Recycling Kitchen Waste

Recycling Kitchen Waste

Many people make big changes to their lifestyle at this time of year and, while many resolutions fall by the wayside, giving your kitchen a makeover and changing the way you use it can make an impression for years to come.

For example, with rising food and energy costs this could be the ideal time to give your kitchen a ‘green’ makeover. By developing good buying, cooking and storage habits, you can significantly cut household costs and perhaps even save enough for energy saving appliances, such as a induction hob.

Stop food wastage

The secret to improving your buying habits is to become more aware of your consumption. Look at your storage cupboards, see what’s at the front, what’s hidden at the back and what’s expired. Knowing what you use most frequently and what you don’t use can help you make better decisions when it comes to impulse purchases.

Another way of dealing with your pantry goods is the ‘first-in, first-out’ method of stores utilisation, a technique used in many catering operations. This simply involves creating a menu based on your earliest purchases. Large scale catering companies also gain big discounts by buying in bulk but there’s no reason you can’t do the same. Many supermarkets will offer ‘buy-one-get-one-free’ discounts. Just make sure if you aren’t going to use the food immediately that it’s freezable for later use. Consider cut price food near its ‘sell-by’ date for freezing too. It’s a good idea to make large batches of food and freeze portions individually.

Of course, if you make the effort to store things properly, they’ll last longer too. Always cover leftovers in the fridge and put biscuits, sugar, flour, coffee and spices in airtight containers.

Spring might seem far off, but there’s nothing stopping your from growing a few herbs on your windowsill to save money. The likes of rocket and other baby leaves will sprout indoors all year round for a quick and fresh salad or a handy garnish to a main dish.

Compost, recycle and reuse

If you don’t already have a compost bin, why not? Start throwing your old peelings, egg cartons and garden leaves in a compost bin and come Spring you’ll have all the compost you need to start growing your own veg to save even more money. Plastic food containers such as yoghurt pots can be used to start veg off in a greenhouse in early Spring. Cut down on the amount of clingfilm and tinfoil you use by employing reusable Ziplock bags where possible.

Become more energy efficient

If you’re thinking about remodelling your kitchen then the My Beautiful Kitchen design team can help with all the latest gadgets, lighting, appliances and accessories you need to ‘green’ your kitchen and cut your household costs. And going ‘green’ doesn’t mean unattractive either!

Tommy