Belatedly, more and more people across the world seem to be waking up to the damage that humans are causing to the planet. The population is starting to become more responsible in terms of what we need to do to look after our world, as well as realizing and trying to rectify the issues we’ve already caused.
Living in an eco-friendly home is one way that everybody can help to save the Earth. From reducing energy bills to buying recycled products, there are lots of ways in which we can turn our household into one that truly cares and tries to make a difference to the environment.
Here are seven ways to make your home more environmentally friendly.
Reduce your water wastage
Water wastage is one of the biggest problems facing the world, especially in the United States where a Government Accountability Report reckoned that 40 out of the 50 mainland states can expect some form of water shortage between now and 2024. Think about how you could reduce the amount of water your home wastes. Do you need to run the dishwasher or the laundry when they’re only half full? How long do you let the shower run for before you clamber in? Do you leave the tap running when you are brushing your teeth? Little changes to how you use your water can make a huge difference to the amount of it your household wastes.
Be clever with temperature control
Heating your home is one of the biggest ways in which you waste energy. During the winter months, you can very easily leave the heating on for longer than necessary. In the summer, a faulty air conditioning unit can burn through far more energy than it needs to. You can avoid these problems by installing a smart meter for your heating which will ensure that it is only turned on at specific times of day when it is required. It can also shut the heating off at a certain time of an evening, meaning you aren’t wasting heat when nobody is around or awake to benefit from it. As for the air con, having a residential HVAC repair expert give your system a tune-up can get it running more efficiently. Have a look at http://www.moreyphc.com for more information.
Buy recycled products
Buying recycled products means that you are helping to sustain the planet by reusing materials that might have otherwise been turned into landfill or found their way into the ocean. From toilet tissue to kitchen roll to even sneakers, there are now a whole host of products out there that are made from recycled items. By supporting them, you are supporting the environment.
Swap chemicals for natural cleaning products
When you use chemicals for cleaning, then you are causing many problems for the environment. Washing them away down sinks or drains leads them straight into the water supply, slowly poisoning the planet. By swapping your cleaning chemicals for natural products such as vinegar, citrus acid or bicarbonate of soda, you can help prevent that from happening.
Create your own compost
When you chuck away your kitchen scraps and leftover food, who knows where they are ending up. Chances are though that it isn’t going to be good for the environment. That is why you should consider recycling them yourselves in your own backyard with your very own compost heap. You’d be surprised at how much and what food can be composted. Simply place a compost bin or heap in your garden and fill it up with all your food waste.
Be clever how you cook
Do you frequently cook with the oven door open? If so, then you are wasting a huge amount of heat and making your home about as un-environmentally friendly as it can be. Ovens are at their best when the heat is trapped inside as it takes less energy to maintain the required temperature. If you leave the door open, the oven has to work far harder to keep the food at the correct temperature because a lot of the heat is now escaping from the appliance. Cooking with the door shut is much better for the environment due to the decreased level of energy it uses.
Give up your coffee pods
Coffee pods are well on their way towards causing a huge environmental disaster. Billions of these aluminum and plastic pods are ending up in landfill every year, where they will spend hundreds of years poisoning the planet as they slowly degrade. Drinking coffee from a conventional drip coffee maker can help avoid all this waste.
