H O U S E H O L D

Kitchen Renovations:

APPLIANCES

Fridge- We had the pleasure this year of totally renovating the new Jim Baugh Outdoors Show kitchen, and we did it with appliances that require less overall power consumption with maximum efficiency. Here are a few tips that may help you to make your kitchen more Earth friendly and have less environmental impact.

Looking at refrigerators was something that really took a long time. The reason is there are so many on the market that are different sizes, shapes, and of course that have differant energy ratings. We wanted less-less power needed to run the machine. Also in our case, something that was going to big enough to hold all the food required for our cooking segments. A unit that was to small, then would require a second freezer, and that is not being energy or space efficient.

After looking at maybe 50 units, we decided on a model that was extremely energy efficient, and the design was most important. A fridge that had a bottom pull out freezer and a single door for the main storage area. Remember cold air sinks, and as long as the bottom of the unit was nearly full, the freezer then would run as efficient as possible. If you do not have a ton of food that needs to be frozen, then simply fill empty plastic milk jugs with water and keep them in your freezer. This will help keep your condenser from coming on all the time. It takes more energy to keep an empty space freezing, than a full one.

Oven- Choosing an energy efficient oven was rather simple. First off, the design was most important. A double oven was our only choice. This unit has a regular size oven on top, then a mini oven on the bottom. The mini oven is much smaller and requires less power to run. It is very efficient and also really does away for the need of a toaster over. One less appliance needed. We use the bottom oven most of the time which saves energy, and opens up more counter space-toaster oven not needed

The stove top is also a ceramic-glass element which is among the most energy efficient stove tops on the market. In the past, I have used gas stoves, and I like the ceramic much better. The control of heat is extremely accurate and very fast. I have talked to a lot of people about these tops and the one worry is that because it is a ceramic-glass, the top will show dirt and stains. This is true, up until the point you clean your top with a Go Green glass cleaner or some of the cleaning recipes we have listed below.

The fact is I have found from cooking on gas stoves for the past 15 years or so, that cleaning up a gas stove is much more time consuming than cleaning a ceramic-glass top. With ceramic, it is only one surface, very easy to maintain and requires less detergent to clean.

Dishwasher- The only thing better than having one great dishwasher is having two!!!! We went with the drawer style dishwasher that can be stacked on top of each other or separated. Now, these units are more expensive, but you will save it in your energy bills and the convenience of having two units is awesome. The great thing about these dishwashers is again, the design. They have variable settings that include an Eco cycle. The cycle is shorter and uses less water and does a great job at cleaning what's inside.

Having two units also means for the most part, we are only using one of them. Think about it energy wise, you are using half a dishwasher and running it in Eco cycle. These are the most energy efficient dishwashers I have seen, and they really work fantastic. If you stack dishes properly in both units, you can clean much more at one time with both than a single dishwasher.

GO GREEN

Kitchen Cleaning:

Baking Soda-

One of my all time favorites, a mild abrasive that is actually a great go green cleaner. I's cheap, and Earth friendly.Try This on for size next time you need to clean up after your dinner party.

* This one is as simple as it gets (My Fav). Just put a small amount of baking soda on a damp cloth to wipe down surfaces and appliances.

* For your Fridge surface try about 3\4 cup of Baking Soda mixed with water. Dampen with cloth and wipe.

* Sink\Drain- Pour 3\4 cup Baking Soda down your drain followed by 1\2 cup of Vinegar. Lastly, pour about a gallon of boiling water down the drain, this is a great one. We do this about once a week.

* A good general all purpose cleaner:

Baking Soda, Vinegar and Salt

3\4 cup of Baking Soda

1\4 cup of Salt

3\4 cup of Vinegar

Mix together in a gallon jug with warm water. Great for your kitchen and bathrooms. Earth friendly, cheap, and works great!

BUY ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS.

It is always handy to have a great glass and surface cleaner handy, and there are several on the market that work very well. For general purpose surface cleaning, we make our own and also use some store bought products. Non toxic Earth friendly cleaners are easily available and we try to purchase them in bulk, and reuse the spray container.

Eco-Food Storage

Buying in bulk is more popular than ever. Weather in good or bad economic times, everyone wants to save on the grocery bill. What you might not know is that by purchasing in bulk, it is often times better for the environment because of the decreased need for packaging materials.

This is the one gift you can give to yourself that keeps on giving. It will save you money and help the environment at the same time. By using a vacuum sealing matchine you can purchase in bulk, and make more efficient space in your freezer- meaning you can store more, and pay less for doing so. The more you pack in the freezer, the more energy efficient it will run!

The vacuum sealer is used for just about everything in our Eco friendly kitchen. Not only for freezing, but for dairy products like cheese that is kept in the fridge section. All of our fresh fish and game is packaged and sealed with this machine. Even store bought items that are frozen we will usually repackage once in the kitchen for the simple reason is that it saves space and the product is kept better. Longer shelf life, less waste.

The great thing about a vacuum sealer is that for the most part, it eliminates the need for other plastic bags. Unless your freezing soup, the only bag you will need is the vacuum sealer bag. We always buy the bulk rolls from the wholesale stores which are very cheap, and then simply cut and make the bags based on the size of what we are freezing. The fact that you really wont be needing other bags, the cost of the bags is mostly a wash.

Bag Tips

* Many times we can reuse the bags as well, especially the ones that we use in the fridge for cheese and deli meats. Simply make the bag a little larger than needed, and cut the sealed bag at the end to open. When done, just reseal the bag and put back in the fridge. This will also kept perishable foods longer. Works great!!

* If you are going to be freezing fish, or some other moist food, place a folded paper towel horizontal just beneath where the seal will be. This will trap a lot of the moisture making for a much better seal.

Fragrant Kitchen Rinse

Use any of these essential oils, alone or in a combination that you like.. Add 6 drops of oil to each pint of water.

Pour into a spray bottle, store away cool dark place.

Use as a final rinse after cleaning kitchen surfaces.

Eucalyptus Pine Lavender Cypress Lemon Lemongrass Lime Thyme Grapefruit Orange
Wintergreen
Rosemary
Sage

Go Green and save money with Super Saver CFL Bulbs

These are our favorite bulbs at JBO Central. This 60 watt bulb only requires 13 wats, and burns at 880 lumens. They are available at most hardware stores and last 9 years. CFLs use up to 75% less energy than standard incandescent bulbs.

Eco-Friendly Flooring

Trying to use renewable resources while remolding or building a home is not always easy. Fortunately when it comes to flooring there is a wide variety of products to choose from. One of the most popular materials for an Earth friendly floor is Bamboo. Bamboo is a renewable resources that does make for a beautiful floor and comes in enough variety of color to satisfy the most discriminating pallet. here are some links for suppliers of Earth friendly building materials

http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/links/sustainable_building_supplies.htm

http://colombiapassport.com/2008/02/12/vegetal-steel-bamboo-as-eco-friendly-building-material/

http://www.nowpublic.com/eco_friendly_building_materials

 

Reuse Plastic Containers!!!

This is one of my all time fav's. A GREAT way to help the environment and save big bucks as well. How would you like to save about 75% on your drink purchases and help the environment at the same time??

Don't though that bottle away, reuse it! Buy powdered drink mixes and simply add to the plastic container with water and shake. That is it! I really like these Vitamin Stix, they are a great drink, full of good stuff, zero calories and no sodium!! Taste great. 15 to a pack, that's 15 eight ounce drinks, for under four dollars. That saves me around 75% on my beverage purchases. It is quick, easy, cheap, taste good, good for you, and no more wasteful through away plastic containers. Just wash and reuse. Try it, you will like it!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

N E T W O R K G R E E N

Join us and just say, "are you green?" and we will welcome you and introduce you around.
At Green Drinks we brainstorm and share ideas and resources for solutions to benefit our planet.
Green Drinks gatherings are held in over 200 cities around the world.
People come to share everything from job opportunities in the "Green" field to fundraisers, to new ideas and old fashioned farming methods.
Everyone is welcome. (Email a green friend!) Green Drinks is an organic, self-organizing network.
Donations to Chesapeake Bay Foundation

More info and web page is available on Facebook. Join Today!

http://www.greendrinks.org/index.php

More to Come!!

Good links For info on Eco-Friendly Lifestyle Info.

10 ways to go green and save green \ EPA \ Planet Green \ The Green Guide \ Go Green Housekeeping \ Green in the workplace

Boats / GPS Info./ More Stuff / Tournaments / Stream TV Shows / DVD / Hurricane /

Recipes / Articles / Charters / Brightwork / Bio-History ./ JBP Studio / JBO Show Corvette / S i t e M a p