Most of us are looking for ways to be more environmentally friendly in our day-to-day lives. This includes things like changing how we travel, buying fewer disposable products, and avoiding fast fashion. At home, the kitchen is perhaps one of the rooms where we can make the most changes to become more sustainable. Here are some of the things that you can do to create a more environmentally friendly kitchen.

Buy High-Quality Cookware

Cheap cookware needs replacing regularly, it’s not made from sustainable materials, and because the materials aren’t high-quality you might need to use more oils to avoid sticking, and heat to aid cooking. Higher quality cookware, such as cast-iron pots and pans are non-stick, long-lasting, and they retain heat, meaning you can cook with less power. Check out the best kitchen cookware stores near me for some of the best options and try to buy long-lasting items.

Invest in Reusables

The kitchen is often where we use the most disposables, and even items that are reusable can have fairly short lives. Things like plastic bags for storage, cling film and foil, piping bags, and even cleaning sponges are often used once, or a handful of times before being thrown away.

All of these things can be replaced with more sustainable options like cleaning cloths, wax wrapping squares, and glass storage containers, which might cost more to start with, but will last for far longer and reduce your wastage.

Avoid Chemicals

Chemicals have been used in cleaning for a long time and are often thought of as the best way to kill germs and reduce bacteria, which is, of course, essential in the kitchen. But chemicals certainly aren’t the only way to keep your kitchen clean and safe. Switch to chemical-free, more environmentally friendly and natural products, or even start making your own.

Reduce Food Waste

It’s thought that one-third of the food that we produce gets wasted. Some of this is wasted before it gets anywhere near our home kitchens, but we could all still make changes to reduce our household food wastage. Meal planning, writing shopping lists, using up leftovers and generally being more careful with what we buy are all great ways to reduce waste, and save money.

Replace Appliances with More Energy Efficient Options

Throwing perfectly good appliances away and replacing them with energy-efficient options isn’t a good idea. It’s a better option to use what you’ve got until it no longer works and then replacing it with more efficient options.

Recycle and Compost

Of course, even if you do everything that you can, there will always be some waste in your kitchen. Make sure you recycle or compost everything that you can, by investing in a compost bin for your garden. Most food waste can be composted, but double check online first.

Often, creating a more environmentally friendly kitchen means doing some research and being more mindful about what you buy and how you cook. Try to find the most sustainable options and change your shopping habits so that you are only buying what you need.