Taking steps to make your home environmentally friendly is so important nowadays. Our planet has suffered from our overuse of natural resources, destruction of natural habitats and numerous oil spills in its oceans. It’s time we started treating the land we call home with more respect. Here are a few of my top ways to make your home a clean, green haven.
Recycling
People produce way too much waste. We live in a throw away culture and often don’t consider the consequences. Tips create an eyesore on the environment and are filling up much too quickly. One of the easiest steps to becoming greener is recycling. Start organizing your waste into material-based categories. Group plastics, paper, glass and food waste into separate piles. Dispose of them accordingly. A large amount of matter can be recycled into something useful for someone out there.
.jpg)
Compost
Potato peelings, left over vegetables, tea bags, grass cuttings and other food waste can be added to a compost pile. Composting is the most environmentally friendly way of dealing with kitchen and garden waste. Once your compost is ready, it can go on to provide a brilliant fertiliser for your garden plants and soil. Buy a good compost bin. You probably don’t want a huge compost heap down the end of your garden, so a compact bin will provide you with a compact alternative.
Photo Source
Alternative Energy
There are so many alternative energy sources available for domestic use. Take full advantage of them. Solar thermals can heat your water and home, solar panels will provide you with electricity and hydroelectrics can use running water to create further energy. There’s no need to worry about power cuts, as renewable energy sources have backup batteries. Plus, you’ll save a fortune on energy bills. Once you’ve paid for the panels and installation, you have a never-ending free source of energy. You can also sell excess energy back to energy providers. Investing in alternative energy and holds the potential to make you some money too.
Insulate
Insulate your home, preferably with recycled materials where possible. Heat rises and will escape from your roof, so insulating your loft is of the utmost importance. Try insulating cavity walls with insulation too. Not only will it mean you’re not using as much as energy, but it will save you a lot of money come the winter months.
Image Credit
Use energy saving bulbs
Another easy way to make your home environmentally friendly is to replace any bulbs in your home with energy saving ones. They are much more efficient in terms of energy consumption and come in various watts, shades and designs. Soon energy wasting bulbs will be phased out, so it’s only a matter of time until energy saving bulbs are the only option when it comes to lighting your home.
Install a water saving showerhead
Showering is much more environmentally friendly than taking a bath, but unfortunately so much water is wasted when you’re showering as well. Power showers are particularly guilty for excessive water consumption. There’s an easy fix though: fit a water saving showerhead. Options can include aerated showers or low-flow fittings. Don’t waste time in the shower either.