getting greener at kitchen sink

this Wednesday, March 3, we're closing early. we'll be closing at 1 p.m. that day, but we'll be back to regular hours Thursday.

we're having a tankless water heater installed, an aim to conserve energy and space. this heater will allow us to install a dishwashing machine that uses only one gallon per load of dishes (far less than we are using now with a three-compartment sink).

here are some other ways we take Mama Earth into consideration in our day-to-day operations:

- we recycle! and we encourage you to do the same! we've also been trying to curb our instinctual reach for a coffee sleeve when preparing a latte. the temperature of a latte is lower than that of coffee, thus your hand might not need that extra layer of paper protection. of course, we have no problem if you do need a sleeve.

- during the renovations, we reused a lot of material from Pause. we also wore layers upon layers in this airy space, rarely turning the heat higher than 60 degrees.

- there was a lot of debate about what to do about the new floor. in the end, we decided on bamboo, a sustainable and eco-friendly material. to clean these beautiful planks we placed with our own four hands, we use a mild, natural cleaning solution.

- food-wise, we buy organic when possible. all of our baked goods come from local shops. we try to be mindful in our ordering to ensure as little waste as possible.

what kinds of "green" practices have you put into place at home?