Creating a More Sustainable Kitchen
In celebration of wrapping up Plastic Free July, here at Almond Cow, we’ve come up with a list of easy and fool-proof ways to embrace a more sustainable lifestyle, specifically when it pertains to our kitchens and pantries. Our motto and heart behind our company is a tagline you may have heard from us before: “Better milk for a better planet”. While embracing a more sustainable lifestyle can seem overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be! There doesn’t have to be a choice between convenience or sustainability. The two can coexist and we can help you get there! One small step in the right direction, one family reducing their use of plastic, one less carton going to the landfill, all makes a difference. One small step you take today can and will collectively change the course of our environmental impact and lead to a healthier planet. So, why wait? Take one of the following tips below, or a couple, and implement them into you and your family's lifestyle and watch the world around us blossom. Watch your friends get inspired. Watch our communities become more passionate about the environment and all that call it home. All of us here at Almond Cow will be working right alongside you: working to build a greener, healthier, more sustainable world.
10 Ways to Reduce Your Use of Plastic and Cultivate a More Sustainable Kitchen & Pantry:
1. Wax Wrap
There are tons of companies that now offer alternatives to plastic wrap and have introduced an environmentally friendly option: vegan beeswax wraps. These wax wraps are reusable, washable, come in tons of different sizes and patterns, and will keep your food fresh, whether it’s a bowl of leftovers or a sandwich you’re taking to work for lunch. Using cloth and beeswax, these wraps mold to any bowl or to itself with the heat of your hands and is an easy addition to your kitchen.
2. Pantry Storage
Have you ever seen those beautiful pantry photos on Pinterest with perfectly lined shelves of matching jars all labeled with the appropriate tags? While those are absolutely dreamy and a goal we hope to have the time to someday implement in our homes, food storage doesn’t have to be picture-perfect to be sustainable! Use leftover glass containers from food you bought at the store, use mason jars, or other glass food storage containers you purchased to store all your food in your pantry. It’s especially helpful to use containers that are air tight to keep your food fresh longer and then there’ll be no use for plastic clips or plastic bags.
3. Reusable Grocery Bags/Produce Bags
One of the simplest ways to reduce your family’s use of plastic is to invest in some reusable cloth grocery totes. Keep them handy for whenever you go to the grocery store and each time you use them, you’ll be saving several bags from reaching our oceans or going to the landfill. There are also lots of options for reusable produce bags to avoid using a plethora of plastic bags when shopping for fruits and veggies. In fact, every Almond Cow Milk Maker purchase comes with a reusable hemp bag with our logo on it that would make a great reusable grocery tote or produce bag.
4. Transportation to the Grocery Store
Instead of driving to the grocery store, we recommend riding your bike or walking, if you’re close enough. A bike with a basket can be perfect for transporting your food home. Or, if you aren’t close enough to bike to the store, try carpooling with a friend or neighbor, reducing vehicle emissions, and improving air quality along the way by reducing the number of cars on the road.
5. Buy Bulk Ingredients
When possible, buying food and household products in bulk is always a good idea to reduce plastic. More ingredients in one container creates less waste. Also, although having snack sized portions of food can be super convenient, that multiplies the plastic packaging exponentially. Instead, you can purchase food and household staples in bulk and then use reusable food containers or bags to portion out snacks, so they are easy to grab from the pantry when on the go.
You can shop our bulk ingredients here.
6. Reusable Water Bottles
So often people avoid making more sustainable food choices for convenience. This is especially true when it comes to bottles of water. However, keeping reusable bottles of chilled water in the fridge can make a world of difference for our environment. Fill up your reusable bottles and place them in the fridge so they are always ready to grab, whether on the way to work in the morning or to your kid’s soccer game.
7. Start a Compost Project
From kitchen waste to plant food which grows into food for your family: the cycle of composting in your own backyard is a great way to make a positive impact on our world! To find out more, click here.
8. Eco-friendly Household Supplies
Whether it’s the dish soap or hand soap that you use at your kitchen counter or disinfectant spray to clean your kitchen, there are always more sustainable ways to purchase these products. Look for environmentally friendly products without toxins, as well as less packaging. Sometimes this could be as simple as buying larger containers of soap and refilling a small soap dispenser 5 times over, reducing your plastic waste by 5 containers. Or, doing a simple google search to find more environmentally friendly products, such as a square block of dish soap with a brush that eliminates the use of plastic bottles entirely. Another great option is to make your own safe, healthy home cleaners and then use glass spray bottles instead of plastic ones.
9. Avoid Disposable Plates, Cups, Silverware, and Napkins
Ditch single use kitchen supplies and instead purchase higher quality dishes and kitchen utensils made of more sustainable materials that are also reusable. If you often find yourself reaching for single use products due to kids or outdoor gatherings, bamboo or wooden products are a great option. They are more environmentally friendly than plastics or melamine, and can also be dropped without shattering. Paper towels and napkins are also incredibly wasteful. We recommend purchasing more linen and cloth napkins that can be used in your kitchen for spills and for messy hands and faces. Then you can wash them and reuse them, ultimately saving money and the planet.
10. Our Favorite Solution: The Almond Cow
Speaking from an entirely non-biased point of view, of course, one of the best ways to create a more sustainable kitchen is by investing in an Almond Cow! Reducing greenhouse gasses, reducing the number of milk cartons going to landfills, and implementing bulk ingredients and glass jugs to your milk-drinking and making routine is a great way to protect our environment. No plastic, low energy, reduces CO2, zero waste, less transport, recyclable, and completely customizable and delicious milk for your family’s taste and nutritional needs: it’s a win in every way you look at it!
You can shop the Almond Cow Milk Maker here.
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