Discussions about sustainability, conscious living, and environmental protection have been gradually gaining in popularity for many years already. With the danger of climate change on the horizon, the younger generations will not forgive us later on for not giving our best to live as sustainable as possible.
If you have children, it can be a good idea to set an example for them and adopt eco-friendly habits.
Making your home environmentally-friendly will reduce your domestic carbon emissions and also reduce energy consumption. You will cut costs with utility bills and help save the environment at the same time.
Sounds like a great deal, so let’s see what eco-friendly solutions you can implement in your home.
Insulate Your House
Domestic heating is one of the main culprits of air pollution.
One of the top things you need to do to embrace sustainability is to minimize the loss of heat. A well-insulated house gets warm easier and keeps warm longer, so it’s less reliant on heating systems. This comes with a significant reduction in both carbon emissions and utility bills.
A house loses heat through the roof, walls, floors, and around doors and windows.
To tell if your house is well-insulated and thus energy-efficient, check everything carefully and pay attention to draughts as these indicate where the loss of heat occurs. When researching insulation methods suitable for the structure of your house, choose non-toxic insulators.
Embrace Solar Energy
Eco-friendly homes rely on renewable energy for power. Installing solar panels used to be costly, but the industry has made a lot of progress, so the costs have dropped. Companies like Sunbridge Solar strive to make the utilization of solar energy affordable and hassle-free.
Considering renewable energy can reduce your energy bills for years to come, it’s worth considering such an investment. Besides being cost-effective, solar energy does not emit environmental pollution. It’s also accessible anywhere.
Buy Natural Cleaning Products
Cleaning products contain chemicals that are harmful to the environment.
Since they end up in waterways, they pollute our water sources. Using chemical cleaners has damaging effects on your health too, not just on the environment. Thankfully, there are alternatives. Natural cleaning products have become popular lately, so they’re easy to find.
Before chemical cleaners, people mixed various cheap ingredients around the house such as vinegar, baking soda or essential oils to create natural cleaning products.
You can find dozens of DIY natural cleaning recipes. And don’t worry, these natural cleaners are as effective as the chemical-based ones. You also won’t have to hide them from your children.
Upgrade Your Appliances
To have an eco-friendly home, all your home appliances should be energy-efficient, especially if you don’t use renewable energy.
Check the energy consumption for each appliance and consider whether it’s time for an upgrade. It’s highly recommended to buy new models every ten years.
Besides consuming more energy, older models might also emit more pollutants. Although upgrades are costly, they are a long-term investment because you will immediately notice a reduction in energy bills.
Regular maintenance checks are a good way to ensure your home appliances are still fit for harmless, non-toxic use. Check at least your boiler, oven, fireplace, heaters, refrigerator, microwave, and washing machine.
Regular checks are also important to prolong the life of an appliance as a certified technician can tell you if there’s an underlying issue likely to affect its performance later.
Buy Plants Instead of An Air Purifier
If you live in a polluted area, you might be tempted to buy an air purifier.
Besides being expensive, an air purifier has a limited range of action. You will also have to pay for the fresh air in energy bills. If you already have an air purifier, give it up and fill your house with plants.
Having many leafy plants around raises the eco-profile of your home significantly.
Plants can absorb harmful volatile substances, so you will breathe fresh, oxygen-rich air all day. A house filled with air-purifying houseplants is a green natural oasis where you feel healthier, more in tune with nature and more environmentally-conscious. Besides, caring for plants doesn’t cost a lot, especially if you choose low maintenance types.
Developing an eco-friendly lifestyle starts at home.
Look at your habits and analyze your needs. You’ll surely discover that transitioning to eco-conscious living is not as complicated as you think. Although some of these ideas require you to start with a sizeable investment, there are significant long-term gains to motivate you.