Celebrate Earth Day with 10 Earth-Friendly Kitchen Tips

April 15, 2012 - PRLog -- 1. Compost. You can greatly reduce the amount of waste your kitchen generates by composting kitchen scraps. Vegetable scraps, leftover grains, eggshells, coffee grounds and used teabags are all suitable for your Natural Home Kitchen Compost Bin. To make compost, simply put scraps in a pile outdoors with dry organic matter such as leaves or grass clippings. If you don’t have space outdoors, opt for an indoor vermicomposting kit. For a guide to all kinds of composting, visit nhandg.com/composting.

2. Limit packaging. To limit the amount of packaging that comes into your kitchen, consider these great tips:
•   Use our Natural Home Reusable Produce Bags instead of the plastic ones distributed at the grocery store to reduce plastic waste on fresh produce.
•   Buy grains, cereals and other commodities from the bulk bin at your local grocer. Buying in bulk often saves money, and you can use reusable cloth bags to bring home your goods rather than boxes and bags that end up in the trash.
•   Buy the largest possible container size of items if you can’t buy in bulk to reduce the amount of packaging you bring into your home.

3. Get rid of disposable wipes. Make your kitchen a disposable-free zone. Use reusable cleaning cloths, like the Natural Home Multipurpose cloth or Bamboo cloth instead of disposable wipes or paper towels. Want to make ready-to-use antibacterial wipes? Store cloths in a container filled with a mixture of 1 cup water, 1 ounce liquid castile soup and 6 to 8 drops of your favorite pure essential oil such as tea tree or citrus. The cloths can be washed and returned to the jar for reuse. Cap jar between uses.

4. Ban disposable dishware. If you’re planning a picnic or party, opt for inexpensive reusable plates made of natural materials such as those from eaternalplates.com or verterra.com. If handwashed, these plates last for many uses and once their useful life is over, they are 100 percent biodegradable.

5. Upgrade your faucet. If your faucet is not a new, low-flow model, add an inexpensive faucet aerator, which can reduce water flow to as low as .35 gallons per minute. According to the EPA, if every U.S. home installed a WaterSense (epa.gov/watersense) faucet or aerator, we could avoid about $600 million in energy costs. Also make sure your faucet isn’t leaking. To spot a slow-dripping leak, check you water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If it changed, you’ve got a leak.

6. Reduce water waste. You can also reduce water waste by purchasing an efficient Energy Star (energystar.gov) dishwasher, scraping dishes rather than rinsing them before placing in the dishwasher, and keeping drinking water in the fridge rather than running the faucet to allow water to get cold. Get many more tips at nhandg.com/reduce-water-waste.

7. Optimize the fridge. First, make sure your refrigerator door closes properly. Put a dollar inside the door and close it. If you can pull it out without opening the fridge, you need to replace the seals. If your refrigerator is old, replacing it with a new Energy Star model will pay for itself in energy savings. Refrigerators more than 10 years old are likely about 60 percent less efficient than modern Energy Star models. Top-freezer models are the most efficient and give the best bang for your buck.

8. Get rid of plastic. Research shows that plastic can leach chemicals into food products, particularly when heated. To improve your family’s health, make your kitchen a plastic-free zone. Opt instead for glass, metal, bamboo or Moboo, Natural Home Product’s new  line of molded bamboo products.

9. Reduce food waste. Reduce food waste by reusing leftovers, preparing several meals at once and planning ahead before visiting the grocery store. Try to use all parts of the foods you buy. For example, turn chicken or turkey carcasses into homemade stock, make old bread into homemade croutons or transform leftovers by adding new herbs and spices. Get more tips at nhandg.com/make-food-last.

10. Finally, eat fresh. Choose locally produced foods that haven’t traveled long distances to reach your grocery store. Visit your local farmer’s market or join a community-supported agriculture (CSA) group, in which subscribers receive a weekly share of goodies from an area farmer. Find groups in your area at localharvest.org. For a list of many delicious recipes featuring local spring foods, visit nhandg.com/spring-recipes.

Natural Home Products’ Current Sustainability Initiatives:
•  Upgraded lighting ballasts and lights to save energy, and we utilize solar tubes supplement the lighting with natural light.
•  We added insulation to the roof and painted it white to reflect heat.
•  We encourage carpooling by designating privileged carpool parking spaces.
•  For any printed promotional materials, we send the artwork electronically instead of mailing CDs or DVDs.
•  When feasible and available, we use recycled paper for printed pieces.
•   Employees plant and maintain a community garden in front of the office. We continue to learn how to organically plant, manage and harvest a variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers.
•  Our IT department has changed the power settings on our computers and office equipment to further reduce energy usage.
•  Each person has their own recycling bin at his or her desk.
•  We recycle aluminum, cardboard, chipboard, paper, plastic, steel and glass throughout the building.
•  We compost coffee grounds and food waste in our break room. Gardeners are encouraged to take home the compost for their personal gardens.
•  Employees are offered on-site healthy meal options including fresh produce, yogurt, sandwiches, and a variety of organic snacks.
•  Natural Home Products offers several recycling drives each year so employees can bring in tennis shoes, computers and other electronics, cell phones, etc. The company pays any associated recycling fees.

# # #

Hot off the Press Public Relations is a boutique public relations, marketing, branding, and event planning firm that specializes in culinary, housewares and women’s interest products.