Green Break: Losing It While Giving Back to Mother Earth!

One of the things that helps in weight loss is having a good kitchen area to prepare your meals for the week, especially when you have a full schedule of work and school, much like myself.  An important part of making such a kitchen prep area work is to make sure that one stays green.  In a larger kitchen this is a bit easier as there is more space to put recycling bins and install energy efficient lighting.

However...this is my kitchen:

It has been the thing of amazement and mockery from my friends ever since I moved in and showed people.  My apartment is in a vintage building dating from the early 1920s.  Thus what we have here is a galley kitchen, which gives you the feeling that you're on a boat without the luxury or fun of having a boat.

**not included: boat, hipsters, tuxedos or T-Pain.

So when I moved it, the biggest problem I really saw, other than trying to cook my dinner in a closet, was where the hell was I gonna put my recycling?  In other apartments I had lived in I was able to set up a recycling station in smaller kitchens.  This is, by far, the smallest kitchen I've ever had to deal with, but I love a challenge.

As one can tell, the only feasible place for my recycling bins are under the sink.  Impossible?  I think not, kids!  A little Tetris-style arranging gives you this:

Paper recyling bin in white and refuse bin in green

Plastic, glass and metal recycling bin in blue

 So we have the recycling under control, but in the way of energy efficiency, sustainability and reuse this could be better:

Aluminum discs under burners keep the stove clean and are recyclable.

Plastic wash bin controls the amount of water used for washing dishes and makes a good substitute for a double sink for easy rinsing.

A fluorescent bulb in an antique lamp makes up for the lack of windows in the kitchen and provides much needed light so that kitties can find their food and water during the night.

Dumpster-diving saved these canisters from an afterlife in a landfill.

A small collection of sake bottles from our favorite sushi bar make a simple and colorful decoration in the corner.  Taking them home kept them from simply being thrown away.

So there you have it!  An eco-friendly galley kitchen to get started with!  Proof that small green kitchens are indeed possible whether you're in a cracker-box apartment, a camper or even a boat.

Alright, now they're just mocking me...