Wednesday, April 22, 2009

great green gadgets

As you all know I love kitchen gadgets and goodies, and if they are green it is even better in my book. So, for this Earth Week series I thought I would share some of my favorites.

Glass water bottles - The carnivore used to complain about how much money we spent on bottled water. And I knew deep down that even if I recycled those bottles it couldn't be good for the environment to ship that heavy water, but I still wanted a bottle. I couldn't help it. One day I came across these guys in a Crate and Barrel catalog (or you can get some here). I dog-eared the pages and left the catalog where the carnivore could see. Catching the less than subtle hint, he got me a couple for my birthday this past year. I can officially say we are now a plastic bottle free house. We are saving money and the planet, but I still can reach in the fridge and get a cold bottle of water whenever I want.

Green pans - I read about these in a book my mother got me for Christmas that taught me some very scary things about the non-stick pans I had registered and received for my wedding. That black stuff that was coming off contained chemicals that were bad for me and the environment. Again, the carnivore got me this green gadget (from Target, but also available at Crate and Barrel and here) as a present and I love it! It is super non-stick, requiring less oil and less cleaning, and it is very lightweight. Plus, it heats the food evenly. I just can't say enough good things about it. I am now hoping for a full set...hint, hint!

Bamboo utensils and cutting boards - As you may have heard, bamboo is a sustainable and renewable resource. Moreover, bamboo has been reported to have antibacterial properties that keep it from absorbing and retaining odors. Who doesn't need that in the kitchen? My mother-in-law got me a set of bamboo utensils and a cutting board for Christmas. I am now using them all the time.

Kitchen Towels - I haven't gotten rid of my paper towels by any stretch of the imagination. But, with the purchase of a few cute kitchen towels from my local William-Sonoma Outlet I have cut down my use. They are great for wiping up all of the inevitable messes I make in the kitchen, as well as for drying my hands when I wash up.

Reusable bags - For all those shopping trips to the local farmer's market and the grocery store, I now use recycled bags. I have a few from Whole Foods, one for freezer goods, even a freebie the humane society sent me. My favorite one though is the FEED 100 bag my parents got me this past year. It has great little pouches and folds up really small. Most importantly, the proceeds from this bag helped feed 100 school children lunch in Rwanda through the UN's World Food Program. But, all reusable bags help take plastic off our planet. Plus, the come in cute colors and designs these days!

So go get yourself some green goodies of your own! And if you are wondering, all of these products can be purchased through my amazon store and in the places mentioned above.

7 comments:

  1. I love the glass bottles, how cool!!!

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  2. just found out that if you go to http://tr.im/oprah you can get a coupon for a free whole foods bag! how cool is that?

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  3. Great ideas! We recently went to using linen napkins in our household instead of paper. I also have decreased our paper towel use.

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  4. Wonderful ideas!!! I am all about reducing waste any way I can.

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  5. I love my Brita Water Pitcher. It has saved us a ton of money and the waste of too many plastic bottles. Still working on my paper towel usage.

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  6. We reuse all sorts of glass containers as water bottles - and I keep a bunch full in the fridge to grab and go!

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  7. What a great post, thanks som uch for sharing this with us.

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