Design • 9 July, 2020 • 6 min read
Make Your Home Greener in these 6 Simple Ways
Our July Guestwriter, Eileen from the YesMissy blog, walks us through her top six steps for making your home greener and more sustainable, by giving your space a green makeover.
By Edvin BrobeckHow to live sustainably and make your home greener starts by changing personal habits and giving your home a green makeover. There are a lot of little things we can do in our homes can play a part in reducing landfill waste, cleaning the air, and preserving the natural landscape.
Living sustainably and protecting our planet is a cause that we all should work towards. With the effects of climate change becoming more evident every year, it’s clear that living a greener lifestyle is now more important than ever.
IDEA ONE
Reduce your energy usage
We all know to turn off the lights when we’re not using them. But did you know you can save more energy by switching out your incandescent light bulbs for energy-efficient LED light bulbs. These can last up to 25 times longer and consume 75% less energy!
Another simple tip to make your home greener is buying a smart power strip to plug your electronics. Using a smart power strip can drastically reduce your overall energy usage. They’re designed to protect both your devices and your wallet by sensing when a device is in standby mode so they can cut off power and save energy.
A big energy saving tip is getting a programmable/smart installed thermostat for your home. Heating and cooling costs make up the biggest portion on your energy bill, and this simple tool can help to manage the temperature of your home to make your home more energy efficient.
A smart thermostat can allow you to create a temperature schedule, allowing you to minimize AC usage while you’re at work, and have it cooler in the evenings when you’re actually home. This way it uses less energy when you don’t need it.
IDEA TWO
Switch your cleaning products
Cleaning products are often contain chemicals that can may harm you and the environment. Look for cleaning products that are labeled as eco-friendly, and monitor what cleaners you use around your home.
If you want to save money on green cleaning supplies, you can even make your own cleaning solutions. Simple ingredients such as baking soda, lemon juice, vinegar and soap are very effective cleaners. Best of all, they are inexpensive to make and are harmless to you, your home and your family.
IDEA THREE
Reduce plastic use
Plastic waste makes up 161 millions tons of waste per year and will soon outnumber fish in the ocean. Take a moment to do a headcount of all the single-use plastic items in your home, and switch to something more sustainable.
Ways to go green include ditching plastic bags for recyclable paper or reusable canvas bags, going for soap and shampoo bottles that can be refilled, and buying loose fruit and vegetables.
Plastic Free July is a global movement to that encourages people to choose to refuse single-use plastics for the month of July. They have lots of great tips on how to reduce plastic for cleaner streets, oceans, and beautiful communities.
I’ve personally done the challenge myself, and it was an eye opening experience to see how much plastic we use in our day to day lives. And would highly suggest you try it out too!
Discover the other three tips for making your home greener on the YesMissy blog. Find out how to pick out vintage decor, choose sustainably-sourced materials, and more! Take me there!
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