Kitchen has always been the heart of a home, and it’s also
one of the most important areas in your apartment to make eco-friendly. From
the amount of water wasted while doing dishes, to the harsh chemical cleaners,
the kitchen is the first place to start is you want to be living green in your
new apartment. Follow these simple suggestions to reduce your carbon foot
print, and live an eco-friendly lifestyle.
Recycle…
This sounds like the obvious step towards green living, and
most of you probably do recycle but are you sure you’re recycling correctly?? Make sure you’re aware of what can and cannot
go in the blue bin; the City of Toronto has great posters that will list the
acceptable items for you. For example, plastic bags may seem like an obvious
thing to recycle, but wrong these must go in the trash! However, some stores
like your local drugstore or supermarket will have a plastic bag recycling bin
where you can rid of your grocery bags.
Feel free to toss things like corrugated cardboard, office
paper, magazines, newspapers, cereal boxes, phone books and dairy/juice cartons
in the recycling bin without the lids and straws. Wax paper, takeout containers with black
bottoms or tops (such as for roast chicken) and
plastic over-wrap on pop/water
cartons, toilet paper, paper towels need to go in the trash can.
Cutting down on the amount of garbage you create depends on
the food you consume. Avoid items with extra packaging like fruits on Styrofoam
trays wrapped in plastic and if you need to purchase packaged items check to
see if the packaging can be recycled. When you’re cooking, try to not make an overabundance
of food, or you’ll be tossing the leftovers in the trash. Cook enough for one
meal, and some extra if you take leftovers for lunch.
Reusable Containers
Keep a good stock of reusable containers, whether it’s for
storing food, or taking lunch buy containers that are durable, glass containers
are great as they’ll never change colour. Remember if you’re taking lunch from home buy reusable
food containers, and avoid plastic and paper bags. Try to ditch the take out, as most of the
containers can’t be recycled; if you’re a coffee lover buy a thermos to take to
your local coffee shop instead of using those carton cups.
Go Local
Purchase fruits and vegetables
from farmers markets and local stores that don’t put their goods in plastic containers.
Make sure to bring along a reusable bag to the market so you aren’t picking up
a bunch of plastic bags for your purchases.
Ditch the Chemical Cleaners
Harsh chemicals like bleach and
ammonia aren’t good for your body or your home. Once you spill the rest of your
cleaner down the drain, it can go into local rivers, lakes and oceans. Your
indoor air quality is compromised when you are trying to get your apartment
spic and span! There are plenty of green kitchen cleaning products on the
market that you can choose from, but it’s also incredibly simple to make your
own. If you have baking soda, white vinegar, lemons, olive oil and aromatic
plant oils like lavender or eucalyptus, you can make your own all-purpose
cleaning scrub and floor disinfectant.
So it doesn’t matter whether
your renting a fancy apartment with energy efficient appliance or an older
apartment you can still make your kitchen more eco-friendly by keeping these
simple suggestions in mind while you shop. Remember when you’re searching for
your next Toronto apartment visit www.flagshipcorp.ca