You don’t need to hire a green consultant or spend hours researching green options, just to have a healthier kitchen. Here are five easy steps that you can take right now with minimal effort and huge benefits.

1. Upgrade your cleaning products – Today it’s extremely easy to replace toxic cleansers with non-toxic options that are readily available in most grocery stores. Just look for non-toxic cleaners that lack a laundry list of warnings on the label.

2. Purify your water – Being green means not only doing what’s good for the environment, but also what’s good for us. As a result of land condition, municipal cleaning methods, and various influences along the path from source to kitchen faucet, water is full of impurities and contaminants. Opt for full home systems, under sink installations, or a simple filtered water pitcher to remove most, if not all, undesirables for the best drinking, cooking and cleaning water available.

3. Buy in bulk – In general, try to downsize shopping for foods wrapped in excessive packaging. Shop the in-store bulk bins – dried fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, cereal, and snacks. Try to minimize buying pre-packaged concoctions.

4. Check your cookware – Forget non-stick finishes as they contain harmful PFCs (perfluorochemicals) that end up in your food at some point. Opt for stainless steel, clay, ceramic, or choose cast-iron cookware for an extra boost of iron in your diet.

5. Reformat your food storage system – Go for glass, ceramic, or even metal containers and try using empty paper milk cartons for freezing liquids. Though popular and economic, plastic containers can leach contaminants into your food when filled with hot food or microwaved.