Daily kitchen activities often contribute a large amount of waste to the environment. But, you always have the choice and responsibility to reduce waste and help lower our environmental footprint. The kitchen is one of the often-used rooms at home and where you spend most of your time. With all the prepping and cooking, this is one place where waste also originates. Thus, this is also the place where you should start being environmentally conscious. Here are some tips on how to reduce waste from your kitchen and small conscious efforts for a better, healthier, and happier planet.
Go Vegan
Do you know where your food is from? Support local, buy local. You can visit your local market and buy locally produced and homemade products. If you are not sure where your local market is, you can directly buy products from farmers or farms that sell their own produce. Buying and consuming local products will benefit the economy and lead to a healthier and happier life.
Grow Your Own Food
If you are lucky enough to have a garden or piece of land, work on it—plant some fruit trees, fruit bushes, vegetables, and herbs. Growing something in your own backyard can give you a sense of satisfaction. Having your own fruit and vegetable garden can also give you a relaxing and healthy ambiance as plants produce fresh air and contribute to a healthy and organic pantry. If you have some space on your balcony or just enough room indoors, you can grow some herbs and spices. Growing your own fruits and vegetables will not just give you fresh produce on the table, but beautiful surroundings as well.
Use Cotton Cloths or Textiles
Instead of using paper towels or tissue, make use of cotton rags or textiles when cleaning your kitchen. Avoid using materials that might add to waste, like kitchen towels or tissues. Instead, choose a reusable and washable cloth for your cleaning needs.
Know how to DIY and Recycle
There are so many things you can make and create yourself. For example, suppose you buy food that has containers. In that case, you can recycle these containers for reuse, like making them as storage inside your refrigerator or in your cupboards instead of throwing them away or buying some plastic bags for your repository (which adds more waste).
Keep track of everything you have, the food as well as your kitchen gears and appliances. Stay on top of expiry dates on all of the ingredients and the state of fresh produce. Pay attention to what needs to be used up first and make meal plans accordingly. Thus you can achieve no excess waste (apart from the almost inevitable packaging).
Pay close attention to how much your household actually needs. How much do you have to throw away due to expiration or by cooking too large quantities? Reducing these two areas will also save you a significant amount of money. Make a list of the ingredients you use regularly and do regular buying once any of your ingredients start to run out.
Stop Eating Junk Food for Snacks
Junk food and other unhealthy snacks are not good for your health and the environment as well. Most of these snacks slow down your metabolism and can contribute to risks of getting certain diseases. These snacks also contain plastic packaging that can contribute to your kitchen waste and pollute the environment.
Pay Attention to What Kind of Meals You Prepare
If there are leftovers, can they be stored and reheated or eaten cold later or the next day? Look for recipes that enable this. You can have food that you can bring to work for lunch the next day already with no extra effort required.
Be Aware of the Packaging
Take note and be aware of what kind of packaging your products have. Are they wrapped in plastic? Think and look for any other possibilities of buying the same product without also buying and paying for all that waste.
Look for some stores with products that have eco-friendly packaging or stores where you can bring your own storage or packaging. Fill it up with what you need, and only pay for the products, making no waste along the way.
Conclusion
These simple actions and good practices you can do at home every day, coupled with your long-term commitment, can make a big difference. Having a waste-free and healthy kitchen can lead to a healthy lifestyle and a better planet. Remember, a little effort every day can go a long, long way. Learn more about kitchen wastes here!