Home Sustainability Cheat Sheet: Effective Ways to Be More Eco-Friendly

The slow, excruciating drip of a leaky faucet is enough to drive anyone insane. Add to that the fact that one drip every second adds up to five gallons of wasted water per day, and you have no excuse not to call a plumber ASAP. Don’t just get and use them—flip them off whenever you’re done using the things that are plugged in. Everything from TVs to phone chargers can act as “vampire appliances,” leeching energy while not in use. Bare windows aren’t just a little bit naked-looking, they also let in heat and cool air from the outside even if sealed shut.

• Inspiring kids to contribute to a greener environment and world is something we could and should do.
• You can save these by matching your food purchases to your actual consumption through menu planning and grocery lists.
• If you have an old plastic bag, keep reusing it until it falls apart and then recycle responsibly.
• This translates into a lower cost of heating and cooling your home.
• And if everyone pitches in and does the little things, it adds up to something big.

Clothes dryers are responsible for large amounts of carbon emissions. These are the three main principles when it comes to cutting down on your environmental footprint. Purchasing recycled items is a great way to cut down on wasted materials. This means less energy is used and your home remains a comfortable temperature. Adding area rugs and carpets can help trap heat and reduce heating costs.

Buy recycled

Turn some of that CO2 into O2 just by potting a Ficus or Dracaena (and actually caring for it. (You can even specify that your wash-and-fold place do this!) Hot water will actually set stains, and cold water will get your clothes just as clean. Think about all the dryer sheets you go through doing laundry—did you know one set of wool dryer https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/how-to-make-your-home-more-environmentally-friendly/ balls can do the same work (speed up dry time and fluff out wrinkles) without chemicals? Get a long, skinny brush like this one and use it to gently scrub loose any lint and scuzz from the coils under your fridge. It’s tempting to spring for the dinky incandescents at the corner store, but that $17 six-pack of LEDs will last 13 years each.

Switching your supplier to one that’s 100% renewable is also a great way to access renewable energy with minimal effort. The average U.S. household used around 77 million British thermal units (Btu), at the cost of nearly $2,000, in 2015. That is approximately 50% more than the average car would use in the same period. The things we do with, and in, our house can significantly impact the planet. I’m the less militant type, but you should definitely consider buying a set of stainless steel straws to add to your reusable cutlery drawer. Our guide to eco-friendly razors will show you some of the best options available right now.

Upgrade your insulation

You will very quickly recoup those costs when you quit buying a 24-pack of water bottles every time you go to the grocery store. Once it’s full, deposit its contents in your backyard as compost. If you don’t have a garden, check to see if your city has a green-bin program for fruit and veggie scraps to be collected and properly disposed of. Nurture your garden with repurposed rainfall https://ecosoberhouse.com/ from a backyard barrel instead of cranking up the hose. After all, “the global food system is responsible for around a third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions—not to mention, half of the planet’s habitable land is used to produce food,” she continues. “Adopting a plant-based diet is by far the greatest action you can take to lower your carbon footprint,” she asserts.

• When the equipment, tools, or party supplies that you need once in a great while are not available through friends, rent them from a specialty rental business or a home improvement store.
• For toners, exfoliants and nail polish remover, use washable bamboo pads.
• After all, it’s more fun to walk barefoot and feel the long soft grass under our feet, a natural gift from Mother Earth.
• Low VOC paints contain fewer Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) than regular paints.
• That is why two billion razors and refills are tossed in the trash every year in the U.S.

Consider the realistic progress you can make today, what you can add tomorrow, and what to aim for in the future. Here’s a checklist to get you started as you tackle new projects around the house this season and beyond. Therefore, the smaller the house you build, the more efficient and less wasteful it will inherently be. It may not be practical or desirable for everyone to live in a super small house, but the more you can keep the size of your new home down, the more eco-friendly your house is likely to be.

Install sustainable flooring

Plant a deciduous tree in front of south facing windows to provide shade in summer but let light through in winter. On the other hand, too many west-facing windows will provide more light and heat on sweltering summer afternoons and encourage you to use your air conditioning more. Similarly, roof overhang will block the sun in summer, keeping your home cooler for longer. You may even decide to build your home in a certain location based on the local building materials that are available.

Another way to keep your building materials eco-friendly is to source them locally as much as possible. Transporting local materials will generate fewer emissions compared to supplies that need to come from across the country or even across the world. When it comes to sustainable house design, the first thing you’ll need to do is choose the right location. There are two benefits to hang drying your clothes after a wash — not only are you saving energy by skipping on the dryer but your clothes will smell fresh and clean!

There are plenty of grass alternatives that are not only better for the environment and your health, but many need little to no maintenance. For even more tips, check our separate post on how to build an energy-efficient home on a budget. Therefore, a taller and more compact house is generally more energy-efficient than a low and wide structure with the same number of square feet. Similarly, cubes and spheres are more efficient than more irregular, spread out shapes.

Electronic devices aren’t the only culprits — you should also unplug small kitchen appliances and lamps before heading out for the day. Invest in a power strip to make it easier to unplug multiple devices at once. The warmth from the sun can also add a few degrees to the inside of your home, reducing heating costs. You can program these meters to turn on and off at certain times of the day. This keeps your house at a comfortable temperature without expelling unnecessary energy. Homeowners can dramatically improve their eco-friendly practices by implementing these changes, major and tiny, leading to a more sustainable and greener way of living.

Easy Ways to Make Your Home More Eco-Friendly

If you’re interested in making the switch, you could always Steal This Firefighter’s Vegetarian Diet for Staying Ripped. Getting in touch with nature has plenty of health benefits, but optimizing your layout to take advantage of natural light is also an easy way to cut down on energy consumption (and save money). “Think about which rooms have the most sunlight and how you are utilizing them,” counsels New York designer Gala Magriñá. “Is there a better way to position your office or a breakfast nook so that they are in brighter light? Are your windows dirty, or are the window coverings broken so you don’t raise the shades?

Ever noticed that “delay” button on your dishwasher and wondered why you’d ever want to use it? If you set it to start during your electric company’s “off-peak hours” (usually the middle of the night), you’ll be reducing peak energy demand on the grid. Using pesticides can cause toxins to leak into streams, ponds, lakes, and wells, and can contaminate groundwater. Pesticides are not only dangerous to the environment and our health, but also pets and other wild animals. Alternative ways to keep critters at bay include companion planting, crop rotation, and keeping plants as healthy as possible so that they become naturally resistant to pests. Conventional gas-powered lawn mowers pack a serious pollution punch, even as much as some late model cars.