Making the house eco-friendlier is a trend now! It helps protect your environment while you’ll save a lot on power and water bills. Without further ado, here are 15 tips to make your home more green:
Use Solar Energy
For example, it helps reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and water while limiting air pollution for slower climate change. Solar energy also decreases the carbon footprint of your house as well. The biggest bonus is that your house value might be up with the purchase of a home solar system.
While you can hire professionals to install one in your house, it’s easy to do it on your own. Everything is all available on the internet and doesn’t cost too much.
Choose Energy Star Appliances
If your living area doesn’t have an ideal climate for solar system installation, choosing ENERGY STAR appliances is a wonderful alternative.
In comparison to non-energy efficient equivalents, these appliances consume 10% to 50% less electricity each year.
If calculated according to the lifetime of the appliance (which averagely lasts somewhere between 10 and 20 years), the ENERGY STAR rated models will save you up to nearly $200, according to EPA.
Stop Buying Plastic Water Bottles
Everyone needs 1.5 to 2 liters/day for hydration. Supposed that you used one 1.5-liter water bottle per day, how many ones were thrown away each year? 365 bottles that end up in the landfills!
A scary fact is that there are approximately 1 million plastic bottles bought and utilized every minute across the globe. Stop buying plastic water bottles, and use a water filter, please!
Your home will immediately become greener, whether you choose to use a pitcher filter, a faucet, an under-the-sink, or a whole house.
By this alternative solution, it helps you save not only money but also time. Furthermore, it cuts off a huge amount of single-use plastic.
For take-away water/coffee/tea, use a reusable bottle or a glass one. It helps a lot!
Use Fewer Disposables
Lots of people love to use disposable items (like shopping bags, razors, wipes, plastic cups, and face masks) because they’re convenient and require little to no cleaning. However, this habit causes huge damage to nature.
To fix this:
- Use cloth napkins instead of paper
- Repurpose your old clothes or towels to clean your kitchen, instead of using wipes or paper
- Try using a menstrual cup for your monthly period instead of using sanitary napkins
- Use cloth diapers for your baby instead of single-use ones
Use Natural Light
During daylight, instead of all the lights in your house, open some windows and let the natural sunlight in. This helps for indoor home air ventilation and saves a lot of electricity cost on lighting.
Build A Simple Garden
Planting an additional tree is a nice contributor to protecting the environment. You can:
- Build a home landscape if you have an empty yard
- Decorate your house with favorite plants and flowers
- Put some plant pots on your desk
Collect Rainwater For Watering Your Plants
Instead of using sprinklers to water your garden, which is so water-wasting, why not take advantage of the rainwater? One night of rain releases 100-300 gallons of water on one’s house roof, collecting them to use later isn’t a bad idea.
Make Natural Compost
If you have more time, try making natural compost instead of buying bags from plant stores. It is very easy to do, and all the ingredients are from your trash.
Believe it or not, over 50% of your trash is composed of food scrap. Reuse them and you’ll save hundreds of dollars on buying fertilizers.
Wash Clothes In Cold Water
By washing your clothes in cold water, you are saving up to 90% of energy, according to Energy Star. Not to say that your clothes will last longer if washed by cold water instead of hot water.
Use Your Kitchen Appliances Wisely
Some of your habits might be causing harm to the environment.
For example, using the oven to make toast instead of investing in a toaster, supposed that you are taking the maximum advantage of available appliances in your kitchen. But that’s not!
Some other good habits to follow are:
- When using an oven for baking, make sure to check if its door is closed tightly for heat loss prevention.
- Learn to store foods properly for the fewest food waste
- Use glass mason jars to store foods
- Use a drip coffee maker instead of the pod one which requires using plastic capsules
Choose Fast Renewable Material For Your Flooring
If it’s time for replacing your house floor, choose from a quickly renewable resource, such as bamboo.
Classified as grass, bamboo takes only 5 years to reach full maturity while hardwoods need at least 20. Within 24 hours, bamboo can grow up to 47”, and it requires pesticides, fertilization, or irrigation.
When it is harvested, the roots are left intact so it needs no replanting, which is a big bonus. Bamboo is also known for durability as it resists moisture and insects brilliantly.
Assemble Low-Flow Toilets And Showerhead
When it’s the right time for showerhead or toilet replacement, switch to the low-flow.
According to EPA, low-flow showerheads help save up to 17% indoor water use for showering than the traditional while a water-efficient toilet uses 30% less. A tip to help you quickly identify a water-efficient product is looking for a WaterSense label.
Choose The Right Water Heater
Traditional water heaters are powered by gas to heat up to 70 gallons of water, they require a tank to contain hot water.
Install An Attic Fan 
If you want to go greener, there are solar-powered models these days.
Check If Your Faucets And Toilets Are Leaked
Every day, 10% of homes that have leaks might waste 90+ gallons of water, and this number could go up to 10,000 gallons each year, according to EPA.
Conclusion
Above are our 15 tips to make your home more green that cost little to no fee. They even help you save more energy, water, and money while the environment is protected better. Together, let’s save the globe!
