5 Earth-Friendly Products for Your Kitchen

Earth Day is the perfect time to review some of our daily habits and see where we can make improvements to create less waste.  The kitchen is a great place to start, because many of the household products we use and throw away come from there.  Here are 5 of my favorite kitchen, food, & cooking-related products that can make your life easier and more pleasant while also having a positive impact on the earth.

1.  Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Products. These gentle-on-you and gentle-on-the-earth cleaning products smell fantastic and are reasonably priced, so you don’t feel like you’re sacrificing anything in order to make a difference.  AND they’re offering free shipping on Earth Day, so buy up!  All the scents smell wonderful, but their newest rosemary scent is 100% natural (the other scents are 99% natural) so if you’re new to this brand, I recommend starting with that one.

2.  ECOBAGS reusable produce & bulk item bags. Most of us are now using reusable grocery bags, but haven’t yet moved away from plastic produce and bulk bin bags, which means there’s still a lot of waste when we shop!  Luckily, ECOBAGS offers good quality reusable bags for your produce and bulk bin purchases (like oats, rice, beans, etc).  They also have many other earth-friendly products, check them out here.  AND, until May 15th, Eating Made Easy readers get 15% off your online purchase of $35 (or more)!!  Use the code 2011EME when making your purchase.

3.  Green Genius plastic baggies. These biodegradable plastic trash bags and resealable food-storage bags (in both gallon and sandwich size) will decompose in 10-15 years, instead of over 1000 years like regular plastic bags.  They’re so popular that they’re currently out of stock online, but you can usually buy them on Amazon.  Until they’re back online, check your neighborhood Whole Foods or health food store.

4.  Preserve tableware and kitchen products. Preserve turns #5 plastic containers, which are not recyclable in most areas, into picnic plates, toothbrushes, razors, tons of cool kitchen products, and more.  Their “Gimme 5” campaign allows you to recycle your #5 containers (like yogurt cups, hummus tubs, plastic lids, plus many other plastic containers) at any of these locations or by mail, so there’s no excuse for throwing these guys away anymore.  When you’re done recycling, check out Preserve’s products — you never know, it could have been YOUR yogurt cup that you’re reusing as something else!

5.  Bon Ami Powder Scrub Cleanser. Let’s face it, harsh cleaning products really get the job done.  But they also leave your kitchen coated with toxic chemicals — not exactly “clean,” in my opinion.  Thankfully there”s Bon Ami.  This is the earth-friendly, people-friendly version of Comet, and it’s every bit as effective.  Bon Ami scrub will leave your kitchen sparkling clean, and it won’t singe your nostrils or sting the skin of your hands in the process.  Side bonus: it’s super cheap!

EARTH DAY GIVEAWAY: What is your own favorite earth-friendly household product?  Let us know by leaving a comment on this post, and you’ll be entered to win a FREE Preserve or Mrs. Meyer’s product!! Two winners will be picked at midnight tonight.