We have always strived for an eco-friendly home. The kitchen is a great place to start, because there is often a lot of waste involved with food.

Here are some ways to make your kitchen a little greener!

  • Reusable shopping bags

Using reusable shopping bags is an easy way to reduce harmful plastic bag waste. The average reusable shopping bag is around $3 and easy to buy at checkouts in grocery stores. These grocery bags are more durable and able to carry more items than most plastic or paper bags, making it a convenient and practical switch, all while you are protecting the environment by keeping plastic out of landfills and reducing deforestation by not using paper bags. 

  • Buy in bulk, less packaging

Buying in bulk is much more sustainable than buying in individual containers. Imagine you are hosting a party with 25 people, and buy 25 plastic bottles of soda. That creates much more plastic waste than if you were to just buy a few 2 liter bottles of soda and serve the soda to everyone in glassware. Next time that you are buying snacks, rather than buying individual snack bags, buy the full container and pour servings into Tupperware containers. 

  • Reusable containers, less plastic, reusable straws

Tupperware containers are a great alternative to plastic bags and non-reusable food storage containers. They are dishwasher safe, come in many different sizes, and are much more durable than plastic bags and styrofoam food storage containers. Next time you have leftovers, opt to reduce plastic waste by storing them in a Tupperware container.  If you use straws, switch from plastic to reusable or biodegradable.

Using eco-friendly cleaning products is another easy way to help our planet. There are many brands out there that offer non-toxic cleaning products and brands that offer refillable ones. Once the product is used up, you can either use a biodegradable refill packet or ship it back in the mail to be refilled. Non-toxic products are essential as well because they do not pollute our environment as much as other products. 

  • Avoid food waste

Food waste is one of the many ways that we can harm our environment without noticing. You can easily avoid food waste by planning your meals, buying only what you need, eating your leftovers, and putting leftover food or ingredients in the freezer, and more. All of these things combined will help you reduce or completely eliminate your food waste altogether. 

  • Compost food scraps

Composting provides benefits in multiple ways; it lets you get rid of your food scraps without having to put them in the garbage, provides rich soil for your plants to grow in, and more. Having a compost also reduces the need for chemical fertilizers, which means that your garden will be completely natural. Get a compost scrap bin for the kitchen, where you can gather scraps to bring outside to your compost bin.