Have you jumped on board and starting greening your home?

Whether you have begun making environmental changes already or are looking for some inspiration to get you started, this article was created to help you with the most challenging room in the house – the kitchen. The kitchen is usually one of the most important rooms in the home.

In addition to being at the centre of the family and their daily activities, the kitchen is also at the centre of the home’s energy consumption. This room generally consumes more energy and creates more waste than any other room in the home. That is why a strong plan for an environmentally friendly home starts here.

Efficient Energy Use

The simple fact is that kitchens include several appliances, which makes this room a big energy consumer. This is a big reason why improving energy efficiency in the kitchen makes a huge impact on the home’s ultimate energy consumption.

The first step in your energy makeover is to look at your refrigerator. Of all the energy consuming appliances in your home, this is the one that usually consumes the most. Look at the amount of food that you store in this appliance; keeping the refrigerator and freezer full of food helps trap the cold air and maintain the temperature. You can also reduce the workload of this appliance by allowing cooked foods to cool partially before placing them in the refrigerator and ensuring that foods and liquids are properly covered.

If your family includes someone who stands gazing into an open fridge, then your home is likely wasting a lot of unnecessary energy. Thwart this problem by posting a list of common foods on the refrigerator door – this list will provide some inspiration to the gazer. Alternatively, if you are feeling very creative, take a digital or Polaroid picture of the contents. You can also minimize the amount of time that the door is ajar by keeping your refrigerator well organized. Most importantly, look to see if your refrigerator is an energy efficient model and if it is not, consider replacing it for even greater results. Not only will the energy consumption be less, but these models also offer better temperature control and defrost features.

In a similar way, the energy efficiency of an oven is all about keeping air trapped, only this time; it is keeping the hot air in. The first step is to stop opening the oven to check on the cooking food. Instead, use the oven’s internal light to see how your food is doing. You should also consider maximizing the efficient use of your oven by cooking several items at one time. In addition to improving energy efficiency, cooking a couple of meals at once is also a great time saver. Another great strategy for saving energy is to turn off your oven several minutes before the end of the cooking time. The temperature required to finish cooking the food has already built up within the unit, so you can finish preparing the meal without expending unnecessary energy.

There are also related strategies that work for saving energy with your dishwasher. The most important thing is that you run the appliance only when it is full of dishes. You should also use the shortest cycle with the fewest number of rinses. You can also save big on your dishwasher’s energy consumption by letting your dishes air dry; simply open the unit after the final rinse.

Finally, think about where your appliances are positioned within the room. It is generally advised that all appliances stand separate from each other, especially the refrigerator, which can be made to work harder by a hot oven or dishwasher.

Minimize Trash and Waste

In addition to its energy consumption, kitchens are also notoriously known for their waste creation. If you are like the average UK household, then you expel about a tonne of garbage each year. Help reduce this amount by minimizing your kitchen waste.

Organic waste (garbage from your food) can be put to good use with the creation of a simple composting system. Visit a local nursery and purchase an inexpensive composting bin, take it home, toss in your kitchen waste and yard scraps, and in about a month, you will have excellent soil for your gardens.

Some people are hesitant to compost because they believe it is too complicated and that there are too many rules for what you can and cannot compost. Actually, it is not that difficult when you think about it in the right way. Remember that the final product from your compost bin will be going into your garden and that you can only compost things that could have come from a garden or yard. This means that while lettuce is OK, meat is not.

Another hesitation comes from fear of the stench and the attraction of pests. Neither will be a problem as long as you avoid putting meat, dairy, and fat in your bin. Although the compost will have an odour, it will not be strong or overly unpleasant.

You can help minimize the smell even further by using plenty of citrus peels and tea bags. Non-organic waste can be dealt with in one of three ways – reuse, recycle, or send it to the dustbin.

Make a commitment to yourself that you will not purchase items with unnecessary packaging to minimize the amount of rubbish that enters your home. Reuse glass bottles, plastic bags, and other containers for future food storage and recycle everything that your municipality will take. Recycling waste not only minimizes the garbage you produce, it also helps the environment in other ways. Producing an item from recycled materials can use up to 90% less energy than production from raw materials. Now that your kitchen is environmentally friendly, it is time to tackle the rest of the house…