Green Homes
The idea of making your home “eco-friendly” can often feel overwhelming, the good news is that it doesn’t have to be. We’ve put together 10 ways you can reduce your home’s carbon footprint. Create an eco-friendly home by starting with the small steps, over time you can take bigger steps to build a green, energy-efficient home.
1. Add solar panels
Compared to traditional energy, solar is the cleaner and a more sustainable alternative power source. Solar panels don’t produce greenhouse gases which helps combat the negative effects of climate change. By installing solar panels, homeowners can become energy independent, reap the cost-saving benefits of solar, and feel satisfied knowing they are being environmentally responsible.
2. Create a recycling center
To help make recycling a consistent habit your family does on a regular basis, create a recycling center. Place a convenient recycling bin in the center of your home, most likely in your kitchen where you produce the most waste. The next step is to find a space in your home to set up bins for sorting the different recycled products. Label the bins so your family has a quick reminder of what goes where. Recycling can often feel inconvenient, but in reality, it just takes some commitment.
3. Create a compost station
Composting is the process of breaking down organic materials using natural decomposition to turn them into rich soil. Depending on where you live you can make your compost space indoors or outdoors. If you are composting inside you will need a designated bin. If you plan to start your compost station outside you can use either a bin or start it on the bare dirt ground. With your newly set-up compost station, the next time you cook you can throw your leftover peels or old eggshells in your bin. Some things you can and should compost include fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, loose leaf tea, used paper napkins and paper towels, cooked pasta and rice, stale crackers, and much more. Composting helps enrich your soil and reduce methane emissions from landfills – helping lower your carbon footprint.
4. Switch to LED lightbulbs
LED stands for light-emitting diode. According to Energy Star, LED lightbulbs produce approximately 90% more efficiently than traditional incandescent light bulbs. Using LED lighting can help make your home run more efficiently while helping you save money. High quality LED lights have a life expectancy of 30,000-50,000 hours or even longer, while a typical incandescent light bulb last only 8,000 to 10,000 hours.
5. Install low-flow showerheads
Showers are responsible for up to 30 percent of household water use. Swapping out your showerhead for a low-flow one can help conserve water. You can save around 2,900 gallons of water each year when you install a low-flow showerhead. Up until the year 1992, traditional showerheads would use up five to eight gallons of water per minute. Today’s showerhead standard is that only 2.5 gallons per minute, while low-flow models only use up two gallons or less per minute. Installing a low-flow showerhead will decrease your home’s water consumption, save energy, lower annual heating costs, and reduce your monthly water bill.
6. Purchase energy-efficient appliances
Purchasing energy-efficient appliances may be a bigger investment than a traditional appliance, but it’s important to think about the price tag of an appliance over its entire lifetime.
7. Use natural cleaning products
Making the switch to eco-friendly cleaning products helps reduce harmful chemicals that are being released into the environment, creates better air quality, and creates a safer home. Ditching the toxic, hazardous chemicals found in conventional cleaning products will help improve earth’s eco-systems. When conventional cleaning products are sprayed they can create pollution in the surrounding air, switching to natural products will help reduce dangerous chemicals in both the air and on surfaces in your home.
8. Use a smart thermostat
Smart thermostats save you money while reducing energy waste. Investing in a programmable thermostat will allow you to monitor and control your heating and cooling. When you go solar, adding a smart thermostat is a great way to take full potential of your clean power production.
9. Switch to paying your bills online
Reduce paper waste when you use online billing. The fewer paper bills that are sent out, the less energy that is being used to print, process, mail, and transport them. Not only is online billing the more environmentally friendly option it also cuts out paper clutter in your life.
10. Buy pre-loved furniture
Strive to buy pre-loved furniture when you can. Repurposing and reusing items is a great way to save money and reduce the amount of waste that is put into landfills. Extend the lifetime of items in your household by learning to reuse, repurpose, and upcycle them.