Going green is an immersive effort and one that you need to consciously think about every single day. In this spirit, here are five tips you can use to make your home greener and leave the environment a bit better.
1. Recycle and Reuse Construction Materials
In construction, it’s possible to reuse and recycle a wide variety of the materials you use, saving you from having to buy brand new materials. When you recycle the building materials used for your home, you help decrease the up to 30% of all materials delivered to a construction site that can end up as waste, according to ScienceDirect. Talk to people with constructions nearby to see if they need to dispose of any materials that they have in excess, and if you also have some, you could even trade. This will help you build a greener home that won’t have a massive impact on the environment.
2. Use Solar Power
Solar power is an amazing source of energy for people who don’t want to make a large carbon footprint. While the initial setup cost may be larger when compared to getting connected to the grid as most homeowners do, this cost will more than pay for itself in a short time. You will enjoy lower energy costs while maintaining a modern and efficient home that you and your family will be proud of throughout.
3. Use Green Cleaning Solutions
For a truly green home, eco-friendliness should reflect throughout, right up to the way you keep it clean. There are four primary sources of contamination, namely chemical, physical, biological or bacterial, and cross-contamination. Find effective cleaning solutions for all of these contaminants to ensure that your home is sparkling clean and this is not at the expense of the environment. If there are necessary considerations to make in order to maximize on eco-friendly cleaning solutions around your home, include them in your construction plans.
4. Get Energy-Efficient Appliances
No home is complete without a set of appliances, so make sure to get energy-efficient ones for your home. Doing this will let you and your family enjoy the benefits of living in the modern age, where convenience is the aim of every accessory around the house. Shop for appliances with a good energy star rating so that you start on the right footing, and you won’t have to make costly upgrades in the future while looking for a way to dispose of appliances you don’t want any more. It will be better to leave room for a certain appliance until you can afford to get it rather than buy a cheaper but less efficient one, so make the right call.
5. Leave Space for a Compost Area
Finally, when planning out your garden and backyard, make sure to leave some room for a compost area. You can toss your compostable trash there and avoid mixing it up with inorganic trash. There will not only be less material headed for the landfill, but there will also be an easy and effective method for you to fertilize any plants you grow naturally. The fact that eight out of 10 households in America take part in different types of gardening activities, both outdoors and indoors, should show you the importance of making this consideration. Allow for a compost area even if you don’t see the likelihood of yourself using it, because you never know if someone in your family will want to do so. In this case, it would be better to have the space and provisions than not to.
Follow these tips to make your home greener than the average home, and you will set a great example for both friends and family!
