Having a sustainable home is not just about protecting the environment, it’s also about creating a better living space for you and your family. Have a look at some of our top tips for incorporating an environmentally-friendly lifestyle at home.

By Taryn Wilson

IN YOUR KITCHEN

1. Reuse paper bags and tupperware. Buy cloth grocery bags and take them along, or reuse your regular plastic ones until they break.
2. Make use of non-toxic cleaners like vinegar, salt and baking soda for your bathrooms and kitchen.
3. Recycle! Separate your waste into various bins and make sure that you recycle often.
4. Start installing one or two solar panels to fuel your kitchen appliances, and gradually increase the amount to eventually provide your entire home with electricity.

IN YOUR GARDEN

5. Use a sealable bin to store vegetable and food scraps, which can later be used to make compost. If you don’t have a garden or feel that compost won’t benefit you, donate your food waste to friends or organisations in need.
6. Plant drought-tolerant species, such as succulents, in your garden to save on water.
7. Start a veggie patch in your backyard, or source produce from local farmers at food markets.
8. If there’s an open and unused piece of land in your area, petition to turn it into a communal garden with a vegetable patch and shaded trees.

IN GENERAL

9. Use large containers to catch and store rainwater. You can use this to water your garden, wash your car or fill up your pool.
10. Save on petrol and carbon omission by making use of public transport or carpooling to work.

Image credit: Lifebuzz on pinterest.com

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As most of you know by now, level 3B water restrictions have been implemented in Cape Town after the dam levels dropped below 40%. And even if you don’t live in the Mother City, it is important for each one of us to be aware of how much of this precious resource we waste. Since you all love to cook as much as we do, we thought we’d dedicate this week’s How To to water saving tips.

By Roxy Greeff

1. Put away the colander, you don’t need to wash your veggies under a running tap. Instead, fill a bowl with water and rinse them in there finishing off with a scrub from a good-quality vegetable brush.

2. Plan ahead. If you need something defrosted for tomorrow, put it in the fridge to defrost tonight instead of filling a sink with water to do it last minute.

3. Leftover boiling water from pasta, rice, eggs, potatoes or anything really should not be strained down the drain. Empty it out into a jug and use it to water your plants.

4. A dishwasher almost always uses less water than washing dishes by hand, but for some reason most of us insist in rinsing each and every dish before popping it into the dishwasher. Not only is this an unnecessary waste of time, but also redundant. Ninety percent of the time, the dishwasher will have your pots and pans perfectly clean, and if one or two have to go in again with the next batch, there nothing wrong with that.

5. If you wash your dishes by hand and prefer to rinse them beforehand so you don’t have to keep changing the dish water, rather fill your sink with water and rinse them in that before washing instead of rinsing them under that dreaded running tap.

6. In most parts of South Africa, our tap water is perfectly fine to drink. In fact we have very good water in our beautiful country, and it takes an excessive amount of water to produce plastic bottles. So rather refill your own reuseable bottle instead of buying bottled water.

7. Invest in a steamer. Not only does it use less water than boiling, but it also locks in nutrients and is super convenient since you don’t have to watch over it while your food is cooking.

8. Waiting for your tap water to cool down or heat up? Keep your watering can handy and catch this water to use for your plants.

9. Use the correct size pot for cooking. Use one that is exactly the size you need. You will need less water to fill it and won’t need to worry about most of that water evaporating.

10. Spot clean your floor. Sweep and clean up messes as they happen and mop up spills with a wet dishcloth you keep handy. This is also great for you since you won’t have to slave over the old mop and bucket as often.

Easy enough? We think so.

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We are all about upcycling, getting the most use out of our bits and bobs and being kind to the environment. These nifty tips and tricks will have you thinking twice before you toss that plastic bag. Here is our list of items that you can reuse and repurpose!

By Erin Starr

Butter wrappers
Calling all avid bakers! Once you’ve removed a block of butter from its wrapping, keep the packaging in a draw. Use the waxy paper for greasing baking trays with ease.

Cereal bags
Pull the inner cereal bag out, fill it with a scrumptious home-made icing or whipped cream, snip off the corner and use it as a piping bag. This is cheap and easy to do! And as an extra tip, try adding a sqeeze of lemon to your icing to cut the sickly sweetness cut the sweetness. Trust us!

Glass Jars
It should be criminal to toss a beautiful glass jar. Soak the jars in warm water to easily remove the labels. Use these as tea-light candle holders, fill with soil and add a hardy succulent or reuse to store your homemade jams.

Lemons
Use your juiced lemons rinds to clean and disinfect wooden cutting boards and counter tops. Lemons have wonderful anti-bacterial properties. And if you have extra lemon juice, whip up a home-made all-purpose kitchen cleaner made up of one part vinegar, one part water and the juice from half a lemon.

Wine bottles
Wine bottles make the most beautiful, rustic candle holders. Tie a ribbon around the bottle, pop in a dinner candle – and voila!

Tell us what your favourite food packaging upcycling tips are!

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