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Top 5 Tips for an Eco-Friendly Kitchen in 2019

When it comes to using your kitchen daily, you should love the way it looks, but you should also love the way you feel when using it. If your kitchen isn’t eco-friendly, it’s easy to get caught up in feelings of guilt over waste and unnecessary trash. The good news is, you don’t need to do an entire remodel to make a big impact in your kitchen habits, so here are five tips to achieve an eco-friendly kitchen this year.

Upgrade your faucet
Upgrading your faucet is both fun and functional. If your current model isn’t a new, low-flow design, you can either add an inexpensive aerator or upgrade the whole thing. The aerator will reduce water flow to reduce inefficiencies, while upgrading the entire faucet will accomplish the same thing but give you the opportunity to give your kitchen a minor facelift – a win/win!

Upgrade your appliances
If your dishwasher, stove, and refrigerator are all still from the 1950s, this may not be an inexpensive fix. That being said, it doesn’t all need to be accomplished at once, and it will have a massively positive impact on your home’s resale value. At this point it’s pretty difficult to have a home on the market without at least slightly upgraded appliances, so making it your goal to go green in the kitchen will probably be helping speed up the inevitable anyway, and the environment will thank you for the additional years of eco-friendly appliance usage.

Eliminate paper towels and napkins
This may sound difficult but it’s actually fairly easy. It’s incredibly cheap to buy a bulk pack of microfiber towels, and keeping those somewhere handy will eliminate all your paper towel needs. Fabric napkins are fairly affordable as well, and can be washed time and time again. By buying those two easy and inexpensive products, you’ll eliminate a whole lot of waste in your world. The environment will thank you, and so will your wallet when those disappear off your grocery list forever.

Set up a designated space for recycling
If your city doesn’t already make it easy for you to recycle, set up your own containers placed somewhere convenient to encourage you to do it. Recycling is something that is important we all participate in, but it can be easy to get lost in the inconvenience of it. Take action by implementing a system in your kitchen that makes recycling a breeze.

Grow your own herbs
This one is a small one, but it’s also fun and easy – and saves money – another win/win. Herbs are really easy to grow and can be done outside, on a windowsill, or even hanging from your wall. Find cute containers and do a little research on the herbs you use most – some don’t even need seeds and can actually be propagated from existing plants. Plus, it’ll definitely add some charm to your eco-friendly cooking space.