Simple ways to make your kitchen more eco friendly

 

I have to admit, I have a bit of kitchen envy at the moment!

We have new neighbours and they’ve gutted and renovated their home. It’s made me realise just how much I’ve been putting up with – especially in our kitchen area.

Think 1980’s!

Contemporary designer kitchens are known for their sleek, stylish, and simple appearance. They are categorised by their clean and straightforward design whereby clutter is completely eradicated.

While I keep our kitchen as clutter free as possible, I realise now how limited my space is – especially now I’ve seen what our neighbours have done with the identical area.

This is why storage space is even more important when looking for modern kitchens for sale. Hiring residential architects is the best way to go about it, as they will be able to create a kitchen that works for you.

One of the things that’s most important in my kitchen is making is straight forward to recycle. So we’ve changed how we use our under sink cupboard. It used to home our kitchen bin, which meant it was super easy to put things in it and shut the door – out of sight, out of mind and all that. So one of the most effective ways to help use waste less and recycle more was to replace the kitchen bin with something else – either a recycling container, or something completely different. For us, we use this area to store cleaning cloths, which brings me to point 2.

Giving up disposable kitchen towel meant swapping it for reusable, washable cloths. You need a reasonable amount of cloths, otherwise you end up needing to use the washing machine more often, which kinda defeats the object of reducing your carbon footprint! You don’t need to buy new cloths, either. You can make simple cloths from an old cotton t-shirt that you might be taking to the charity shop. My Grandma used to use old vests!

Next, think about reducing single-use plastic. This might mean making the most of pantry space, matching all those old plastic containers with their lids and remembering to take them with you when you go to the shops! This way you can make the most of local bulk buy stores by purchasing just the amount of an item you need, without bringing home excess packaging.

Next, think about recycling containers or developing a specific area. This will depend on the space you have available and the number of different recycling streams you have. For us, we prefer to keep everything together, but for some people it might simply be a few bags hung on the back of cupboard door handles. Other people keep recycling out of the kitchen and utilise a porch or garden shed.

If you’re short on space, think about you could free up surface space by looking for items that have dual purpose such as a chopping board that fits over the sink. You can also select appliances that have dual functions so that you do not need to invest in two things, which will take up more space. You should create an information hub in your house, preferably out of the kitchen, where you keep school notices, bills and such like. Otherwise, the worktop can become a dumping ground for such items. Last but not least, customise your cupboards so that they reach optimal functionality for your needs. For example, you could invest in carousel shelves or a deep wicker basket.

Lastly, what about storing cleaning products? Well the good news is, if you make your own, or use eco friendly, they are safer to be stored close to food. I make the majority of my cleaning products from edible ingredients such as bicarbonate of soda, white vinegar and lemon juice! Check out this course for details on how to make your own cleaning products.