Evonne Marzouk's Blog, page 2

“Do we have a new kitchen yet…?”

Today I had the great fun of presenting this project to an engaged group of adults at ROUTES: A Day of Jewish Learning. It was wonderful to teach about Jewish wisdom on holy use of resources, and share how we’ve tried to put them into practice with our Sustainable Kitchen Project.

As I said to the participants, for me this project is about that moment when you’re making a big purchase and you have a choice about whether to live your values. From an environmental perspective, the biggest purchasing choices are usually the most important ones. I’m trying to do the big thing consistent with my values, and if I inspire others to try to do the same, I’ll have done my job.

Thanks to everyone who came out to hear my presentation at ROUTES!

(I created a Jewish source sheet for ROUTES with more detail than I’ve been able to cover in this blog, and it stimulated an interesting conversation today. If you’d like to see it, please let me know!)

I chose to title this week’s blog post for the cheerful question my youngest child is always asking us. “Do we have a new kitchen yet?” Not yet. He doesn’t seem to mind this answer. He’s a lot more patient than I am!

This week I was planning to write about the processes that make our kitchen project sustainable. However, we just got our electrical and water permits this week, so I don’t have much to describe yet. On the other hand, this week has been a bit tough, so I thought maybe now was the time for a bit of “keeping it real” about a kitchen project.

Caveat: I know these are not only first world problems, but the problems of a family blessed to be getting a new kitchen! I just want to be real about the experience, including the challenges. Obviously, these difficulties are one reason a family might wait to get a new kitchen, and that too can be a sustainable choice.

Here are some things we’ve been dealing with this week:

Dishes, dishes, dishes. I miss my dishwasher so much! My husband is the one who washes the dishes, but it’s exhausting both of us that he spends so much time at that utility sink. Heard in our house this week: “Where did all the spoons go?” “Why don’t we have any clean glasses?” It has gotten so difficult that we’ve had serious conversations about the cost/benefit in switching to paper. We haven’t done it yet, but it’s still on the “table.”

The county had to approve our plumbing and electric, but no safety inspector would approve this dangling wire in the middle of the dining room…

Tripping over everything. Having our kitchen set up in the dining room and living room means there isn’t much room for people. We also tend to use our laptops in the dining room, further cluttering the space. I tripped several times on wires and chairs before finally insisting that we remove the usual leaves we have in to enlarge our dining room table. The table is a lot smaller now, with less room for dishes and computers, and hopefully less tripping.

Some people have to walk miles to get to clean water. I’m grateful we just have to walk to the bathroom sink.

Water. Oh, how I miss our in-sink water filter! We drink a lot of water in our house, but we try to avoid bottled water, since it’s not really a healthy or sustainable choice. So we’re currently filling a Brita with water (poured from a cup) from the kids’ bathroom sink several times a day. I try to fill a few water bottles at the same time, so when the Brita is empty we’re not completely dry. This week, we also had to contend with a night of low water pressure from a local water main break, and on a different night the Brita decided to filter water more than half as slowly as usual. (We still don’t know why that happened.)

We couldn’t have gotten as far as we have without the incredible generosity of our friends. Last week, a neighbor asked if he could help us out. At first, I declined, feeling we were getting by. But this weekend, when I told him things felt more challenging, he eagerly volunteered to cook a meal for us — even though he has plenty of things going on in his own life. This weekend we also ate a delicious Shabbat lunch with friends and didn’t have to cook OR wash any dishes.

It’s this kind of generosity that reminds me life is full of gifts… including new kitchens, and friends who are willing to feed you while you don’t have one… if you are only willing to receive them.

We think we’re about halfway through this journey now. Thanks for listening! I hope by next week, I’ll have some pictures of actual progress to share.

What Makes this Kitchen Sustainable? Part 1

We’re at the beginning of Week 3 of our Sustainable Kitchen Project. At this point it’s the lack of a dishwasher that’s driving us a bit crazy! We had actually considered going with paper plates, but given our whole effort to be sustainable, we made the choice to continue using real plates. Much gratitude to my husband in this, who has spent hours washing at the utility sink in the laundry room over the last couple weeks.

Laundry room utility sink: not the nicest place to wash a dish. At least the water is clean.

There hasn’t been much visible activity in the kitchen this last week. Most of the work has been electrical and plumbing. But the materials have been coming in to the warehouse. As we daydream about their arrival, this seems the right time to share about them. Many thanks to Jason from Amicus Green Building Center, who introduced us to all of these products and many more.

Let’s start from the bottom.

Our new floor will be made of Travertine Chiampo cork from oak trees in Portugal. As Jason explained to us, this cork is a renewable material. Every nine years they scrape the cork bark off the tree, and a tree can harvest cork for more than 200 years! The flooring we chose looks something like tile, but cork is softer, warmer and easier on joints (and falling plates!).

Our counters will be made of 75% recycled material. The product (ECO by Cosentino) is made from both pre-industrial and post-industrial waste, including porcelain from tiles, sinks and toilets; glass from windows, containers and glassware; and mirrors from dwellings, buildings and factories. This product has received a Cradle to Cradle Sustainable Certification and GreenGuard Certification.

Aren’t they pretty? I’m unreasonably excited about these counters. This picture is from the ECO by Cosentino promotional materials. Can’t wait to show which one we got.

Our cabinets were made by a company called Executive Cabinetry, which has achieved GreenGuard Gold Certification. The cabinets were made without added formaldehyde, and the finishes include no Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). The cabinets are also Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. According to its website, FSC certification ensures that products come from responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social and economic benefits.

For the backsplash, we chose aqua colored, brick-shaped Maiolica tiles, made with recycled content. We will have LED recess lights, reducing energy over our old fluorescents. Finally, we chose beautiful metal knobs (a minor splurge!) for the cabinet and kitchen doors. The knobs are made in the USA with 95% recycled bronze.

Our temporary kitchen in the dining room. Not shown: crock pots and hot water urn.

People often ask if these sustainable products cost more than their equivalent. In truth, I didn’t do a direct comparison. What I can say is the companies we worked with made an effort to help us do this project within a budget we could afford.

But here’s another thing I’ll admit: As we designed our kitchen, we sometimes chose more expensive things, not because they were more sustainable but because we liked them and decided the extra cost was worth it to us. If you start your own remodeling project, you might find yourself doing the same. If you consider sustainability, you might decide that too is worth a little extra in the end.

So, if this path appeals to you, my suggestion would be: make a budget that works for you, and talk to a local, environmentally-minded company about meeting your budget needs. A good company may be able to meet your sustainable goals at the same time as your budget.

For those in the DC area, I’m proud to announce I’ll be sharing about this project at ROUTES on November 5. I hope to see you there! In any case, I’ll share more about our continuing journey next week.

*Disclosure Note: I requested and received small discounts from ecobeco and Amicus Green Building Center to promote local businesses I believe in.