Here at Resource Robin we like to boast how incorporating environmentally responsible practices to your life can be easy and fun. The following are a few tips to help keep your kitchen smelling great while reducing your contribution to your local landfill.

The next time you are breaking into a fresh juicy orange (any citrus really) place a few strips of the peel into your garbage disposal with two to three ice cubes and let ‘er rip! The ice cubes catch greasy bits clinging to the walls of the disposal and send them straight to the blades to be ground up and washed down. The citrus peels deodorize and leave your sink smelling fresh. Throw the rest of your citrus peel in a compost pile instead of your garbage can. Don’t have a compost pile? Now is a great time to start one!

Do you have a drain that is smelling sour but don’t have a disposal unit to grind up those citrus peels? For you, a tip that is an oldy, but still a goody: Grab that box of baking soda that has been in your refrigerator for who-knows-how-long and dump some down your drain (I use about a ¼ of the small box of baking soda). Follow it with a little distilled white vinegar. You’ll hear a fizz, maybe see the chemical reaction doing its business, this should keep you occupied for a few minutes. When you get bored, or after about 15 minutes, rinse the sink thoroughly with hot (maybe even boiled) water. That is it! After about 16 minutes of cheap entertainment you have a clean drain! Now you can do what I do and put the ¾ full box of baking soda back in the fridge until the next time you need to deodorize a drain.

How are those for easy, fun and useful tips on how to be more environmentally responsible? We escaped using dreaded drain cleaners and air fresheners, found a use for stale baking soda and even your food waste. Check back soon to see what tricks we’ve got up our sleeve next!