A lot of people are starting to see the benefits of living more sustainably. It’s not just about saving money but also about reducing your carbon footprint and reusing old things. If you’re looking for ways to make your home eco-friendly, check out these suggestions!
Choose Eco-friendly Materials for your Home.
The easiest way to go green in your home is by using eco-friendly and sustainable materials. Some of the most popular options include bamboo, cork, and recycled glass. They can be used on almost any surface! When you’re picking out countertops for your kitchen, look into getting a stone close to nature. There are many choices available if you take a little time to do some research online or check with local recycling centers.
Bamboo is a good choice because it doesn’t require pesticides or fertilizers when being grown, so it’s much more environmentally friendly than other types of wood flooring. Cork comes from trees, so it’s actually carbon neutral as well as renewable since they grow back their bark every nine years or so
When you build your home using these more sustainable materials, you’ll be cutting down on CO2 production and doing something good for the Earth.
If you already live in an apartment with flooring that can’t be replaced with eco-friendly options, try purchasing some reusable floor pads. These are made with recycled plastic bottles and work great for rolling chairs across smooth floors – they’re also very easy to clean!
Plant Some Houseplants.
Planting some houseplants around your home is a great way to purify the air and reduce CO2 production. You can choose plants that do well indoors, like aloe vera, spider plants, and palms. Start
Fresh air is a lot healthier for you than most people realize. Plants can make it much more pleasant to be in. Try installing a window greenhouse so you can grow some herbs for cooking as well as flowers. They can help keep the temperature down, which also keeps energy costs lower.
Simply put them around your windowsills or buy pots to fit on shelves near windows. You’ll not only save space and money by using this method, but you’ll enjoy watching nature at work!
Houseplants remove toxins from the air and improve oxygen levels, so it’s a great idea to have them around. If you don’t have any space for new plants, consider going on a green roof! This will also reduce your energy consumption as well as your water usage. It helps keep buildings cool in the summertime by reflecting some of that sunlight away from the building and making shade on its own.
If you’re nervous about what might grow on top of your house, many flowers look great without producing seeds or nuts that could be dangerous to pets or small children.
Use Eco-friendly Paint and Cleaners.
When you paint the interior of your home, opt for an environmentally friendly option. This is especially important if you have any children or pets that will be in your home. Kids and animals tend to put their hands and paws everywhere they can reach, so it’s a good idea to keep things as safe as possible.
Paint made with low VOCs (volatile organic compounds) is usually water-based, which makes them easier on the environment since they don’t emit dangerous toxins into the air during use.
When you clean your home, you don’t want to wear gloves since they can irritate the skin; instead, try using baking soda mixed with lemon juice. It’s natural and removes odors as well as dirt!
There are eco-friendly cleaners available that work well on most surfaces. Check them out next time you’re at the store! If you like making your own cleaning products, apple cider vinegar works great as a multipurpose cleaner. It’s also a lot cheaper than many other options, so it’s a win-win situation!
Utilize Natural Light as Much as Possible.
Using natural light to illuminate your home is good for the environment and also very kind to your wallet. It is a free and clean source of illumination that can make your home look brighter and more refreshed.
Natural light can save you around 30% of your energy bill because it doesn’t require anything other than the sun itself.
It is a great way to keep your home cool without using too much energy from air conditioning. In the summertime, open your curtains and blinds during the day so that sunlight can stream into rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows. You’ll save money on electricity as well as improve indoor air quality!
If natural light isn’t an option because you live on the third floor or higher, try installing some skylights. This allows you to install more artificial lighting without compromising too much on electricity usage.
Install Solar Panels.
Solar panels are a great way to collect renewable energy for your home. They can be installed on rooftops or near windows so that they have access to as much natural light as possible and will work well even if you don’t get direct sunlight (like in the shade).
The sun’s energy is collected and converted into electricity. Solar panel installation guides will show you where to position them to get the most sunlight possible.
You’ll be producing clean energy and offsetting any CO2 production from other parts of your life as well! Make sure you have a good warranty on these panels. However — they’re usually pretty expensive, so if something goes wrong without a warranty, you could be out some serious cash!
Having solar panels mounted on the roof makes it easy for everyone in the house to become more conscious about their energy consumption. Have everyone turn off lights or appliances when they leave a room or go to bed at night. This will reduce the amount of power being used around your home and help you save faster!
Replace all Light Bulbs with LED.
Light-emitting diodes are quickly replacing incandescent light bulbs because they use less energy and can last up to 25 times longer. LED bulbs also don’t contain mercury, so you won’t have to worry about them breaking when they’re being disposed of.
This is especially great if you have kids who love playing with light switches! LED lights are some of the most efficient on the planet because they use up to 85% less electricity than incandescent bulbs. They come in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and colors, too, so you can choose the kind that will look best in your home.
You’ll reduce your carbon footprint with these lights since LED lighting uses constant sources of light rather than the pulsating glow that incandescent bulbs give off. This makes them more environmentally friendly! That’s something to brag about, for sure!
Reduce water usage.
You can reduce your water usage by using water-efficient devices in your home with low-flow toilets, installing showerheads and faucets, installing rain barrels to collect rainwater for outdoor gardening, and recycling gray water from sinks/showers/washing machines for watering plants.
Showers are one of the biggest sources of water use in your household, so you’ll want to ensure that you’re using low-flow showerheads and bathtub fixtures whenever possible.
Low-flow showerheads can help reduce water usage by 30% or more because they limit the amount of water that comes through while you’re cleaning yourself off.
Don’t forget to check for any leaks in your plumbing and take care of them ASAP. The less water you use, the more money you’ll save!
Use a Clothesline to Dry your Clothes.
This will save you a lot of money on electricity because dryers run off of heating elements to get clothes dried after they’ve been washed. Clothing naturally gets dried outside when it’s hung up in the sun, and that heat comes from the sun itself – not an artificial source!
You’ll be doing your part for the environment by using this method, too, since there is no carbon dioxide production if clothing is left to dry in the sun. This makes solar-powered clotheslines environmentally friendly!
If you’re worried about damp weather or want to ensure things are totally dry, consider purchasing a drying rack instead. You can set this up inside your house or out on your balcony, depending on what works best for you and how much space you have.
Have a Compost Pile in the Backyard.
This is a great way to cut down on the amount of waste that you contribute to landfills and provides excellent fertilizer for gardens and houseplants. Being aware of the things that you put in trash bins has a huge impact on your health and the environment as well, so it’s worth paying attention to what you’re throwing away every day!
Composting is the process of creating soil to go back into your garden or any other outdoor area where you might have plants or even trees growing. By having a compost pile, you’ll be able to break down all kinds of substances – including food scraps, yard clippings, fruit peels, etc. – into nutrient-rich soil that will help plants grow better than ever before!
Compost piles are great for your garden because they can create healthier plants that will resist disease and stay in good health overall. The nutrients produced by the compost pile are broken down, and natural fertilizers replace them, so there’s nothing artificial here at all!
You can make a compost bin out of any container – from a bucket to a 55-gallon drum.
You’ll want to line it with newspaper, cardboard, or hay so that the scraps and cuttings in there will decompose and then go on to fertilize the soil in your garden.
If you’re dealing with anything that’s really wet, like watermelon rinds or cabbage leaves, use some straw instead since it absorbs the moisture and keeps everything dry.
The pile should be about 3’ x 3’ in size and large enough for all your gardening needs. Make sure things like weeds and sticks aren’t in there, too, since they could poke through the paper lining when you add more.
Power Down Electronics at Night.
This will not only save you money on your electricity bill, but it’s also a good idea from an environmental perspective since everything from TVs to game systems to cell phones use up precious energy when they’re plugged in.
If you leave everything running overnight, you waste tons of electricity. Your appliances don’t care if it’s day or night, so make sure to unplug everything at the wall outlet when it’s time for bed.
There are even surge protectors that have built-in timers on them, so you’ll know exactly when not to plug something in. This is an easy way to make sure appliances don’t waste any power while they’re just sitting there doing nothing.
Turn off the lights in unoccupied rooms and keep the heat set at a lower temperature since you won’t be needing it all day long. You can also use fans instead of air conditioning if your house tends to get too chilly during the night!
Conclusion.
If you want help incorporating some environmentally friendly practices into your home or office’s routine, try out these tips today. You’ll feel better about yourself while also helping make our planet healthier. Remember that any little change counts in the long run!
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Reviewed By: Joanna Perez and Marcella Raskin
Edited By: Lenny Terra
Fact Checked By: Gabrielle J. Smith
Photos Taken or Curated By: Matthew Mansour