Choosing to build a green home is an excellent decision for both you and your family. The daily degradation of the earth calls for each household to do its part to protect it for ourselves and for generations to come.
By making your home more green, you play a role in saving the environment and save money in your pocket. So, what changes can you adopt to make your house greener? Here are a few things you should consider today:
Simple Changes For An Eco-Friendly Home
1. Do your laundry with cold water
Unless your clothes are filled with stubborn stains, you do not need to wash your clothes with hot water. According to Energy Star, 90% of the energy a washing machine uses goes into warming the water.
By turning on the cold water setting on your washer, you reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions your home releases into the atmosphere. Simultaneously, using cold water for your clothes ensures that they are clean, fabrics are safe, and your colorful clothes do not lose their vibrance.
2. Change your lightbulbs and power source
Incandescent light bulbs are a thing of the past as they are not energy efficient. Also, as these lights need more power to illuminate a room, they tend to produce more heat. That’s good for the winter months but in the summer, you end up having to put on your air conditioner or fan in response, increasing the use of energy and carbon emissions.
Prevent this domino effect by investing in CFL light bulbs or LED light bulbs. These energy-efficient lightbulbs are more expensive but they help you save money in the long run as they last for a more extended period, therefore, do not need to be replaced for a while.
You should also consider investing in renewable energy sources such as windmills and solar panels too. Renewable energy sources provide your home with clean energy, one that has no disadvantages to the environment! If installing a solar panel may be expensive, you can visit choosesolar.com to read more and sign up to join a community solar today!
3. Use natural cleaning products
Your everyday cleaning products may make it easier to clean around your home. However, they contain harmful chemicals that negatively impact the environment.
For example, when you throw or wash them down the drain, they pollute the water supply. This means more purification chemicals are added to recycled water to make it safe, which, ironically, makes it less safe.
Natural cleaning products such as vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice are just as effective as everyday cleaning products and are eco-friendly.
4. Get a recycling and compost bin
Recycling is an excellent way to make your home more green. Getting a recycling bin for your home helps you make an effort to recycle your glass bottles and jars, papers, and other recyclable items.
Go the extra mile and upcycle some of these items right in your own home. Things like bottles and jars can be re-used over and over again.
Your compost bin enables you to reduce the waste being generated by recycling it too! Instead of throwing away leftover food and scrapings, you can store them in a bin in your garden. Over time, this turns into compost which serves as a safe way of fertilizing your plants. Your garden and wallet will love it.
5. Declutter the green way
I know your first instinct when decluttering your home is to just throw everything in the garbage. But I bet many of the items that you no longer want still have a lot of life left in them. Consider eco-friendly ways to get rid of your stuff. Have a garage sale, donate or sell things you no longer need.
A green home is a happy home. Adopt these tips today to take your home in a more eco-friendly direction.