Your Green Home: Kitchen

Living green is a hot topic these days, so much so that it even has its own network, Planet Green. I have become more conscious of my environmental impact since having children. I, like so many of you, want to leave my children a world to enjoy and not a mess to clean up.  The real estate industry has embraced this new direction. Listings now ask about green home certifications and energy star appliances. Realtors even have a new designation they can add to their resumes, EcoBroker. I haven’t added this to my resume, yet, but don’t think it will be long before I do.

I thought I would start a series called “Your Green Home” where we will go through each room of a house and discuss ways to lessen your environmental impact. I will share a few things we have tried at the Shepard house and what has worked for us. I want to encourage you to post your ideas, tips and tricks as I am always looking for inspiration to continue to make my own life a little more GREEN!

 The heart of my home is the kitchen and thus the starting place for this series.

 The Kitchen:

•  Recycle. For Bartow County residents, this is a little easier said than done. I have been assured curb-side pick up is in our near future. Until then, let me encourage you to start small. Try to recycle one thing. Newspapers/paper is easy to collect and if you don’t make it to the recycling center it doesn’t give off offensive odors or take up too much room in your house. If you have success with that, slowly add others; glass, #1 and #2 plastics, aluminum, cardboard.  Soon you will be a pro.  If things get overwhelming, which has happened to me, relax. Back up and start again. And remember, every thing you recycle is one less thing that ends up in the landfill. 

•  Food. Buy local. Buy organic. Farmers markets are beginning all over the area and fresh food is coming in.  By buying local, you not only support the local economy, you also cut down emissions because your food is only traveling a few miles from the farm to your table.  This is my second season as a member of a local C.S.A (community supported agriculture) and I LOVE it!  I get fresh, organic produce weekly so we are eating the healthiest food possible, cutting down emissions and I am supporting local business.  What is not to love about that!

•  Reuse. We try to reuse everything to cut down on the trash we send out. Things like paper towels have been replaced by cloth kitchen towels.  Grocery trips are made with reusable bags to cut down on plastic bag use. I try to buy earth friendly dish soap and dishwasher liquid also.  Biodegradable sponges make a smaller impact on the environment. I try to choose glass storage containers over plastic since they last longer and are easier to recycle. For kids lunches, I keep them trash free, which means cloth napkins and real silverware along with reusable containers. 

•  Appliances. Energy star appliances are energy efficient products designed to be environmentally friendly by using less power and giving off less emissions. These often come with government discounts and tax deductions so not only do you save on your monthly utility bill but you will see savings in the check out line when you first buy it.  These are the big ticket items. I will admit, only one of my kitchen appliances fall into the energy star category and that is only because we had to replace our dishwasher last year. I’m adding this to the GREEN kitchen list so you can make the same mental note I have made. When the time comes to replace an appliance, be sure to check out the energy star products.      

If you are just beginning to make your home and life GREEN, please remember perfection is almost impossible to achieve.  Believe me! So, pick a few goals and aim for them.  If you miss a bit, that is fine, keep trying, we are all in this together.