If you love to cook then you know that your kitchen can sometimes take on a life of its own. Some kitchens are warm and inviting. Others are cluttered and can seem to suck the life right out of a person. If you want your kitchen to be more inviting than it is, the answer might be to create a green kitchen.
Creating a green kitchen doesn’t mean painting the walls green. It means making your kitchen eco-friendly. It’s amazing how much better you will feel about cooking in your kitchen when you know that you are saving time, energy and money. Protecting the planet and your own finances will allow you to infuse your kitchen and each dish you cook with more love and flavor.
Invest In A Good Freezer:
One of the best things you can do to save both money and energy in the kitchen is to invest in a good freezer. Typically, the newer the freezer, the better. The reason being that newer appliances are equipped with some of the most efficient parts to date. Whether it’s a Frigidaire, a General Electric, or any brand in between, make sure that it is the most energy efficient option. The best type to get is a chest freezer because most of the cold air will stay in it when you open it up. A freezer that opens in the front will let all of the cold air out.
Once you have your great energy-efficient freezer, you can start buying meats, frozen vegetables and other freezer items in bulk or any time they are on sale. Bulk packaging tends to be less wasteful and save you more money.
A good freezer will also help you to cook in bulk. You can save a lot of time and a lot of money on your energy bills by cooking a lot of food at one time. Freeze the food in freezer bags or freezer safe containers and then take it out and defrost it when you want to eat it. You can even package foods in single-serve sizes for quick defrosting when you’re in a rush.
Use Small And Efficient Appliances:
In general, the smaller the appliance, the less energy output. So, for example, a microwave or a toaster oven uses a lot less energy than using a large oven. It also puts out a lot less heat, which is helpful in the warm months. Some other advantages of small appliances include:
• They Are Easy To Clean
• They Heat Up Quickly And Efficiently
• They Are Capable Of Cooking Large Amounts
Don’t Waste Water:
A lot of water is usually wasted in an average kitchen. If you’ve been drinking bottled water, try getting yourself a faucet filter or a filtered water pitcher. Also, get your plumber to install a low-flow faucet, or do it yourself, if you happen to be handy with that sort of thing. An energy-efficient and water-efficient dishwasher will complete your water-efficient kitchen and definitely lower your utility bills.
Save With Stew:
Finally, you can increase the efficiency of your kitchen and reduce your energy spending by making mixed dishes, such as stews. Soups, casseroles, stir fry recipes and similar dishes can be cooked in one container. Many of them can even be cooked in crock pots or slow cookers. That will cut down on heat and energy spent during cooking. It will also cut down on dishes that need to be washed later on.
This guest contribution was submitted by Chris Lurmen, who specializes in writing about green living. Specifically on the topic of energy efficient kitchen appliances, and also conducts a thorough analysis on the latest kitchen gadgets including toaster oven reviews, green cleaning products and other cooking devices.
This is a valid point, define green. However I see the point of the writer as well. Buying in larger quantity reduces packaging, often Styrofoam packaging for meat. Cooking larger quantities of sauces, chili, etc can be frozen for later use rather then using the energy to cook another meal. Personally, I do have a freezer and I do 1 shopping a month, as opposed to several trips to the store if I only had the regular freezer to fit stuff in. So, in my opinion there are several ways you can reserve resources by having a stand alone freezer and I have not seen any increase in energy consumption since I have acquired the freezer.
how does having a good freezer + a normal fridge/freezer combo = green? Recent reports have shown that Americans increasing obsession with having more than on fridge has INCREASED our energy use for refrigeration eroding the gains from increasing energy efficiency. Saving time and money by buying in bulk is not the same as going green.