Living a greener, more sustainable life doesn’t have to be difficult, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. You can start today by making simple swaps of everyday items. The kitchen is a great place to start. Here are 21 simple eco-friendly kitchen swaps you can make to live a greener life.
This post was originally published in February 2021 and updated in January 2024.
Food storage
- Ditch plastic wrap. Use silicone lids, reusable containers or cover your bowl with a plate.
- Wash frozen fruit and vegetable bags and reuse them as freezer bags.
- Replace sandwich and snack bags with reusable containers.
- Store food in glass jars instead of plastic.
- Reuse food containers like yogurt and margarine tubs, and glass jars.
Cooking and baking
- Line cookie sheets with silicone baking mats instead of tinfoil.
- Replace paper muffin cups with silicone.
- Create a digital recipe board on Pinterest instead of using cookbooks or printing recipes.
- Avoid pre-packaged convenience foods. Consider making your own cookies, snacks and granola bars.
- Use a toaster oven for small portions instead of heating up the oven.
Beverages
- Switch to loose leaf tea. Use a tea ball or compostable paper filters.
- Swap paper coffee filters for permanent, reusable filters.
- Replace plastic straws with reusable metal, bamboo or silicone straws. If you have plastic straws to use up, wash and reuse them.
Cleaning
- Use reusable cloths instead of paper towels.
- Buy dish soap and dishwasher tabs in bulk.
- Simplify your cleaning supplies. Use microfibre cloths. Buy multi-purpose cleaners instead of different cleaners for different jobs.
- Use reusable scrubbing pads with baking soda instead of steel wool pads.
Dining and entertaining
- Replace paper napkins with cloth napkins.
- Use real dishes and cutlery when entertaining. If you’re hosting a large gathering, consider renting dishes and cutlery.
Shopping
- Avoid pre-packaged spices. Bulk spices are more economical and you can buy small quantities to reduce waste.
- Shop at stores that let you fill your own containers.
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For more ideas, check out A year of monthly waste reduction goals.
Have you tried any of these changes? Do you have other ideas for eco-friendly kitchen swaps to add to this list? Tell us about them below.
I always feel so good about what I’m doing after reading your hints and reminders Michelle! Sometimes it’s easy to forget I’m doing my part, but seeing how much of my own changes are reflected in your lists always help me in my own goals. Thank you!
Hi Deb. It is good to see these reminders of what we’re already doing. That’s why I love writing these roundup posts. It’s too easy to focus on what we still need to do.
I agree Michelle. I know that I alone can’t change the world, but also need to remember that my efforts mean something when combined with so many others.
Reusable cookie sheets have been life-changing. Mlre convenient, cheaper, and less waste. Thanks for your tips, Michelle!
Thanks for reading. So many of these tips save money, yet people think green living is expensive.
These are really great ideas! I am already doing a few of them, but there is so much more I can do. Thanks for sharing this!
Thanks Tiffany! I am glad you found the post useful!
Great variety of “swaps” here! I have started using cloth napkins instead of paper towels with dinners and am feeling good about it 🙂
Thanks Christy. Yes, cloth napkins are great and they have a luxurious feeling to them!
Great ideas! Some of them I already do, but some I never thought of. I’ve learned something new!
That’s awesome. Thanks Michelle!
These are all great ideas!
Thanks. I’m glad you enjoyed them.
I do not think I could give up cookbooks, though I am very conscious about the books that I buy. A few really good ones are all I need and I try to keep good recipes to make again and again in my same handwritten notebook. I may be young but I have an attachment to writing down good things for the future. 🙂
I still have a few cookbooks with the pages of the recipes I used often marked. Others are handwritten or printed in a folder. Those tend to be my “go tos”.
Brilliant list, I’m feeling pretty smug because we’ve made a lot of these switches over the last 4 or 5 years already.
Thanks. That’s awesome that you’ve made a lot of these changes. They really aren’t that hard to do when you think about it!
I need to do something about the paper towels that I use!
I find my cloths and ‘paperless towels’ work well. I mainly use paper towels now for really messy spills, and then they go in the green bin for composting.
I’ve tried beeswax wraps that I’ve used for covering containers, and wrapping sandwiches. They are really cool! Have you seen those, Michelle?
I have seen beeswax wraps but I haven’t used them. I find them a bit pricey. I usually use my containers or the silicone lids instead.
I have never understood the strong emotional connection that some people seem to have with plastic wrap. Maybe it’s rooted in too many commercials about the ever-present danger of germs? I have a bunch of plastic containers (slowly being replaced by glass containers) that I use to store leftovers, and I sometimes cover bowls with a plate. Thank you for teaching/reminding all of us about these sensible options.
I agree. A huge part of our obsession with disposable items is the perception that they are cleaner and healthier than reusables. But, if you wash them properly, it really isn’t an issue.
Great list! I treated myself to Beesworks Beeswax Food Wrap for my birthday because I didn’t have anything to cover my pies or my 9×9 pan. I really like them. I bought a small set that came with three sizes and a little bar of beeswax. I just wash them in cold water and store them in my refrigerator for the next time I need them.
I haven’t used the beeswax wraps but I agree they would be a good option for larger pans. My largest silicone lid works for most of my bowls and pans but not the bigger ones. I might have to get some.