How green is your kitchen?

[Darienne]

Deryn, I have to say that I loved your post.  Mine could be the same, only backwards for some of the stuff.

 

Right now we are in Moab Utah where the garbage is collected from in front of your house once a week and there are NO regulations about what you put in the container.  Recycling is a personal decision completely because you have to take the stuff up to the recycling station yourself and without a vehicle you can't do it.  And they take very little of what we recycle at home in Ontario.  But then Moab is two hours from anywhere else and it would cost too much to truck the stuff out.  You are asked to donate money to use the recycling station.  I think most of the women..women...who sort the stuff are volunteers.  Moab is a strange mixture of aging hippies, and those who are definitely NOT hippies and tourists. 

At home, we have no garbage pick-up but have to take our garbage to a transfer station...the garbage goes somewhere else...I don't know where...Michigan probably.  You are allowed two bags per week, with stick on tags presented to you by the county.  In the transfer station, they pretty much don't care to follow the regs.  It's the old country vs city thing.  But they are strict about allowing only township folks to bring their garbage there.  But then...they know you anyway.  And we bring them candy every now and then.  And they give the dogs who visit little dog biscuits which makes it very popular.  Folks call the place the Cavan Mall because you can leave useable stuff there and take whatever you can find...which is sometimes quite astonishing...like a working electric organ.  Visiting friends ask to go there with us. 

We compost carefully on the farm, but then we don't waste much.  The county picks up papers, cardboard and assorted cans, pop cans, tetra paks, egg cartons, etc...but woe betide you if you put anything into your recycling box which doesn't belong there.  They'll pick it out and leave it in your box.  Must cost a fortune in man hours to pre-sort the stuff on the road. 

The contractor who lived in our house many decades ago used the old derelict house in the back 40 as a dumping ground.  It would cost us thousands to get it cleaned out.   

It's all different everywhere, isn't it?

Edited January 5, 2015 by Darienne (log)

[ChocoMom]

Use of organic food:

Not entirely, but pretty close.  

For 12 years, we've raised grass-fed, organic Angus- and in addition to using the beef ourselves, we also sell to customers.

We raise free-range chicken; do not use soy based feeds as roughly 85% of our supply has been genetically modified. No GMO is allowed here. 

We raise free-range turkeys; ditto on the additional feeds.

We gather eggs from both the turkeys and the chickens; and use the birds for poultry as well.

We also fish during the warm months, and hunt deer and grouse.  I make my own broths and stocks, so I don't need to buy too many cartons of that stuff at the store.

That's just the meat/protein section.

 

The waste from the animals is gathered throughout the year, aged, and then used to amend the soil in my garden. I grow heirloom veggies/fruits, and either can or freeze the items that can't be stored in the root cellar.    The list includes potatoes, carrots, beets, beans, tomatoes, zukes, pie pumpkins, butternut, buttercup, broccoli, cabbage, peas, and some non-gmo corn.  I use diatomaceous earth as bugger repellant on all the plants.  Works like a dream, just don't get it in your eyes!

 

We have a log home that was built in the 1970's, and uses woodstoves for heat. (There is propane backup, but we rarely use it.)   Being responsible for gathering wood is a lot of work and takes a lot of time. But, we mark the dead trees on our land, cut them, and use them for heating. The ashes from the woodstoves are then gathered, and spread over the land containing acres of blackberries, and some wild blueberries.  They love it!    These woodstoves are not cookstoves, (though I do have one that needs to be re-assembled), but there is enough surface space to cook small pots of stew, etc.  when the stove is hot enough.  I used a griddle before and made eggs and pancakes too.

 

The land here is blessed with many apple trees, some old heirlooms like Northern Spy and Wolf River.  The apples are either picked, stored or processed- and used by us; and the ones that fall are gobbled up by the turkeys, chickens and cattle.  (And, my daughter's horse gets some too) 

 

Our farm is where we make the hay for all the animals. We also hay other fields, as requested by landowners.  The hay sustains the horse and cows throughout the winter months.

 

All kitchen scraps are used for feed for the turkeys and chickens. The veggies in the garden that fall or go bad are also gobbled by the birdies.

 

I can, dehydrate or freeze just about anything-- and if doesn't need to be canned, etc....the it gets stored in the root cellar.

 

We use some electricity for lighting and appliances, but I also use oil lamps if I just need a little light for reading or mending. I have my chocolate kitchen built on my house now, so we use more electricity for the machines, etc. than I used to. That's the downfall. 

 

For the kitchen:

Cast iron cookware. Had it a long, long time.  When my parents passed away, I inherited pretty much all their pots. pans, etc. So---not a whole lot of new stuff since 1963. I guess that's kinda "green", isn't it?   

 

Water is from a well, with both an electric pump and a hand pump in the same well. Which one we use depends upon the weather and the usage.

 

Most of the furniture here is very old and has been restored by my Mom who did refinishing, reupholstery, and caining.  

Fuel :   We use propane gas for the stoves, dryer, and water heater.

 

Not sure how "green" some of that stuff is, but we've got the food thing down pretty well.

[Darienne]

Forgot to add that we have an electric smart meter...thanks Ontario Hydro...so it means that we don't use the dishwasher except in off-peak hours.  That's a nuisance, but it does save us money.

[andiesenji]

Deryn, I have to say that I loved your post.  Mine could be the same, only backwards for some of the stuff.

 

Right now we are in Moab Utah where the garbage is collected from in front of your house once a week and there are NO regulations about what you put in the container.  Recycling is a personal decision completely because you have to take the stuff up to the recycling station yourself and without a vehicle you can't do it.  And they take very little of what we recycle at home in Ontario.  But then Moab is two hours from anywhere else and it would cost too much to truck the stuff out.  You are asked to donate money to use the recycling station.  I think most of the women..women...who sort the stuff are volunteers.  Moab is a strange mixture of aging hippies, and those who are definitely NOT hippies and tourists. 

At home, we have no garbage pick-up but have to take our garbage to a transfer station...the garbage goes somewhere else...I don't know where...Michigan probably.  You are allowed two bags per week, with stick on tags presented to you by the county.  In the transfer station, they pretty much don't care to follow the regs.  It's the old country vs city thing.  But they are strict about allowing only township folks to bring their garbage there.  But then...they know you anyway.  And we bring them candy every now and then.  And they give the dogs who visit little dog biscuits which makes it very popular.  Folks call the place the Cavan Mall because you can leave useable stuff there and take whatever you can find...which is sometimes quite astonishing...like a working electric organ.  Visiting friends ask to go there with us. 

We compost carefully on the farm, but then we don't waste much.  The county picks up papers, cardboard and assorted cans, pop cans, tetra paks, egg cartons, etc...but woe betide you if you put anything into your recycling box which doesn't belong there.  They'll pick it out and leave it in your box.  Must cost a fortune in man hours to pre-sort the stuff on the road. 

The contractor who lived in our house many decades ago used the old derelict house in the back 40 as a dumping ground.  It would cost us thousands to get it cleaned out.   

It's all different everywhere, isn't it?

Almost all paper products - when shredded - can be composted -  investing in an inexpensive shredder, if you don't have one, allows you to use this carbon-rich stuff which is  very useful in all kinds of soil - particularly heavy clay soil but is especially important in soils that are "off" - either too acid or too alkaline (as is the soil here in the desert).

When I was still working I used to bring bags of shredded paper home from the office.

 

The only exception is wax-coated paper - although the worms seem to like it just fine - I recently put a torn up milk carton (well rinsed) into the worm composter and when I added new vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and tea leaves, there were clusters of worms around each piece of the milk carton.

[quiet1]

Practically no food gets wasted in this household. We can't afford to. If for any reason, leftovers do not get eaten in a timely fashion, which is seldom, they get offered to our raccoons. I discovered years ago after years of trying to beat the critters who'd raid my trash cans and break into the plastic bags and strew all the trash over the yard in search of the tasty chicken bones they smelled, that it was just easier to join them.

 

Now bones, and anything else I think they'll eat gets offered after dinner in a designated place at the edge of the woods. They especially love sweet potato or butternut squash skins. Maybe they don't have access to a lot of vitamin A?

 

I even been known to cook pasta or pop corn that I've inadvertently let go past its expiration date for them instead of throw it out.

I wonder how far away the dinner spot needs to be for this to be effective... One thing I miss in terms of kitchen waste is having pet rats - they were quite happy to have things like chicken bones and broccoli stalks and the like (I'd just throw anything that needed to be cooked some before they could have it in with whatever else I was doing in a way that made it easy to fish out - like quartering the broccoli stalk and setting it on top of the rest of the broccoli to steam.) My area doesn't collect for compost and I don't have the required energy to maintain my own compost pile ATM, so I often feel bad as I end up throwing away scraps that I know the rats would've consumed happily.

(I know that sounds a bit odd, maybe, but they were good pets and 4-6 rats worked out well for 2 humans in terms of consuming edible scraps as a supplement to their commercial food. If we had something large like a roast where there would be too much to give them at once, I just portioned it into a freezer container and their had their own section of our freezer.)

As far as other things - my housemates are kind of Bay Area hippie types so we do try to minimize use of disposables. Mostly for putting away leftovers we have glass with plastic or silicone lids, though we will also save and reuse particularly sensibly sized jars instead of recycling them. That said, we do have a stash of some plastic containers (the semi-disposable type) and plasticware and paper plates. Some is from when we had no hot water while waiting for a water heater replacement, but some we keep just because if you are taking something on the go, particularly as a last minute plan, it is far easier to take something where if it does get misplaced or thrown away, it isn't the end of the world. One of my housemates is a nine year old boy, so forgetting to bring things home from school is just a thing that happens occasionally.

One way I try to offset that a little is by keeping my eye out at church sales and the like for plates and platters and bowls that can be used for gift giving or taking food to a party - I don't have to worry about getting it back, and most of the likely recipients will either use it themselves or re gift it in the same way, so it is better than using plastic stuff that is thrown out after one use.

[liuzhou]

Don't have a dishwasher. Don't want one. Wouldn't know where to get one if I did. Not something this (or any?) part of China does.

 

No heating or air-conditioning either. When it gets, cold we put on more clothes; when it gets hot, we strip off.

 

Only cold water in the kitchen. Normal, here. There is a gas water heater in the bathroom for showers.
 

Edited January 6, 2015 by liuzhou (log)

[dcarch]

One "green" idea:

 

Every summer, I have a few big backyard BBQs. 50 + guests? I don't do paper plates plastic forks.

 

You can buy stainless steel silverware by the pound on eBay cheap, not the best looking, but metal forks and knives makes food taste better. After a party, all goes into a tub with a few buckets of hot water and some dish washer liquid. Over night just blast clean with a garden hose.

 

I buy a few hundred shop cotton towels from HD instead of paper napkins. Easy to wash, no need to iron.

 

I use very good looking heavy plastic plates from a party supply store and reuse. Clean them the same way as table ware.

 

dcarch

[ChocoMom]

I didn't address the dishwasher thing I didn't address earlier- because I forgot about it.   There was one that came with this house when we bought it. I've never been a fan of them....always thought they were kind of a waste since you have to rinse and scrub some dishes a little before you put them in....so what's the point?!  Just hand wash them and be done with it!   My kids, on the other hand, thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread. They no longer had to wash dishes...they'd just toss them in the washer and Voila!   But with young kids - in a hurry to go play- they would bypass the rinsing-off stage before loading the dishes in, and ultimately the dishwasher got all clogged up and broke. (BooHoo). So, we hand wash our dishes in the main kitchen.

 

  We did have an energy star one installed in my chocolate shop in the event that I go through and get the place all licensed, etc--I was told I would need one.  So, it sits there and looks pretty for now.  I still hand wash all the chocolate-dishes/utensils, because it just does a better job.

 

On the whole garbage thing and recycling, there's a few things we do here in that area. Recycling- yes. Our local drop off isn't too far, and its not a big deal to separate the few things we do use.   We also belong to one of those co-op-like entities, and bought part of a dairy cow. So, each week we get our raw milk (with LOTS of cream!!!) in the glass, half-gallon jars.  We use it, wash it out, and return them for more. Saves a heck of a lot of waste from plastic milk jugs.

 

For paper products, the bags are used for "fire-starters" in our woodstoves.  We just collect them, store them, and grab one when the fire needs to be re-started. WE save all egg cartons, and even the neighbors drop the empty cartons off here- because we end up filling them with eggs during the more bountiful months.   

 

We enclosed our front porch a couple years ago and use it as kind of a green house to start many seeds to transplant outside when its safe. It can be a very short growing season here, and the temps can be unpredictable. ( Last summer- was almost not a summer. I can count on one hand how many days in the 90's we had.) So, the seeds need to be started early if we want food to store.  I use some egg cartons, and all kinds of containers for that purpose.    It's amazing how well some things grow in tin cans!!! 

[CatPoet]

Modern dishwasher use less water then hand washing, so by green standard it  better to use a dish washer, but only if your energy  is green.

[Darienne]

dcarch's post reminded me of our own annual Dog Weekend at the farm.  As the weekend grew, folks complained about the dishwashing problem and asked me to buy throwaway plates and cutlery so no one had to do any dishes.  Well, I bought plastic plates and so on, very inexpensive...and now years later we are still using them, yes, and washing them.  I simply could not throw them out.  Besides the green element involved...I hate eating from a foam or paper plate and I absolutely refused to buy plastic cutlery.  We have enough extra cutlery after 55 years of marriage to feed an army.  Not matching...but who cares. 

 

[Shel_B]

 

I buy a few hundred shop cotton towels from HD instead of paper napkins. Easy to wash, no need to iron.

 

 

Edited January 6, 2015 by Shel_B (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I do have and use a dishwasher although I DESPISE the one I currently have. It's a Fridgidaire with the electronic touch panel controls. Power outage, the damned thing resets to zero. It is so green that it has no hope of drying the dishes on its 20 minute enforced dry cycle. With my mechanical GE one, you could spin the dial back to the dry cycle after the first one was insufficient. Not with the "smart" machine.

 

So I must monitor it, and intervene, when it switches to dry cycle, which means I must listen to its offensive noise for two hours (on lite wash) and catch it when the dry cycle light turns on. Then I have to run over there and vigorously shake all the water off the dishes, especially anything plastic. If I take too long to do this task the cursed machine resets itself back  to oblivion just like a power outage. Then I take a sponge and clean up all the water on the upper sprayer arm, which allows them to use a smaller and cheaper motor, but severely limits the size and quantity of dishes that can be loaded.  I sponge off the water from the door and vent and reload any dishes I've had to unload to shake water off or drain. Then close it back up and it usually, manages to dry the stuff. The dishes are scalding hot during these operations especially, if I've vegged and let it go a few minutes into the dry cycle.

 

I have tried running it after I go to bed and retrieving the dishes the next day. They are still wet, and drying them negates any sterilization benefits.

 

I cannot convey how much I abhor this machine. I have named it POSTI: Piece of Shit to Infinity. (Excuse me, I have to go tend POSTI.)

 

But I keep using the infernal thing because it sterilizes the dishes and removes every last trace of fat.

 

And don't get me started on low flow taps, showers and toilets. It takes 45 seconds to fill my cats small water bowl in the bathroom when I have food in the kitchen and don't want to risk dirty water splashing. About 5 seconds in the kitchen, but I see that as their next target. I have long hair, and it just takes a lot more of my time in the shower to wash it. I'm not going to leave products in it just because the government cut down the throughput. Every time I need to replace a plumbing fixture, I dread it. I even buy them in anticipation, so I won't be subject to further restrictions down the road.

 

I'm a really green person, but enough can be enough! 

[dcarch]

Green & Clean:

 

I don't use chemicals much. In any case chemicals clean "99.99% of the germs are killed" can only happen with 100% coverage, which, if you spray, maybe you are covering only 30% of the surfaces.

 

I have a 55 Watt germicidal UV light I use to sanitize my kitchen. UV is what they use to turn sewage into drinking water. I move the UV light around to get 100% coverage. UV light will kill little bugs like dust mites and airborne germs, etc. a 55 watt UV light bulb is powerful, but not expensive.

 

dcarch

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Pretty much the only green thing about my kitchen is the stuff that grows on some surfaces of the refrigerator.

 

Nonetheless I do my best to reuse paper towels and ice.

[gfweb]

You reuse ice?

 

As in make a second drink with it?

[Deryn]

Now there's a great 'green' idea - a 'community' ice cube. Make them in reusable organza-like tea bags, with strings. Pass them around the room from person to person so they can dunk into their drinks to cool them off and pass it on to the next person.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

You reuse ice?

 

As in make a second drink with it?

[quiet1]

One "green" idea:

 

Every summer, I have a few big backyard BBQs. 50 + guests? I don't do paper plates plastic forks.

 

You can buy stainless steel silverware by the pound on eBay cheap, not the best looking, but metal forks and knives makes food taste better. After a party, all goes into a tub with a few buckets of hot water and some dish washer liquid. Over night just blast clean with a garden hose.

 

I buy a few hundred shop cotton towels from HD instead of paper napkins. Easy to wash, no need to iron.

 

I use very good looking heavy plastic plates from a party supply store and reuse. Clean them the same way as table ware.

 

dcarch

[Shel_B]

 

Nonetheless I do my best to reuse paper towels and ice.

[gfweb]

Indeed.  Quite seriously.  To do so has long been the custom here.  However after studying Liquid Intelligence I can admit to the practice openly and without shame.

 

Dave Arnold states (p 82):  "There is a widespread belief that ice should never be used twice.  Hogwash."

[TicTac]

Manager note: This post and the 5 that follow it originally responded to the OP of another discussion.

 

 

Though perhaps my response might not be the desired one - I would suggest considering our environment and using a reusable cloth napkin.  Far stronger than any paper and minimal environmental impact.

[dcarch]

1 hour ago, TicTac said:

Though perhaps my response might not be the desired one - I would suggest considering our environment and using a reusable cloth napkin.  Far stronger than any paper and minimal environmental impact.

I agree totally.

Paper (and plastics) is not really recyclable. They can only be "recycled" very few times. afterwards they have to be throw out and more trees will need to be killed.

Not considering that, I buy shop towels from HD, by the hundreds. They are very durable, absorbent, soft , and very cheap. Just the right size and thickness for hand towels and kitchen towels. There will be money saved. Never have to buy paper towels.

It really feels good to have cotton on your skin. Paper will always feel like paper and look like paper..

dcarch

 

[kayb]

39 minutes ago, dcarch said:

I agree totally.

Paper (and plastics) is not really recyclable. They can only be "recycled" very few times. afterwards they have to be throw out and more trees will need to be killed.

Not considering that, I buy shop towels from HD, by the hundreds. They are very durable, absorbent, soft , and very cheap. Just the right size and thickness for hand towels and kitchen towels. There will be money saved. Never have to buy paper towels.

It really feels good to have cotton on your skin. Paper will always feel like paper and look like paper..

dcarch

 

 

FWIW, having worked in the heart of timber country in Southwest Arkansas, trees used for pulp, which is then turned into all sorts of paper, are shortleaf pine trees, which are cultivated like any other "crop." Their growing season is just 10-15 years, as opposed to two or three or six months. So "killing trees" through the use of paper productions is akin to "killing potatoes and carrots and onions," not to mention the steer, by eating pot roast.

 

Shortleaf pine is grown in "plantations," which are planted and harvested on a rolling basis. They'll plant, thin, medicate as needed for pests, etc., thin at 10 years for "roundwood" used for pulp, and then clearcut at either 15, 20 or 25 years, depending on the projected use (more roundwood, lumber, or poles). Then they'll replant in pine seedlings. 

 

Which is probably more than you wanted to know, but..

[TicTac]

It's not just the killing of trees which one should be mindful of when considering the environment, it is the processing footprint which has a significant impact as well.  Then there is the waste or recycling which also has an impact.

[Martin Fisher]

Everything humans do has an impact.

Multiple rewashing of all those reusable 'napkins' and finally tossing them into the landfill has an impact.

And don't forget the manufacture, distribution, etc.

 

 

ETA: I would check with a restaurant supply vendor or a paper goods distributor for heavy-duty disposable napkins.

BTW: I use both disposable and reusable napkins depending on the situation.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 26, 2017 by DiggingDogFarm (log)