Making your home more “green” has become a popular trend, and that is great news! Imagine the difference it would make if everyone took simple steps to conserve energy and make their home an overall more eco-friendly place. The results would be amazing!
While not everyone can afford to install top-notch, modern solar panels or completely transform their home, there are simple things we can do in everyday life to make our homes more green and help protect our planet. Here are 9 easy ways to make your home more sustainable and eco-friendly.
Use Energy Efficient Light Bulbs
Light bulbs are something we use continuously every single day. Just think how often your lights are on in your home! Since we use these objects so heavily, it only makes sense that they should be energy efficient. Plus, such light bulbs use less electricity and last longer, meaning they decrease your energy bill, reduce the frequency of having to replace them, and save you time and money. Since they also conserve energy, this is much better for the environment.
As far as energy efficient light bulbs go, switch to LED bulbs! They are currently the most eco-friendly bulbs on the market. They use less energy than any other bulb, last up to 50,000 hours, and can reduce electricity consumption by up to 80% each year.
Be Energy Efficient When It Comes to Lighting
On top of switching to energy efficient light bulbs, try to be smart when it comes to lighting in general and reduce energy consumption. You can do this by always turning off the lights when you leave a room and only turning on lights when necessary. Always use natural light for as long as you can by keeping your blinds and curtains open. These steps may seem super small, but they can make a huge difference in your home’s energy consumption.
Buy Products Made From Recyclables
Whenever you are out purchasing products for your home, try to buy products that are produced from recycled materials. More and more products are being made like this, from toilet tissue and paper towels to kitchen utensils and beyond. There are even recycled technology products, like gaming consoles and mobile phones, and recycled paper. So, if there is a recycled option available for the product you need, consider buying it! It’s definitely worth it, as it’s helping to conserve our precious environment and resources.
Wash Your Clothes in Cold Water
One study conducted by Energy Star showed that 90% of the energy used by a washer goes to water heating. Yes, 90%! This means that you can significantly reduce your home’s energy usage simply by using the cold water setting on your washer machine, as well as reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions released into our environment. Washing your clothes in cold water isn’t all that bad either, as it can actually lengthen the lifespan of your clothes. Hot water surprisingly deteriorates the fabric of clothes more and lessens the vibrance of the colors. So, unless you need to eliminate a stubborn stain, we recommend running your washing machine on the cold water setting.
Avoid the Dryer When Possible
While it isn’t always possible to avoid the dryer, try to let your clothes air-dry every so often! When the weather's nice and sunny and you aren’t in a rush for clean clothes, hang them out to dry! This will reduce your energy consumption dramatically, saving you money and protecting the environment. Plus, your clothes and linens will actually last longer if you air-dry them instead of using a dryer.
Recycle and Compost
Recycling and composting are two of the best things you can do to help promote sustainability and conservation. Recycling things like glass bottles, boxes, paper, and other products ensures that these items don’t just end up in a landfill, where harmful emissions are released that harm our environment. Instead, these items are recycled and reused to conserve valuable resources and prevent toxic emissions. Even if you don’t have access to your own recycling bin, save your recyclables, and take them to a recycling drop off location!
Composting also ensures that leftovers and scraps don’t just end up in a landfill, where more harmful emissions are released. Instead, these leftovers and scraps turn into highly effective fertilizer that any plant or soil desperately needs, which reduces waste and protects the environment. Even if you don’t have your own garden or plants, save it for a local farmer! To get started, you can either invest in a compost bin or create your own! Fortunately, they are much more neat and odor-free now than they used to be!
Be Energy Efficient in the Kitchen
Even if you don’t have all energy efficient kitchen appliances (though next time it’s time to upgrade, try to consider the more eco-friendly options!), there are simple ways to be more energy efficient in the kitchen. For example, rather than using the oven to make toast, use a toaster! An oven takes a whole lot more energy to heat up than a small toaster. Another way to be more eco-friendly is to either replace your pod coffee maker with a regular drip coffee maker, or buy only recyclable or compostable coffee pods. Avoid the plastic pods that just end up in landfills. There are so many more ways to be more eco-friendly in the kitchen, like minimizing food waste, using reusable grocery bags, and replacing plastic wrap with beeswax wrap, so do a little research and get started! We’ll also share some more tips on being eco-friendly in the kitchen soon.
Use Green Cleaning Products or Homemade Natural Cleaning Products
Many of the mainstream cleaning products on the market today contain SO many harmful chemicals and toxins that are not good for your body, nor your air quality. These products actually pollute your indoor air quality by releasing toxic chemicals into the environment and cause negative health effects, like hindering your child’s brain development and increasing your risk of cancer.
So, an easy way to make your home more eco-friendly is by using green cleaning products or homemade natural cleaning solutions! They are just as effective as the mainstream cleaners, but they don’t contain chemicals that negatively impact your home and health. There are several green cleaning products now on the market, or you can create your own solutions with ingredients like vinegar and lemon. Anytime your home or business is professionally cleaned too, consider using green cleaning services rather than typical, cleaning services.
Insulate Your Home
Poor insulation in your home results in more energy consumption being used to heat or cool your home. Not only is this not good for the environment, but it’s more expensive for you!
One of the smartest ways to make your home more eco-friendly is to invest in proper insulation, if you haven’t done so already. Proper insulation helps to hold the heat or cool air within your home rather than letting it escape through uninsulated areas, saving you from having to constantly heat or cool your home. This simple step alone can save you lots of money, as you are reducing your energy consumption, and boost your home’s eco-friendliness significantly. You’d be surprised how ineffective your insulation might be, or how many places in your home are lacking insulation.
These are just 9 of the many simple steps you can take to make your home more eco-friendly! We challenge you to try at least a few of these actions to help us maintain and protect our environment.
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