Simple Steps To An Energy Efficient Kitchen

If you're like many Americans, you have a desireNot only is this healthier for you, but is helps the
to "Go Green" in your home, but lack theenvironment too - A lot of the costs are in
knowledge of how to do it without spendingbringing the end product to the market.
thousands of dollars in the process. In this article, IVegetables and fruit are cheaper to produce.
will show you several energy efficiency strategiesTheir production is less harmful to the
that cost little to no money to do and save youenvironment too. Consider also that vegetables
hundreds of dollars when you do them:are plants and most fruits grow on trees, which
Energy Efficient Kitchen Strategy #1both absorb CO2 and give out oxygen. Cattle,
Boil only the amount of water you are going topigs and sheep don't do that. In fact, they do the
use - by only filling your kettle or pot with theopposite. Cattle especially produce a lot of
amount of water you actually need every timemethane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
you will reduce wasted energy in heating moreEnergy Efficient Kitchen Strategy #9
water than you need or use. If your family didFeed you family pot roast - consider that cooking
this for one week it would save enough energya chicken in a slow cooker for seven or eight
to light up your house for a day, or run your TVhours uses one third of the energy that cooking it
set every evening for a week.in an oven does. The same applies to any meat
Energy Efficient Kitchen Strategy #2you might want to cook, as well as vegetables
Keep a lid on all the pans being used in cooking -and whatever else you can think of. If you have
that's because water will boil around 6% faster incheap electricity at night, which is common in
pans with a lid on, thereby saving time, electricitysome places, then make use of it to slowly cook
and your money, as well as giving thesomething overnight to save even more money.
environment a break.Energy Efficient Kitchen Strategy #10
Energy Efficient Kitchen Strategy #3Feed your family Organic foods - besides reducing
When you cook in the oven, keep the doorthe hormones, chemicals, and pesticides from
closed - nearly every modern oven has ayour diet, the carbon dioxide (CO2) effects are
see-through door to let you see what's happeningdramatic as well. CO2 is captured and stored in
inside. Use it! Around 20% of oven heat is lostorganic soils much better and more effectively
every time the door is opened. If you're trying tothan in ordinary soils. This makes organic foods
bake a cake, for example, and you keep openingmuch more friendly to the planet. If we grew all
the door to see how it's getting on, then you areour corn and all our soybeans in organic conditions,
cooking at 80% of the correct temperature, whilesome 580 BILLION tons of CO2 would no longer
wasting energy and money!be pumped out into the atmosphere.
Energy Efficient Kitchen Strategy #4Energy Efficient Kitchen Strategy #11
Stop using commercial cleaning products in yourStop throwing away food - Americans have a
kitchen - these cleaners are expensive to buy andwasteful habit of serving up too much food. This
expensive to produce. You can make your ownleads to an amazing amount of waste. On
cleaner from a mixture of vinegar, salt and bakingaverage, 30% to 50% of the food we buy gets
soda. It will clean perfectly, and it will contain nodumped! And that's whether we eat at home or
toxic chemicals, thereby helping the environment.eat out. Americans throw away a mind-numbing
It will cost a great deal less too. Not convinced?14 million tons of food a year! That works out at
Think about this… We dump some 32 millionabout 100 pounds a year for each of us just
pounds of damaging toxins down our drains everydumped in the garbage can.
year, just from household and kitchen cleaningEnergy Efficient Kitchen Strategy #12
products alone.Drinking water doesn't need to come from a
Here's another simple recipe for an all-purposebottle - if you buy drinking water in small plastic
cleaner, courtesy of Greenpeace:bottles, you could be throwing away a whopping
- ½ cup pure liquid soap$1,400 on average every year! Worse than that,
- 1 gallon hot wateronly around 5% of the empty plastic bottles ever
- ¼ cup lemon juiceget recycled. That means 95% of them end up in
Energy Efficient Kitchen Strategy #5landfills. Instead, uou could invest around $100 for
Switch from sponges to brushes - if you use onea multi-stage water filter to fit to your existing
of those sponges with a plastic scrub pad on onewater supply. It's already safe to drink, but this
side for a week or so you and throw it away andwill make it taste great – every bit as good
start using a new one - you're just throwingas bottled water, and you'll save around $1,300 a
money away each time you replace it. Consideryear on average. If you still need to carry water
using something more permanent that will last ain bottles, consider using reusable bottles. You can
very long time, and will get the dirt off too. Aget stainless steel water bottles, for example,
good old-fashioned scrubbing brush will do that. Itthat will last a lifetime. Consider this: Americans
will last for months, if not years, and it can beburn some 1.5 million barrels of oil every year just
recycled over and over again.to produce all the plastic bottles of water we use.
Energy Efficient Kitchen Strategy #6How many cars would that power for a year?
Stop preheating your oven - you've been taughtAround 100,000! That's the number of cars in a
by cookbooks and by following package directionsfair-sized city.
to preheat. You don't have to pre-heat an ovenEnergy Efficient Kitchen Strategy #13
for every dish, unless for bread and pastries. JustPut a sink faucet aerator to the kitchen sink - this
shove the dish in the oven and switch on, settingwill reduce the amount of water you use. Some
it at the right temperature. Use that preheat time15% of the average household's water
to cook your food and simply adjust the amountconsumption goes on faucet use. A faucet
of time down from the package times. Your foodaerator provides water under increased pressure,
will cook just as evenly and you'll save money inbut less of it, so it does a similar job. It gives you
the process.a needle spray pattern that's actually more
Energy Efficient Kitchen Strategy #7efficient too. Cost to buy? Minimal. Benefit to your
Eat at home more often - Americans eat out onpocket and the environment? Immense!
average around five times a week! Meals that areThose are just a few of the many energy saving
prepared commercially are costly and manyoptions you can easily incorporate into your daily
contain chemicals, ingredients, and preservativeslives. Just remember that it doesn't have to cost
that really aren't good for you. You could findyou a lot to save you a lot when you make your
yourself saving around $100 a month from eatingkitchen more energy efficient. Obviously upgrading
more meals at home. By eating more organicyour kitchen appliances will help save you money
foods in the process you will not only saveas well, but that's a whole different article.
money but reduce the number of hormones andHelp Others Save Energy
unwanted chemicals entering your family's bodies.One way you can help other is to become an
Energy Efficient Kitchen Strategy #8Energy Auditor. If you've ever thought about
Eat more fruits and vegetables - you can savehaving a "Green Career" now is a great time to
around $2,000 a year on health costs on averageget started.  The Energy Audit Institute is now
by simply eating enough fruit and vegetables.offering online training programs in Home Energy
Here's how - the average weighted price of freshAuditing. You can get trained and certified in this
vegetables is around 64 cents per pound and the"in-demand" career field in about about 2 weeks
average weighted price of fresh fruit is around 71for less than $250. Learn more about getting
cents per pound. The average price of a pound ofstarted at the Energy Audit Institute.
beef is around $4.15.