6 Magnificent Tips for Making Your Kitchen Eco-Friendly

There are tons of ways to make your home more environmentally friendly. Some are small measures, like switching up your light bulbs. Others are larger, like installing a new roof or switching over to smart appliances.

Either way, these changes will help lower your home’s carbon footprint, and in tandem, lower your own. With Earth Day approaching, it’s important to consider how we can expand that sustainable thinking to the rest of our lives—and what’s better than green home improvement projects?

Below, we’ve listed some tips for making your kitchen eco-friendly.

Set up a Recycling and Compost Area

A small measure you can implement into your home right away is setting up recycling and compost areas. Your recycling center should be more than a part of the counter where you put plastic bottles—make sure there’s a designated spot for recycling, just as you have for garbage. Once you’ve done that, start composting! Food waste is a major problem, and when you do something with those scraps, you’ll help the planet by reducing the waste in our landfills.

Grow Your Own

Whether you grow your own herbs, vegetables, or fruits, you’ll be benefiting for your wallet and the world. Especially if you’re an avid cook, growing your own herbs at home is a fun way to make your kitchen greener. It’ll add a whole new element to your cooking when you use fresh from the garden produce and spices.

Choose Natural Cleaning Products

You can also ensure an eco-friendly kitchen by choosing natural cleaning products. It’s another one of those small measures that simply asks you to shop a little differently. Commit to only using natural cleaning products that are free from any of the chemicals that taint our waters. Keep in mind that you can do quite a bit of cleaning using some of the ingredients found in your kitchen already!

Switch to Smart Appliances

This is a bigger step, but you’ll be glad once you do it. Smart, energy-efficient appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers, and microwaves do wonders for reducing your energy bill and reducing the energy output from your home. From there, take care in using these appliances properly. For example, only run your dishwasher when necessary.

Opt for Eco-Friendly Cabinets

If you’re completely remodeling the kitchen, think about the materials you’re choosing. Recycle materials when possible—for the floors, cabinets, and so on. In fact, there are quite a few eco-friendly cabinet options that are great for the environment and fit your design dreams. Picking eco-friendly materials may be slightly more expensive, but it’s worth it in the end.

Buy Local

Our last tip is more about what you’re bringing into the kitchen rather than the design of it. A green kitchen is more than energy-efficient appliances—it includes the food bought and stored there. A green kitchen will buy local produce, putting less of a strain on plastic packaging from far-reaching places. Living green comes from the small measures and the giant bounds!

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