3 very easy things

This article is supposed to be short – for a change.

And it is supposed to propagate 3 very easy measures to save energy and resources.

It might appear self-evident to many readers, but I experienced so often that these small climate- and nature-protecting actions are not known. What a disaster – at least for me.

1. Boil water in the kettle before putting it in the pot for cooking.

Stylish kettles even glow in vivid colors when heating up, sometimes even in a different color for a certain temperature – therefore you also have something to meditate while you wait for your water to heat up.

Instead of using cold water directly, preboiling the water in the kettle saves a lot of energy. Of course this is also valid for induction cooktops which need much less energy for preheating the material and which do not postheat after the cooking process.

2. Put a lid on the pot.

For us environmentalists it is a matter of fact and it can really confuse us if we don’t find the right lid for the pot in use in our holiday apartment. Here as well, and the common sense is with us here: the lid on the pot keeps the warmth in the pot and helps a lot to reduce the heat loss by evaporation.

Therefore: the lid belongs to the pot! If not available, a large wooden board (not too often, wood can’t stand the evaporation many times of course) or a big plate (be cautious, it’ll be hot!) can be a substitute.

Unfortunately some – even pretty – lids are not heat-resistant, so they are going to be as hot as the content. This is definitely worth checking and the best helpers in this situation are colorful self-made potholders.

3. Egg packaging can be refilled or handed to good (refilling, thankful) hands

You had an omelette or eggs for an extensive Sunday morning breakfast and all of the sudden there is another empty box of eggs. Jump on it or tear it into small pieces and throw it into the cardboard waste? Yes, indeed, that’s already the right waste box, but it works out even better with recycling:

The best is to collect them and hand them over to refilling stations. The best possibility are farmers on your local weekly market who are happy they don’t need to buy the packaging themselves anymore. Or other very good solutions are organic or local stores where you can choose and fill up your eggs yourself. Or a CSA, community-supported agriculture, with chicken – maybe even the one you’re a member of.

Through the direct recycling the resource wood is economized. Even if the cardboard goes to the right recycling bin, they use an energy- and water-demanding process to be at your service as an egg packaging again or to be walked out of the store as a paper bag. A directly recycled egg packaging doesn’t demand any energy, water or resources and the costs for new material for small retailers (the ones who need it the most) are saved. I know that this method is often not possible in these different times of Covid-19, but hopefully this is going to change in the foreseeable future again.

For this reason: please keep this idea in mind and take the empty egg boxes to your next Saturday visit on the weekly market.

Or, the best would be of course to refill the boxes yourself with the eggs from the happiest chicken in the world in your own garden/ in your huge wild piece of land/ your own CSA…