5 Eco-Friendly Kitchen Swaps to Help You Jumpstart Your Sustainable Journey
The kitchen is the heart of the home! If you're looking to make eco-friendly swaps, the kitchen is a great place to start.
According to research, the kitchen is the most used room in your home! Whether we're preparing food, cooking, or cleaning up, it is the place we spend a lot of our time during the day. It is also a place that can accumulate waste quickly. Not only is food wasted in the kitchen, but also a large number of single-use disposable items.
In this blog post, we'll discuss 5 eco-friendly kitchen swaps to help you jumpstart your sustainable journey!
1. Swap plastic cooking utensils with wooden utensils
Swap out those plastic cooking utensils for wood utensils! Once heated, plastic utensils can release toxic chemicals into your food (source). The heat also makes them break down quickly meaning they need to be replaced often, which contributes to plastic waste. Plastic is made from oil and takes hundreds of years to break down.
In addition, wooden utensils have anti-bacterial properties (source)! To get the most out of your wooden utensils, be sure to properly care for them to make sure they last.
2. Swap disposable plates and cups for reusable plates and cups
Perfect swap for eco beginners! This is the first eco-swap I made when I moved into my own place. Before I made the switch completely, I used up all the disposable plates and cups I had left.
Although paper plates and cups are incredibly convenient, they're also very wasteful. It can take up to 450 years for one plastic cup to break down (source)! To put this into perspective, consider the fact that an item you use just one time for a few minutes will be in a landfill for centuries.
In addition, not buying disposable plates and cups saves money. Reusable plates and cups are typically made of better material so they are easy to add to the dishwasher.
3. Swap regular sponges for Skoy cloths
Did you know most kitchen sponges are made from plastic and that they’re meant to be thrown away every two weeks!? If you're looking to make eco-friendly swaps in your home, try swapping out traditional sponges for a more eco-friendly option. Instead of a traditional sponge, try using a Skoy cloth! They are 100% biodegradable and made from cotton and cellulose.
Skoy cloths are not only better for the environment, but so convenient because they are dishwasher-friendly and machine-washable! Instead of constantly buying new sponges, you can clean these cloths and reuse them. In addition, when they've reached the end of their life, they can be composted.
4. Swap single-use plastic bags for reusable bags
If you're a busy mom like me, you know that having a convenient place to pack snacks is important. Instead of single-use plastic baggies like Ziploc bags, try using reusable bags! My favorite reusable bags are Stasher Bags. They're endlessly reusable and are also dishwasher-friendly, microwave-safe, and oven safe.
5. Swap plastic wrap for beeswax wrap
Another money and planet-saving eco-friendly kitchen swap: beeswax wrap. It’s my favorite eco-friendly swap! Have you heard of it?
Here are some ways I use beeswax wrap in the kitchen:
Covering plates to store leftovers
Wrapping up the uneaten half of avocados
Covering bread loafs
Wrapping up cheeses
My beeswax wraps lasted about a year and a half. After the end of its life, it can be cut up and composted! Beeswax wraps are great swaps for plastic cling wrap because it is plastic free and reusable.
Making eco-friendly kitchen swaps to reduce the amount of plastic in our homes is a great step toward a more sustainable lifestyle.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post about 5 eco-friendly kitchen swaps. Would you try any of these? What eco-friendly kitchen swaps have you made in your home? Let me know in the comments.
Guest post by Lacie from Teach Go Green. Lacie is a wife, mom of two, and an eco-blogger. On her blog, she teaches about how to live with the environment in mind; there you’ll find eco-friendly living tips, environmental education resources, eco-friendly products, and eco-parenting inspiration!
Teach Go Green Instagram | Teach Go Green Blog
