Happy Holidays! Thanksgiving is behind us, December has arrived, and the end-of-year holidays and the cooler months lie ahead. At Atherton Appliance & Kitchens and BSC Culinary, we look forward to helping you celebrate the good times and prepare for a Happy New Year! And what better way to start fresh in 2013 than with a renewed commitment to a “greener,” more eco-friendly kitchen?
One of the easiest ways to save natural resources (and lower utility bills) is to replace old appliances with ENERGY STAR® rated models. Miele is just one of the premium brands we represent in our showrooms that offer dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers, and refrigerator-freezers that are ENERGY STAR rated. ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy designed to help consumers save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. Products that qualify for the program meet strict energy efficiency guidelines. For more information, visit the program’s website here. And if you have questions about particular appliances, just ask our showroom staff to help you.
Another way to make your kitchen “greener,” and in this case healthier, is to use paints, cabinets, countertops, and flooring that don’t include volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These gases have been shown to have both short- and long-term health effects. The EPA provides information on VOCs here, including sources of the gases, potential health effects, and steps you can take to reduce exposure in your home.
“Greening” your kitchen also can involve choosing living and meal preparation habits that help the environment. For example, making the choice to buy local produce, choosing to consume only sustainable seafood, and replacing incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving CFLs or LEDs are all positive steps. Using natural cleaning products that avoid toxic chemicals is another good idea, and recycling bottles and cans keeps reusable materials out of your local landfill.
Kitchen recycling, by the way, doesn’t only apply to bottles and cans. Have you considered donating old appliances if they are in working order, or recycling them if possible? At Atherton Appliance & Kitchens and BSC Culinary, we can help you find the cleanest and safest way to recycle all major manufacturer household appliances. And for every appliance delivery and installation, we offer you the option to
haul away and recycle your old non-energy appliance for a small fee of $40 per appliance. We recycle all old appliances responsibly at the SIMS Recycling Solution in San Francisco.
Other appliance recycling options include:
- Make your old appliances available to recycling networks that enable consumers to donate or swap household items.
- Locate appliance recycling facilities in your local phone book or by calling your town’s hazardous waste program.
- Check local government agencies for information on large appliance pick-up or drop-off services.
The Kitchen Designer walks you through a complete budget green kitchen renovation handled by mother-daughter design team Susan and Kelly. Their effort in this case involved rearranging the footprint of the kitchen, reducing cabinetry while picking up more storage space, adding energy efficient windows and changing to fluorescent recessed lights (the article was written before the proliferation of today’s LED options that use even less energy). The designers even recycled some old porcelain tiles by using them on the countertops and in the hood area above the cooktop. Check out their ideas and get inspired!
This post has covered just a few ways you can “green” your kitchen over the coming weeks and months. We look forward to assisting you!
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