• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

VegKitchen logo

  • Vegan Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Baking and Sweets
    • Breakfast
    • Main Dishes
    • Pasta and Noodles
    • Salads
    • Sandwiches and Wraps
    • Sauces, Dressings, and Condiments
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups, Stews, and Chilis
    • Snacks and Dips
    • Desserts
    • Drinks
    • Canning and Preserving
    • Cheese-y Delights
    • Global Recipes
    • Raw Vegan
    • Slow-Cooker
  • Vegan Living
    • Vegan Substitutions Guide
    • Green Kitchen
    • Healthy Eating Tips
    • Food and Produce Guides
    • Vegan Food Hacks
    • Kid Friendly
    • Vegan Product Reviews
    • More Vegan Living
  • About
  • Shop Cookbooks
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Vegan Recipes
  • Vegan Living
  • Cookbooks
  • About Us
  • Freebie!
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Vegan Recipes
    • Vegan Living
    • Cookbooks
    • About Us
    • Freebie!
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Home » Healthy Kitchen » Green Kitchen

    Reusable, Long-Lasting Kitchenware and Accessories

    Published: Jul 4, 2011 · Updated: Mar 4, 2021 · This post may contain affiliate links.

    It’s worth keeping track of your garbage for a few weeks. Watch what you throw away, and ask yourself if each item you are throwing away could be replaced with a reusable substitute.

    You may see many coffee filters in the trash, for example. Why not buy a gold or cloth reusable coffee filter instead? You may see a lot of Popsicle wrappers. How about investing in good plastic Popsicle molds to make your own? Or plastic sandwich boxes to replace plastic bags for lunches? Not only will you significantly reduce your consumption of resources by using reusable housewares instead of disposables, but you will also save a great deal of money.

    Take the simple example of substituting cloth towels for paper towels. At an upstate New York supermarket, recycled paper towels cost $1.59 for 175 sheets. An average family goes through two rolls a week, eight rolls a month, ninety-six rolls a year, at a cost of $152.64. Twelve 100 percent cotton, bird’s-eye cotton towels would last about three years, at a cost of $35. For that period you would have spent $457.92 on paper towels, so buying cotton towels would save you $422.92. (Granted, you need to wash the cotton towels but they don’t take up much room in the washing machine and easily can be hung to dry.)

    Ideas for Reusable Instead of Disposable Kitchenware

    • Gold or cloth coffee filters
    • Cloth towels
    • Cloth napkins
    • Durable plastic plates and cups for picnics and birthday parties
    • Reusable stainless steel utensils for picnics
    • House water filter, or pour-through water filter pitchers
    • Travel mug
    • Reusable baking pans
    • Cloth bags for shopping—including string bags for produce
    • Reusable lunch box containers
    • Reusable plastic Popsicle molds
    • Plastic containers
    • Bowl lids (for storage)
    • Cylinder barbecue starter
    • Rechargeable household batteries

    By using these reusable substitutes, you can cut way back on plastic bags, aluminum foil, paper plates, towels and napkins, plastic wrap, plastic water jugs, paper coffee filters, and more. We are all still faced with packaging waste to throw away, however, as well as worn-out items. But you may be surprised to learn how many items can be reused.

    Excerpted from The Green Kitchen Handbook.* Annie Berthold Bond is also the author of Home Enlightenment.*

    • Explore VegKitchen’s other Green Kitchen articles,
      as well as the wealth of kitchen tips in the entire Healthy Vegan Kitchen area.

    *This post contains affiliate links. If the product is purchased by linking through this review, VegKitchen receives a modest commission, which helps maintain our site and helps it to continue growing!

    More Green Kitchen

    • Strawberries in a bowl
      EWG’s 2018 Dirty Dozen™ and Clean Fifteen™ Produce List
    • Colorful bell peppers
      How to Grow Fresh Vegetables With Hydroponics All Year Round
    • Healthy veggies on table
      Benefits of Growing Your Own Vegetables
    • garlic cloves
      Preserving Garlic

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. sandy says

      July 10, 2011 at 6:10 pm

      Thank you for the ideas. It is really great that people like you are recycling and repurposing the items that we use everyday.

    2. praveen says

      May 13, 2014 at 3:36 am

      Thank you for the sharing good tips for viewers. It is really great that people like you are recycling and repurposing the items that we use everyday.But it is not enough we have to increase recycling program to save this earth.

      Praveen

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    nicole malik from vegkithen.com

    Hi, I'm Nicole! I'm the creator behind VegKitchen, and the author of the popular cookbook, Weeknight One Pot Vegan Cooking. Learn more about me here.

    More about me →

    vegan substitution chart

    Featured Recipes

    • recipes for a vegan Christmas dinner menu
      Best Vegan Christmas Recipes
    • vegan christmas cookies
      Vegan Christmas Cookies
    • vegan irish stew
      Old-Fashioned Vegan Stew
    • vegan breakfast casseroles
      10 Make-Ahead Vegan Breakfast Casseroles
    • Sticky Sesame Cauliflower
    • vegan jalapeno poppers
      Vegan Jalapeno Poppers

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    • Shop Cookbooks
    • Free Vegan Cheat Sheet
    • About Us
    • Work with Me
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use

    Still hungry? Check out our delicious family of blogs.


    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2021 Hook & Porter Media