11 Apr 10 Quick & Easy Ways to Reduce the Carbon Footprint in your Kitchen

1. Make Your Own Bulk Fermented Food.

Yogurt, sourdough bread, kefir, kombucha… these are all delicious, healthy foods that can be beneficial for your gut health. Unfortunately, if you are purchasing them on the regular, you’re disposing of a lot of packaging. While much of it is recyclable, an even better option would be to avoid the packaging all-together by making your own batches in home and storing them in your own glass reusable containers. Check out our Cultures for Health starter cultures, available in our refrigerated section.

2. Use your favorite hot/cold beverage bottle.

We <3 Hydroflask. Their bottles can hold hot or cold beverages, making them perfect for year-round enjoyment of iced tea, water, hot tea, or coffee – whatever fits your fancy. Plus they come it your favorite color, whatever that may be.

3. Stash the kids’ snacks in stainless.

Safesnacker made by KidBasix is BPA and phthalate free and the perfect size for a portion of fruit, veggies, or homemade granola. They’re easy to open and close, and are a mess-proof way of tossing in lunchboxes or backpacks.

4. Stop buying plastic wrap.

Reuseable food wraps like BeesWrap is not only functional, but beautiful as well. Pretty patterned cloth made in Vermont with beeswax, organic cloth, tree resin, and jojoba oil is great for wrapping cheese, lemons, greens, or covering plates or bowls of food.

5. Buy high efficiency laundry detergent.

A 64 fluid ounce bottle of Biokleen can clean up to 128 loads of laundry. It’s tough on dirt, but gentle on the earth. Less packaging for more uses of product = improved sustainability.  Recycle the container when you’re done, or use it as a watering can for your plants! The built-in spout makes it perfect for this use.

6. Ditch fabric softener sheets.

Woolzies dryer balls made from 100% pure New Zealand wool are hypoallergenic and provide a 100% natural source of reusable fabric softener. They claim to reduce drying time by 25% and last for up to 1,000 loads!

7. Start a compost bin.

Worried about the stink? Purchasing or making an appropriate bin with a Classic Kitchen Basics charcoal filter can eliminate smells that might prevent you from doing this sustainable practice, which reduces your waste and feeds your garden!

8. Buy bulk herbs, snacks, powders and grains.

Buying in bulk from our amazing selection of Frontier Coop goods eliminates the need for excessive packaging AND saves you money. Win/win! Did you know? At Basil Bandwagon, you can purchase bulk items with your own reusable containers? Our cashiers will deduct the weight of your container from your purchase.

9. Use compostable coffee filters and sandwich baggies.

We realize that some disposable items make life easier. What you can do to reduce your footprint is to purchase from sustainable companies focused on creating compostable, natural products like these from If You Care.

10. Use your own bags!

Forget ‘paper or plastic’: use re-useable! We know how easy it can be to forget these bags during your shopping trips – so leave a handful in your car, and keep one handy in your purse.