Every day, countless trees are cut to be used for fuelwood. Fossil fuels are burned in industries that emit dangerous pollutants and greenhouse gases. Landfills have piling trash which is only increasing by the day. How you live, shop, eat, or travel, everything affects the environment.
Most people want to help the planet even if it doesn’t make that much difference. Millions and billions of minor impacts can significantly affect the environment. This is why we have compiled a list of ten easy tips to go green at home, which will help you make a difference in the environment.
Going, Green
Going green means living your life in an eco-friendly way. This means you use public transport, cycle, shop locally, recycle, plant trees, reuse, etc. This is all to keep the environment healthy. You won’t have to sacrifice technology or even go off the grid. Nothing that extreme is needed. You can contribute to the environment instead of always taking from it.
Even in your home, your thermostat can monitor your habits according to the weather and change the temperature to save energy. You can contact a recycling center to get that old sofa in your basement a new home instead of going to a landfill. These examples illustrate that you don’t need to detach yourself from the modern world to go green.
The Tips
With the pandemic making work from home more accessible, many businesses have shifted online to save costs. However, working from home increases your electricity consumption as devices that are usually on standby can also suck a lot of energy. These appliances can include printers and computers.
An easy solution is to install a power strip. When you've done your work, switch off the power strip, and everything will be switched off. This will save you a lot of power and money in the long run. Smart power switches have apps that allow you to switch off individual plugs of those power switches.
Washing a car yourself can give off a sense of independence, but it’s not very environmentally friendly. Instead, it would be best if you opted for a car wash. This is because soapy run-off from your car is treated and reused for other vehicles in a car wash. This reduces costs and saves water. Also, less groundwater is exposed to cleaning chemicals, and more water is saved per wash.
You should add plants to your workspace. Having plants gives off a very calming and refreshed feeling. You’ll have fresh oxygen and low carbon dioxide. You won’t need an electric-powered filter to improve the air quality of your office. Most workaholics don’t have time to care for a plant. To solve this, they can buy self-growing mini-kits which thrive on their own and add a refreshed look to their desk.
Adding showerheads and aerators to your faucets will lower water use. Aerators slow the flow of water, lower water usage, and add more coverage. They are a quick, eco-friendly, and cheap option that assist you in using less tap water. If you use less water, then less water will be supplied to you, thereby conserving available fresh water. This will grant the Earth more time to filter rain into the reservoirs and lakes, ultimately reducing local water pollution.
Donating items gathering dust in your home and recycling helps lower landfill waste. This doesn’t mean you start packing up your car, as each trip to the donation centre will add greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere. You can schedule a donation pickup on that route that routinely checks up on you to see if there’s any recyclable material.
In the daytime, instead of using electricity to light up your home, try putting the curtains off the windows and letting that sunlight fill up the room. This light is soothing, free, natural, and helps to keep the temperature controlled.
To make the sunlight more reachable to remote areas of your home, try strategically placing mirrors or any other reflective surfaces so that your home stays illuminated. The more light you reflect, the brighter it will make your home.
Having native plants or local wildlife in a flower box or an outdoor garden can have a significant impact on your health. These plants will add nutrients to the soil without using any extra water or artificial fertilisers that can potentially harm the soil. Another option is planting flowering bushes, which can feed local pollinators like hummingbirds and bees, ultimately strengthening the local ecosystem.
Moreover, you can give that kitchen waste a better place than the dustbin. Make composting a habit because this can help add nutrients to the soil, which will help the plants. For example, you could water your plants with the nutrient-rich water used to boil pasta and vegetables.
You can save bills by improving the energy efficiency of your home’s air conditioning (HVAC), ventilation, and heating system. Most homeowners are troubled by the cost of heating and cooling their homes which can be responsible for half of their monthly energy consumption.
Some tipsto help you increase the efficiency of your HVAC system, lower your carbon footprint, and reduce energy bills are:
- Use drapes in the winter and curtains in the summer.
- Replace loose and broken windows.
- Add an appropriate amount of insulation to your attic.
- Switch the air filters every 2-3 months.
- Service your HVAC unit after cleaning it out.
- Replace the weatherstripping around exterior doors.
- Use weatherstripping or caulk to seal your windows.
A smart home makes things easy and eco-friendly while providing a futuristic aesthetic. You can automatically switch on any light by scheduling it to turn on at a specific time. Motion sensors can detect if someone’s home or not and turn the lights on or off.
Smart thermostats can learn your comfort temperature and create temperature variations based on your habits. This saves a lot of energy. Smart devices are designed to be more energy-efficient and are fitted with the best components to enhance that efficiency.
The best way to save energy is to produce energy from a renewable source like the Sun. Installing a solar power system on your roof can save you money and doesn’t create greenhouse gases. You can offset the electricity you take from the grid by generating electricity from your solar system. This way, you can save money while decreasing your dependence on fossil fuels.
It Isn’t Hard
Going green is easier than people think. You don’t have to make some major life choices to end up going green. You just need to take it one little step at a time. You can positively impact the planet by adopting some green habits and household changes. People might start practising going green because of you, which can help humanity fight global warming.