Image: Mirelle/Shutterstock

Invest in New Appliances

If you’re looking to cut the energy you use in the kitchen, you might want to replace any old appliances. The easiest way to do that is to look for ENERGY STAR appliances. Doing so could help you see a major reduction in your energy bill.

However, if your appliances are new, you may see less of an improvement. For instance, ENERGY STAR-qualified refrigerators use at least 15 percent less energy than all other types, but they use an impressive 40 percent less energy than conventional models that were sold in 2001. So if you have older appliances, now may be the time to upgrade to something more efficient for a sustainable kitchen.

Compost your food waste. Image: Gary Perkin/Shutterstock

Get a Sustainable Kitchen by Rethinking Your Trash

Another part of the kitchen that affects the sustainability of the whole household is how much trash you’re throwing away. There are a few easy ways to reduce the amount of waste you produce in the kitchen:

Try indoor composting. You can find special indoor bins or simply remember to throw scraps into an outdoor compost bin.
Also, try to buy reusable or recyclable. Ditch the single-use paper plates and non-recyclable Keurig cups. (There are companies that make compostable or recyclable Keurig pods.)
Don’t buy more perishables than you can finish. Watch purchases at big-box retailers, where everything comes in bulk and can easily go bad before you use it.

A basic salad spinner can prevent those premature sickly, slimy greens. Image: Devrim PINAR/Shutterstock

Get a System in Place So Food Won’t Go Bad

We all do it. We all have that leftover pasta we meant to eat, and then it started growing mold before we knew it. But developing a few habits can reduce the chance of food going to waste and make a more sustainable kitchen:

Label food by date and keep older food near the front of the fridge.
Seal food in air-tight storage bags.
Keep the moisture out of foods like spinach by getting a salad spinner.
Check for moldy items in your produce or baked goods early and often, before that one bad spot can contaminate the whole container.

Sustainable materials like reclaimed wood can add style just about anywhere in the kitchen, like on this island. Image: Artazum/Shutterstock

Remodel Using Sustainable Building Materials

Are you thinking of finally getting the kitchen of your dreams? Even remodeling for a new look can be an excuse for a more sustainable kitchen. For instance, try remodeling with sustainable or even reclaimed materials. A few ideas include:

Sustainably sourced or reclaimed countertops
Sustainable flooring materials, like bamboo
Cabinets made of reclaimed wood
Recycled glass tile backsplashes

Dripping faucets can waste a surprising amount of water. Image: Lipskiy/Shutterstock

Watch Your Water Use

You should also watch how much water you are using, as we use a large amount of water in the kitchen. For instance, we use about 8 to 27 gallons of water washing dishes by hand alone, depending on your faucet and how much you let the water run. So if you’re washing dishes by hand, try washing dishes in a basin rather than running the faucet continually.

Also, if the faucet drips, fix or replace it. A faucet that drips once per second wastes over five gallons of water per day for a whopping 2,082 gallons per year.

And remember, if you make conservation a habit, running a sustainable kitchen will eventually feel like no effort at all.

The post How to Make a More Sustainable Kitchen appeared first on Freshome.com.

from Freshome.com http://bit.ly/2KkvYpH
via IFTTT

Comentarios

imagenes del medio ambiente para dibujar

5 Benefits of Drip Irrigation Systems

If you want a stunning yard and a low water bill, a drip irrigation system could be for you. Image: Jacky Parker Photography/Getty Images If you live in one of the parts of the country that’s been struggling with drought (or you just don’t want to spend a fortune on your water bill), you’ve probably felt that you face a choice with your outdoor areas. You can either be water conscious or have a beautiful, lush yard, right? When you’ve opted for traditional irrigation systems like sprinkler heads, that’s often true. But, good news, that’s not your only option as far as types of irrigation systems go. If you want a beautiful yard without the high water usage — and resulting bill! — a drip irrigation system could be just what you need. What is a drip irrigation system? This way to water your plants uses dripped water. A drip irrigation system runs either a perforated hose or drip emitters (connected by a hose) under the soil throughout your planting bed. Water drips through small h

New riverside development in China will be an urban renewal

Architects VenhoevenCS have won a major riverside redevelopment in Shenzhen, China . They hope to protect large areas of land from flooding while also creating a vibrant new urban identity for the Bao’an district. The Pailao River Blueway Project constitutes a new biodiverse landscape along the central Pailoa River, an area under rapid urban development where rainfall intensity is increasing. Architects are using this project to design with the water instead of against it. It includes elements such as ponds, green roofs, urban farming plots, wetlands and soft banks, contributing to a natural sponge effect to absorb excess water from the river . Related: 100-year-old railway yard turned into a green space VenhoevenCS also has their sights set on integrating urban regeneration in the area. They have planned cultural and social spaces, including pavilions and parks for cyclists and pedestrians. The design illustrates their nature-inclusive approach, reshaping how humans and the natu

Say hello to the new Toyota electric vehicle, the bZ4X

Toyota is trying to win the electric vehicle game with a stylish new SUV loaded with techy features. The all-electric bZ4X will be rolling onto the lots of U.S. auto dealers this spring. If the name doesn’t immediately strike you as catchy, it might help to understand that “bZ” stands for “beyond zero.” The bZ4X is the first of seven in Toyota’s new line of bZ vehicles. That’s seven out of 15 BEVs, to throw another acronym at you. BEVs are battery electric vehicles, as opposed to HEVs (hybrid electric vehicles) or PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles). Related: Consider these factors before buying an electric vehicle All these Vs will help speed Toyota toward its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. Already, Toyota has more than 20 million models on the world’s roads. The company has pledged to invest another $70+ billion in EVs over the next nine years. So, back to the bZ4X. According to Toyota, the new “BEV-dedicated platform, a first for Toyota, was developed with Subaru

NASA to test the world's first electric airplane

NASA has shared details of its new all-electric plane that is set to take off to the sky this fall. The plane is designed to run fully on electric batteries , departing from the tradition of fuel-powered planes. If all goes well, this will be the first step toward achieving a cleaner, cheaper, and quieter future for aviation. Known as the X-57, the plane is lightweight compared to traditional planes . Its weight helps it use less power over the same distance compared to its equal fuel-powered planes. Further, the plane produces less noise as compared to fuel-powered options. According to NASA, the plane is currently being prepared for initial tests, which will be conducted in the desert east of Los Angeles. Related: Rolls-Royce unveils prototype for world’s fastest electric plane The plane borrows its design from a four-seater plane constructed by the Italian Tecnam corporation. The main reason for this is to help in comparison of the two models of the design. The experts at NASA w

Biomimicry house hints at a solution to the climate crisis

Houses separate us from nature. At least, that’s the idea we’ve had until now. Architecture that uses biomimicry , permaculture and related practices to keep nature in our building spaces offers a green alternative. B+H Architects Director of Biomimicry Jamie Miller is an advocate of sustainable building practices like biomimicry to help with the climate crisis. Biomimicry creates an architectural option that keeps us connected to nature, without removing the biodiversity from the spaces where we live and work. Now the B+H Architects’ newest residential project shows us how a home can blend right into nature itself. Related: It looks like a shark fin and helps urban river flooding A house that disappears into the landscape “Imagine stepping inside a house that disappears into a forest all without ever leaving the city,” B+H said. A landowner in Bengaluru, India wanted to achieve just that, connecting his home to nature within a dense urban area. He didn’t just want to live wit

What are stellar earthquakes that make stars move?

What are stellar earthquakes that make stars move? The Gaia mission of the European Space Agency revealed the earthquakes that occur thousands of light years away. Argentine astronomers explain the scope of this space telescope and its discoveries. In 2013 the European Space Agency (ESA), launched a unique space mission: the Gaia space observatory, a spacecraft designed specifically for astrometry: the science that measures the positions, distances and motions of stars with a precision never seen before. Scientists say the mission aims to build the largest and most accurate 3D space catalog ever made of the observable universe, with a total of approximately two billion astronomical objects, mainly stars, but also planets, comets, asteroids and quasars, among other fascinating objects in the vastness of space. This week, ESA released a new update of data collected by Gaia in the last three years, after having observed 10 million stars and space objects, which led to the publication of s

Bananatex launches a sustainable material revolution at Milan Design Week

A party of three has collaborated to create a multi-purpose material sourced entirely from banana leaves. Swiss bag brand QWSTION, a yarn specialist from Taiwan, and a Taiwanese weaving partner spent four years developing the new material, which is being revealed at the 2019 Milan Design Week. The strong, flexible material, called Banantex, offers a new universal option in the search for sustainable materials . Beginning at the source, the banana leaves come from a natural ecosystem of sustainable forestry in the Philippines. The banana trees grow naturally without the use of pesticides or other chemicals. Plus, they do not require any additional water. The banana plants are a boon to an area previously eroded by palm plantations, bringing back vegetation and a livelihood for local farmers. Related: See how banana trees are recycled into vegan “leather” wallets in Micronesia With a long history of creating materials from sustainable resources, QWSTION saw the strength and dura

New biofabricated clothing made from algae goes through photosynthesis just like plants

There are a products that completely revolutionize the fashion industry for their eco-friendly approach and innovative vision. Although the fashion industry has made strides over the past few years in terms of sustainable clothing production, there is still a long ways to go. Thankfully, a handful of designers are coming up with incredibly innovative solutions to really change the concept of eco-fashion . One such visionary is Canadian-Iranian designer Roya Aghighi , whose new line of clothing, Biogarmentry, is made from algae that turns carbon dioxide into oxygen via photosynthesis. Made in collaboration with University of British Colombia (UBC) and Emily Carr Univeristy, the Biogarmentry line is a revolutionary design within the world of eco-fashion . While most sustainable designers are searching for fabrics that don’t harm the environment, Aghighi went straight to the environment for her unique fabric, using living, photosynthetic cells in its design. Related: SAOLA offers su

Diet for Depression: 8 Foods To Eat And Avoid

According to the World Health Organization, more than 264 million people suffer from depression globally. [1] Symptoms of depression can include sadness, lethargy and a general loss of interest in life. There are a number of ways to combat this and a diet for depression can help not only your mental health but your well-being as well. In fact, a 2017 study found that the symptoms of people with moderate-to-severe depression improved when they received nutritional counseling sessions and ate a more healthful diet for 12 weeks. [2] Just imagine having higher levels of optimism, energy, positivity, focus, and a greater interest in life. Well, you can. Making some adjustments to your diet can help with your depression. Not only are there foods that you could eat to help with your depression but there are foods that you should avoid. Foods That Help With Depression 1. Oily Fish Oily fish such as salmon, sardines, herring, light tuna and mackerel are a healthy source of Vitamin D. [3]

Eco Vlog News

Welcome to my Vlog about the environment and general news related to it. The advancement of technology and the expansion of the human being are inevitable and an essential mark left by progress as a race, but it is important in the process not to lose respect for the environment and the world in which we live. Become aware of its deterioration as an initial measure to begin to become aware of how to take care of it. For these reasons, our little grain of sand as a contribution to an ecological blog in which we offer you the latest Internet news as a reference so that you can inform yourself and become aware of it. In the articles you can find the respective news sources and most current magazines on which the subject in question is being addressed.

Eco-Vlog

Buscar este blog