Easy ways to go green at home
Living a more eco-friendly life doesn’t need to be an impossible challenge; by choosing a few small and simple areas to focus on you can start to form new habits that make a big impact over time.
From monitoring your electronic use to finding a more efficient way to recycle, there’s plenty of easy and cost-efficient ways to go green at home. Here are a few of our favourites:
– Start a compost. Redirecting your food waste to a compost helps reduce what goes to the landfill and creates an environmentally friendly end product – soil – that’s also rich in nutrients.
– Wash in cold water. Your washing machine uses a lot of energy just to heat the water. Skip to cold and you will save money, reduce your energy output and bring down your household carbon emissions in a year.
– Cut down on meat. Factory farming is responsible for huge CO2 emissions. Bringing a single pound of red meat to the table requires an estimated 2000-2500 gallons of water, so by saying no to meat more often you can help reduce your ecological footprint.
– Use canvas. Disposable plastic bags have a huge impact on wildlife and are clogging the world’s oceans. Do your part by saying no to plastic bags whenever possible and opting for a reusable canvas bag instead.
– Skip paper towel. Though handy in the kitchen, discarded paper towels create a lot of waste; 254 million tons each year, in fact, and not to mention the trees cut down to replace the demand. Try making a habit of reusable cloths instead.
– Park your car. Challenge yourself to think about how you use your car. Carpool to work, walk, cycle or choose public transport for journeys shorter than 2 miles, and
– Change your bulbs. Next time you need to change a lightbulb, opt for a compact fluorescent bulb. They last longer, waste less energy and are much cheaper over time.
– Only water down the drain. Pouring food, cleaning products and other chemicals or foreign substances down the drain is a huge source of pollution and can contaminate our water. Likewise, materials like paper towels and wet wipes cause a huge strain and clog up sewer systems, so stick to toilet paper instead.
– Go paperless. Opt out of direct mail from your favourite retailers and pay your bills online instead. Not only will this cut down on the load your mailman has to carry, but can help save trees as well.
– Turn the thermostat down. Turning the heating down even slightly can make a difference without sacrificing your quality of life. Put your heating on a timer and challenge yourself to make use of slippers, a cosy jumper or a hot water bottle instead.
What are your tip tips for going green at home?
Rachel - Silversurfers Assistant Editor
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