How to be more eco-conscious at home. Are you looking for ways to reduce the carbon footprint and make your home environmentally friendly? We got you covered. This post covers some of the best tips to make simple changes and be more eco-conscious at home.
Becoming environmentally conscious is about slow living. You cannot go overnight in becoming eco-conscious, but taking little steps until you and your home are reducing almost completely the footprint is the goal for each one of us.
How to be more eco-conscious at home
With climate change becoming a more prevalent issue than ever before, many of us are looking for ways to be more eco-conscious.
Whilst there is often an emphasis in the media on how we can do so out and about, from using reusable cups at our favorite coffee shops to taking public transport more often, you may be looking for how you can be more environmentally friendly whilst at home. Here are just some of the things you can do to contribute to a cleaner and healthier environment:
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Changes can you make at home to be more eco-friendly
Upgrade your heating
There are certain things that you can cut out completely in order to benefit the planet. However, it is very unlikely that heating your home is going to be one of them. However, all hope is not lost in the heating department.
Old boilers are typically extremely ineffective, whereas new boilers are far more efficient at heating your home quickly and using less energy. Therefore, upgrading your heating system is a good option if you are looking to reduce your energy consumption.
Insulate Your Home
One of the most important things you can do to be eco-friendly is to insulate your home. The amount of energy wasted through poorly insulated homes is the number one factor in energy consumption that adds up to your monthly energy bill. You can learn more in this article about how to winterize your home and reduce your energy bill.
By insulating your home properly, you can cut heat loss dramatically and conserve energy. This is available for those heat waves in the summer, and the insulation serves as a protector against the heat waves. If your budget is tight, look into your local government’s help, and schemes for home insulating, and you might actually be able to get the whole project funded by local authorities.
There are also government help schemes for roof insulation which, at least these grants are available in the UK, so not sure about the rest of the world. But is worth checking with your local authorities and seeing what help you can get.
Install solar panels
If you dream of being a proud owner of an entirely solar-powered home, you better start saving up and do some research into what regulations and permit licenses you need. As mentioned above, there are many government schemes, grants, loans and plans to help you install solar panels on your home.
Before you get too excited and sign up for a deal, decide how long you plan to live in your current property or if you want to sell it in the future. Selling a house with solar panels is a bit more complicated; therefore, you need to be sure that installing them is the right choice for you.
Recycling
Recycling is not a new concept by any means, but are you doing it as effectively as possible at home? Investing in a bin with different compartments for different materials is a good way to make recycling easier.
Research what your local waste collection company is willing to accept to ensure that you recycle the right items. It is also important that you clean out any packaging you wish to be recycled to ensure it is processed properly and not affected by food contamination.
Switch to an electric car or scooter
Switching to an electric car or a scooter can seem daunting. But it’s actually not that difficult, and in the long run, it will save you lots of money on gas and maintenance. Electric vehicles are the future. They are environmentally friendly and cost-effective, and they have a low maintenance cost.
There are many benefits of owning an electric vehicle. The most obvious is that they don’t produce emissions or pollutants. This is great for the environment and our health. Owning any car, electric or not, come with some things to remember.
Car insurance is one of the most important things a driver can do before getting behind the wheel. It gives you the financial protection you need in the event of an accident. Not only it will help to cover the costs of repairs or medical bills, but it will also provide coverage for any legal fees associated with a car accident lawyer. Car insurance is one of the best ways to protect yourself financially, so is essential to ensure that you are properly insured before getting behind the wheel.
Top tips to be more sustainable at home
Electric vehicles and scooters are also quite affordable after you make the initial purchase. The last advantage is that you can charge your car at home with solar panels or through your electricity provider, which means you can drive your car for free!
The disadvantage of owning an electric vehicle is its limited range, although newer models have a more extended range. They have limited storage space and cannot be used for towing or hauling heavy loads. However, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and are worth switching to an electric car.
Outdoor drying
Undeniably, using a tumble dryer to dry your clothes is often the quickest and most convenient way. However, tumble dryers use considerable amounts of energy, whereas drying your clothes on a line outside uses none. Set up a line and enjoy the added benefit of outdoor freshness for your clothes.
Use a low-temperature and short-washing circle at your washing machine
This advice has been promoted recently by Ariel, if I remember well. But that’s nothing new for me. I have been washing at 30° Celsius /86° Fahrenheit on my washing machine since forever. Unless I wash very dirty clothes, which is not the case, keeping the same low temperature and 30 minutes washing circle is standard. Also, I set up the washing machine at the lowest rotation, which is 600.
I was shocked when I noticed that my sisters were washing a handful of clothes for 3 hours, at 60-90 Celcius, and using the 1100 rotation program. That’s insane and unnecessary.
I know that some of you might say that white clothes need to be washed at a higher temperature. However, to shorten that washing circle, I add a bit of bleach to the wash machine compartment to make sure that the clothes will be completely clean and white. When it finished, I rinsed one more time just to get rather of the bleach smell, and I’ve never had a problem with white clothes not being clean.
Reusable products
Reusable products have seen a real surge in popularity recently, and for a good reason. There are a vast number of reusable alternatives to single-use products you could be using at home that would have a positive impact on your carbon footprint.
Some examples include reusable cotton pads and beeswax cotton wrap, ecological toothbrushes, paper bags, and cotton carry bags for shopping at the local store. It is worth reading reviews for these types of products to discover the best possible option to go for.
Refillable products
As well as looking into reusable products, there are many re-fill options for daily consumption products. You can now purchase many beauty and cleaning products as refills which have considerably reduced the amount of plastic when compared to repurchasing an entirely new product.
These products often come at a lower price as a reflection of this too. The beauty of this is that you don’t have to compromise on the product you want, but it can still be more environmentally friendly when using it. There are now even shops dedicated to refilling products, meaning you can take in your own reusable packaging and refill on all your essentials.
Starting from perfumes, liquid soaps, body lotions, and even shampoos, there is an ecological option for everything. You just have to do your research before rushing to buy something new.
But it isn’t available only for cosmetics and beauty products, I remember the communist days back in the 90s in Romania when I had to carry my own bottle from home to be able to buy cooking oil from the market. The same was for milk. For beverages, you had to bring glass bottles in exchange; otherwise, the shop worker would refuse to sell any beverage.
I’d say that this should be made law everywhere in the world and will drastically reduce the number of glass bottles we have to produce every month. The reason for that is that when the trash collection happens, even though you selected the glass bottles nicely, they are smashed into bits by the people who collect the rubbish. In my own opinion is such a waste, and it is time to raise awareness that glass bottles should be reused, not just recycled.
Reduce your meat consumption
Now that you have addressed your product usage, looking at your food consumption is also good. With animal agriculture accounting for over 16.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, it is hard to ignore what you choose to eat when looking into reducing your carbon footprint.
Everyone has different dietary requirements and preferences when it comes to food. It is often easier said than done to reduce your meat intake, especially if you are used to having this as part of every meal.
It is important to remember that with any effort to improve the planet, every little help and starting small is better than doing nothing. Why not try one new vegetarian meal a week? Or you could begin to do ‘meat-free Mondays’ as a small way to reduce your meat intake.
Reduce your food waste and grow your own fruits and vegetables
On the subject of food, whether it is meat or not, food waste is a major issue for us as a society. Not only is food waste a waste of the energy and water it took to produce the food, food waste in landfill release the greenhouse gas methane. Reducing your food waste can usually be done pretty easily with better planning and meal preparation.
Be conscious about the amount of food you buy and when it needs to be consumed. Preparing and freezing meals ahead of time is an effective way of cutting down waste as you aren’t faced with the problem of it going out of date. Another option for becoming more eco-conscious is to grow your own fruit and vegetables. Growing your own fruit and vegetables has become very trendy nowadays.
Whether you have a small space and planning on growing your own herbs in pots or in the garden, plus a few trees (especially avocado trees are an excellent source of food and are packed with healthy fat that will supply your body with the necessary energy next to other vegetables of your choice), these small actions will have a positive impact on the environment.
For those who live in apartments and find it difficult to grow your own vegetables, consider installing vertical gardens on a few walls, balconies, or even attic if you have one. Check this article for indoor vertical garden ideas to understand the potential of such a project.
Whether you can or cannot grow your own vegetables and fruits, then another option is to shop at local farmers’ markets. Not only you will support your local producers and the economy, but you can eat fresh produce, sometimes, the prices are cheaper, and you will positively impact the environment.
Switch to sustainable clothing
Sustainable clothing is an important part of helping the environment. This type of clothing is produced with materials that are eco-friendly, biodegradable, and often made from recycled materials. Sustainable clothing also uses production methods that are energy-efficient and reduce waste.
It is becoming increasingly popular for its environmental benefits as well as its stylish designs. By buying sustainable clothing, you can help reduce your carbon footprint and contribute to a healthier planet.
Some eco-friendly materials are such as organic cotton, wool, silk, bamboo, hemp, linen, and recycled polyester. Organic cotton is grown without the use of chemicals or synthetic fertilizers and is often used for t-shirts, dresses, and other casual wear.
Bamboo fabric is lightweight and breathable while still being strong and durable. Hemp fabric is made from the fibers of the hemp plant, which has a low environmental impact compared to other materials.
Linen fabric is made from flax plants which require little water or pesticides to grow, making it a great choice for those looking to reduce their carbon footprint. Finally, recycled polyester fabric uses plastic bottles that would otherwise end up in landfills to create stylish pieces like jackets or leggings.
Final words
There are many other ways to make your home more eco-conscious, and I’d love to know your ideas too. If these tips from this article helped you learn more about how to create a cleaner and more ecological environment for you and your family, please share it on social media. Perhaps it will help others too to make their home more eco-friendly.
