Our habits as humans in the modern world are affecting our planet in a number of negative ways including polluting the air, using up natural resources, harming plants and animals. “Going green” isn’t just a trendy buzzword anymore, it’s an important movement that is helping to save our planet and reduce our impact on the environment.
You don’t have to make huge changes to make a positive green impact either. There are simple changes you can make at home in order to reduce your impact and go green.
Keep reading to learn 5 simple ways to go green at home.
1. Install Energy Efficient Appliances
Both older and newer homes can be outfitted with outdated appliances. Older appliances (like old dishwashers, washing machines, etc) are much less energy efficient than newer more eco-conscious models.
Investing in energy efficient appliances will not only save you money (up to 100 dollars in energy costs annually), but they’ll also save on power and water usage. This makes sense, right? the less power/water these appliances use, the lower your bills will be.
It’s a win-win: you’ll reduce your energy use and save money on energy bills.
2. Start Recycling and Composting
Recycling materials means less waste, less energy spent making new things, and less stuff sent to landfills. Set up a recycle bin in your kitchen to make it quick and easy for you and your family to recycle instead of throwing things away.
While recycling is common, you might not have heard of composting. Composting is basically recycling for organic materials (food waste, leaves, etc). Food waste produces methane (a greenhouse gas) when in landfills, which is bad for the environment.
Composting turns food waste into a usable material that can become a natural fertilizer and reduce the amount of methane released into the air.
3. Programmable Thermostats
Another one of the more modern ways to go green at home is programmable thermostats. These keep your home at particular temperatures to avoid wasting power and energy heating and cooling your home improperly.
These thermostats can reduce your energy bills (aka your energy usage) up to 30%.
4. Reduce Water Use
The average person uses 100 gallons of water in a single day. Reduce this amount by doing some of the following:
- Buy energy efficient appliances (washing machine, dishwasher, etc)
- Properly irrigate outside
- Reduce sprinkler usage
- Install new/efficient shower heads
Even just doing one of these things can save gallons of water per day.
5. Consider Green Design Options
If you really want to make a large impact going green at home, consider buying or designing a truly green home. What does it mean to design a green home? These homes are designed to be both energy and resource efficient in how they’re constructed, built, and furnished.
5 Easy Ways to Go Green at Home: Wrapping Up
These 5 ways to go green at home are quick and easy and they can all make a huge impact on the environment. We’ve only got one planet Earth, so why not do everything we can to save it?
Check out our other home articles for everything from design ideas to home buying info.
