If you’re concerned about environmental issues, you can contribute to a better future on the planet by turning your home into an eco-friendly space. There are many tiny changes you can implement at home, in your personal environment, that will drastically reduce your carbon footprint and energy waste. And living in an eco-friendly home has many more direct benefits. You will save money on water and utility bills, and you will become a more mindful consumer.
Read on to discover seven simple but effective ways to transform your home into an eco-friendly space.
1. Optimize Water Consumption
Many studies suggest that water has the potential to become a rare commodity in the future. Considering how universally necessary water is for us, this is a scary thought. Optimizing water consumption in your household can be one of the most beneficial things you do for the environment. But how to avoid wasting water? One crucial thing to do is to fix leaks in your home in case you find any. Another helpful thing to do is to install a low-flow showerhead. Although it may take a while to get used to it, this type of showerhead can help you save many liters of water every time you shower.
2. Switch to Natural Cleaning Products
We use dozens of products to keep our homes clean. Unfortunately, many of these products contain harmful volitive substances that pollute the air in our home environment. Some of these harmful chemicals end up in the water supply system when washed away. So, an important way to make your home both eco-friendly and safe is to avoid harmful cleaning products that contain toxic chemicals. Instead, you can use organic or natural cleaners. You can find many eco-friendly cleaning solutions that use natural ingredients such as vinegar, citric acid, and soda bicarbonate. These natural cleaners are just as effective for daily cleaning tasks as store-bought alternatives, but they don’t cause harm to the water, soil, or air.
3. Turn Leftover Food into Compost
Food waste is another major issue that contributes to environmental decline, and it’s a common problem in almost every household. Statistics suggest that we buy more food than we need, and we also cook more than we can eat. Wasting food is a harmful habit with multiple ramifications. But looking from a personal perspective, you are simply wasting money. Even though some amount of food waste is unavoidable, you can minimize the impact on the environment by turning kitchen scraps and leftovers into compost. You can find eco-friendly compost bins that don’t release any odor, so you can conveniently keep them in the kitchen. Using compost bins will allow you to monitor and reduce food waste in your household. And compost is the perfect natural fertilizer for your plants.
4. Install a Smart Thermostat
Installing a smart thermostat is an excellent way to make your home eco-friendlier. Home heating systems have a massive environmental impact. When you leave the heating on for longer than necessary, you waste both energy and money. Since manually controlling the heating settings can be cumbersome, a smart thermostat is a highly convenient solution. You can program it to turn the heating on and off at certain times of the day, so the house is not heated unnecessarily when you’re not at home. Thus, with the help of this smart technology, you can reduce your carbon footprint and significantly lower your energy bills.
5. Wash Your Laundry in Cold Water
Another small change that can help protect the environment and benefit you personally at the same time is washing your clothes in cold water. A washing machine uses between 75% and 90% of its total energy consumption only for heating water. So, you can drastically reduce your energy consumption just by using the cold-water settings on the washing machine. Modern washing machines work perfectly well with cold water, and detergents are just as effective in low temperatures. Moreover, many delicate or colorful fabrics last longer if washed in cold water. Hot water can shrink, wrinkle, and ruin your favorite clothes.
6. Switch to Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs
Energy-efficient light bulbs have gained a lot of popularity in recent years, but not every household has made a complete switch. If you still use incandescent light bulbs, you should know that they have very low efficacy. They generate light only when the filament becomes hot enough. Thus, almost 90% of the energy they use goes towards heating the filament, so they waste a lot of energy by design. Moreover, they have a shorter lifespan and burn out in less than a year. Conversely, energy-efficient light bulbs use significantly less electricity to generate the same or better light. They also last on average four or five years, so you won’t have to worry too often about replacing them.
7. Decorate with Plants
To turn your home into an eco-friendly space that is in perfect harmony with nature, consider decorating your house with plants. Not only that plants will make your home seem like a natural oasis, but they’re also a low-cost solution to the prevalent problem of low indoor air quality. Plants can absorb toxins and carbon dioxide, thus drastically improving air quality in your home. They also create more humidity. Since most décor items are made from non-sustainable materials, plants are the most eco-friendly decorations you can find. The benefits of growing plants are indeed numerous.
You don’t have to drastically change your life to create a greener environment at home. Tiny changes can have a massive impact on supporting the environmental cause without you having to experience any inconvenience as a result. By turning your home into an eco-friendly space, you will get many immediate personal benefits such as lower bills or a healthier home environment. Moreover, all these changes have a lasting impact, so once you implement them, you can reap the benefits for a very long time. Thus, it’s safe to say that an eco-friendly lifestyle benefits both you and the planet.
