Chances are, if you’re into natural beauty, health foods, and regular fitness, you also are bit of a green cleaner. While you may have been brought up in a household full of bleach like I was – bleach sprays, bleach wipes, bleach bath cleaner… so much bleach it’s quite literally eye-watering – we don’t need to pass this trait on, and nor do we have to be wasteful when it comes to cleaning the kitchen! Here are my five top tips on how to clean your kitchen a little more sustainably…
Lovely liquid
1. I’ve teamed up with Ecover to try out their new Washing-up Liquid*, and I’m recommending it as my first top tip when it comes to a greener kitchen. On top of their ‘plantplastic’ refillable and recyclable bottles, the liquid is now more concentrated, cleaning up to 40% more plates. I can personally vouch for this, as the first time I tried filling my sink up to wash dishes, even a little squirt was too much and I ended up giving my pots a bubble bath!
Save water
2. If you wash by hand, don’t leave the tap running. It’s amazing how much water you can get through with the tap constantly on, so instead, fill up the sink and scrub your pots in that. It may seem a little gross, but if you always make sure to clean your sink (I like using a leftover lemon half, after squeezing out the juice, to rub my sink down with), it’s perfectly sanitary.
Choose the right programme
3. Take the time to work out which are the most eco-friendly settings if you use a dishwasher. The average dishwasher uses more than a sinkful of water per wash, so try using quick-wash, low-water, low-heat settings to minimise water consumption. It’s also handy to remember that the manpower saved by using this contraption still is lost in the form of electricity, so if you’ve only got a few dishes, give them a scrub yourself.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
4. Switch to reusable cloths. This one seems like a no-brainer, but it seems that the generally accepted convention is to use kitchen roll for just about everything in the kitchen. Why waste money on buying more paper, when you could simply throw cloths in the washing machine when dirty? Try cutting up old clothes, or finding thin tea towels to do the job – I have a set of jay cloths that have been washed over and over.
Think before you throw
5. Split your waste before it gets to the bin. This way, not only is it easier to take out recycling and trash without sifting, but you can also take the time to separate food waste and either have your council collect it in a food waste bin (check with your local council if this is possible) or invest in a compost bin if you have a garden. For the record, there are many types of composting bin, so to check which you will find most appropriate, as well as it fitting to your living arrangements, I’d recommend having a read of this guide – sadly I don’t have a garden to house a compost bin yet, but one day I’ll live the dream!
