Many households want to be more eco-friendly but are often put off by the belief that it will be very difficult. But being eco-friendly doesn’t have to be difficult; you might be surprised by just how easy it can actually be! Every household, whether it houses a single person or a family of five, can be more eco-friendly and in most cases, it will only mean small changes to your home or lifestyle. To help you take practical steps towards making your home more eco-friendly read my 10 tips below for more information…
Recycle Your Rubbish
Let’s start off with something easy and something most houses should be doing already. Recycling your rubbish is easy when you take a little care and time. Separating plastics, tins, cardboard and garden waste into separate bins will go a long way towards making your home more eco-friendly and it’s much easier to do than you might think.
Old tech and gadgets might also be a source of clutter in the house, so one idea is to sell your device to a recycling company. Plenty out there to choose from, but Plunc.com, for example, will trade cash for some select products, such as Ipads.
House Plants
House plants are more than just decorative pieces for your home or last-minute housewarming gifts. They can actually do a lot to make your home eco-friendlier and more hospitable with the biggest benefit being that house plants can transform harmful CO2 into clean O2.
Energy Saving Bulbs
Energy saving bulbs are an eco-friendly alternative to traditional light bulbs and they have been shown to shine brighter and last longer! If you can’t find any energy saving bulbs available, then LEDs are a great alternative. Best of all, swapping to these bulbs won’t just help your home be eco-friendlier and energy efficient it will also lower your energy bills as well.
Reusable Bottles
Recycling plastic as mentioned above is a great way to make your home more eco-friendly. However, what is going to be even better is to avoid buying too much plastic in the first place. Sometimes buying plastic in some form can be unavoidable but by buying a reusable bottle you can at least avoid buying plastic bottles, which are one of the most common pieces of plastic waste.
Save Water
Saving water won’t just help you cut your water bill it will also help your home become eco-friendlier. There are plenty of ways you can save water as well; you could take shorter showers/ baths, turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth, don’t leave taps running when washing pots and use shorter wash cycles on your washing machine.
Keep Your Electronics Unplugged
OK you can’t keep everything unplugged, can you? You will need to keep somethings plugged in, but if you aren’t using something then just unplug it. Yes, plugging things back in might be annoying at first but you will soon get used to it and by doing this you will make your home much more eco-friendly. If you keep things plugged into an extension, then unplugging it will make the whole process much easier as well.
Hang Out Your Washing
Tumble dryers are very valuable appliances, but they are certainly a drain on your electronics and not the most eco-friendly appliance either. So, if you want to make your home more eco-friendly, then you should start hanging your clothes out to dry. This will help you save money and if you have particularly sunny weather it might even end up being faster as well.
Cold Water Washes
Speaking of washing your clothes, there is a more eco-friendly option to actually get them clean as well. Washing machines use the vast majority of their energy to heat up water if you want to be more eco-friendly you should opt for cold water wash cycles instead. This will save you money on your energy bills and dramatically cut down your carbon dioxide emissions at the same time! Some washing machines even have specially designed eco-friendly green washing mode as well.
Reusable Shopping Bags
Reusable shopping bags won’t just save you money it will help you cut down on waste plastics. The environmental damage plastic bags can do is well publicised so if you want to make your home more eco-friendly don’t buy cheap plastic bags. Get yourself stronger reusable bags that you can take with you to do your shopping.
Don’t Leave Your Lights On
Forgetting to turn your lights off can be a nasty habit to fall into; it won’t just drive your energy bills up it will also damage the environment. It might seem like a small thing that is seemingly insignificant in the grand scheme of things but by turning your lights off when you’re not in the room and limiting your electronic usage you can help cut CO2 emissions in a big way.
About Midlands Traveller
Simone is a journalist with both Brazilian and British citizenship who has been living in Birmingham since 2011. She is vegetarian, with a passion for plant-based food. She also has a keen interest in green living. She writes at Midlands Traveller; a blog about business opportunities, the travel industry and well-being. You can find her on twitter, instagram and facebook too.Â