Go Green - Kitchen

One of the biggest sources for inspiration for green living comes from The Good Grandma and various aunts in the family. Having lived through the Depression and raising several kids on a few dollars a week made TGG and her kids resourceful. They are able to come up with reuses for tons of things and have given me a whole new outlook. They had to look for ways to reduce and reuse out of necessity whereas I am able to do it freely.

The biggest change of mindset I made when going green was stopping to think about everything I was throwing away and if there wasn't an alternative. I think most of the time we forget that things like paper towels are not the only option and there are cheaper and better things out there.

So my number one green tip is to actually stop and think about everything you do and use and see if there is some better alternative out there.

These are some useful tips that The Good Husband and I practice in the kitchen, to save money and become more "green".

~Switch to cloth napkins

~Switch to cloth for paper towels or

~Buy paper towels made from recycled paper

~Use plastic containers for leftovers (BPA Free)

~Always run your dishwasher with a full load

~Shop at your local farmer’s market

~Buy locally raised beef, pork, chicken, lamb and buffalo: http://www.localharvest.org/

~Join a local CSA

~Use cloth grocery and produce bags for shopping

~Recycle all plastic and glass containers

~Recycle your plastic bags at local grocery stores

~Keep a compost container on your counter top for food scraps

~Buy in bulk and separate into individual portions (This works great if you love those 100-Calorie snack packs)

~Wash and reuse plastic resalable bags

~Keep your freezer well stocked. Having lots of open space in your freezer causes it to run more to cool the same amount of space. If you can't fill it full of food, trying freezing milk jugs filled with water. You will save on your cooling costs, and you will always have ice blocks on hand to fill your portable coolers.

Coming next week - Go Green - Personal and laundry