Dare to Share

Today we’ll be in the kitchen and see where a) we can be a little kinder to the planet and b) hopefully save a bit of money in the process. As and when I think of new ideas and tips then I’ll add them to this post so keep checking back…

Making a cup of tea: Only fill your kettle with as much water as you need. Not only will this save time waiting for the kettle to boil it will also save you a few pence on your energy bill. Although, initially, you’ll only save a penny or so just think of the amount of times you make a cup of tea - I don’t have the figures but I’m sure it’ll save you a fair bit over the course of the year. Although it’s not necessary to go out and buy a new kettle, if yours is on it’s way out then it might be worth having a look at the Eco Kettle which allows you to add as much or as little water to a separate boiling chamber.

Cheese on toast: This may not be the case with everyone but we have an oven that has to be pre-heated, even if you only need to use the grill. It’s a bit of a pain when you only want cheese on toast! There’s a grill in the microwave oven so I just use that and I’m sure that’ll be saving a few pence each time as we usually had to wait around 10 minutes for the oven to pre-heat and now I get my cheese on toast in 3 minutes!

Save the tap water: How many times have you stood there with your finger under the running tap waiting for the hot water to trickle out? Instead of your finger being under the tap why not put a container under there and then save the cold water for feeding your plants or first of all fill your drinking water container so you can put that in the fridge.

Compost food waste: Not necessarily one for all of us but you can buy a wormery where you can throw most of your kitchen waste and let the worms do their work. At the end of it you’ll get a lovely rich fertiliser and the worms will have had a lovely meal, and it gives them something to do rather than just wriggle around!

Recycle packaging: As a nation we’re all getting really good at recycling and long may it continue - Even if this had no affect on the environment I’ve always seen this as something we should all do. There’s so much stuff that comes in packaging that can be recycled and most councils offer free curbside collections. Even if yours doesn’t then they’ll be somewhere to recycle closeby. Check out the rather fantastic Recycle Now website for further details of what you can recycle and where.

Recycle plastic: It’s actually really tricky to decipher whether you can recycle a certain plastic item or not. Generally, most bottles can be recycled but most microwavable plastics can’t, along with yogurt pots which can’t be. Check the outside of the packaging where you should see a little triangle with a number in it. If it’s got 1 or 2 then it’s usually okay to recycle.

Yogurt pots: Most yogurt pots can’t be recycled - it’s worth checking with your local council but I’ll be amazed if they say yes. I really don’t like throwing these away as they always look as though they should have a second-life. Use them for gardening - to pot seedlings, ask the local school or playgroup if they’d like them - for paint and stuff like that, make a ridiculously large ice lolly, or/and generally just keep them for storing small bits and bobs. Please try to find a use for them though.

Biodegradable bin-bags: Biodegradable bin-bags can cost a lot more than the counterparts but it’s also worth thinking just how many we throw away each year. Although we all think about carrier bags we should also be thinking about bin-bags at the same time. These aren’t all that widely available either and you usually have to look around the web to find them. When searching look for both “bin bags” and “bin liners”.

Notepad from cereal boxes: Whenever we finish with a packet of cereal then rather than just recycling straight away why not cut the box up into small note size pieces and use them to write your reminders or shopping lists on. That’ll save you buying a notepad and also forgetting to put out the rubbish.

If you know of any great tips or ideas to be a little greener around the kitchen then please add a comment below. I’m sure there’s loads I’ve missed off but the beauty of this site is you can help.