Most of us are aware that we need to be more eco-conscious in our day-to-day living. But knowing something and doing it are two different things. We could scroll through our Facebook feeds and feel bad when we see posts about turtles choking on plastic straws, but how many of us take that emotion and use it to motivate ourselves to become better at saving the environment?
No one is asking you to be the next Greta Thunberg. Instead, Greta Thunberg and others like her are asking you to take an active role in the climate change movement. And often, all it takes are little changes you can start at home.
The Wonders of Composting
Composting is one of the most straightforward and most inexpensive ways you can get started on your sustainable living journey. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, twenty-eight percent of what we throw away is comprised of food and yard waste. It might seem like a small number now, but if you factor in the millions of households in the US that practice this, then it becomes a big deal.
Composting bins can be bought cheaply at any hardware or DIY store. All you have to do is put any leftover food or food scraps into a container and let it develop over time. When it’s ready, you can use it as an organic fertilizer for your garden.
Cook Smart
While we’re in the kitchen, let’s talk about your cooking habits. Are you the type of home cook that opens and closes the oven door to check on your food? It might not seem like much, but if you stop this habit, you’d be surprised by how much faster it’ll take your oven to cook your food and the amount of energy you’ll save.
Change Your Light Bulbs
This step is something you could do for every room in the house. There are several brands of energy-efficient light bulbs out in the market today, so you would indeed find one that suits your personal preference. If you still believe that energy-efficient bulbs don’t give off enough light, or take too much time in lighting up the whole room, you’d be happy to know that technological advancements now make them just as effective traditional bulbs.
Install Proper Insulation and Underfloor Heating
When you start assessing what your home needs to be more eco-friendly, make sure you look at your heating and insulation. We cannot stress enough how much energy is wasted when one’s home is improperly insulated. The worse your insulation problems are, the more power is needed to heat up or cool your home. Start your assessments with the walls and the roof of your house and make necessary adjustments along the way.
Invest in Solar Energy
When you’re ready to make more drastic changes to your energy usage, consider the power of solar energy. You might have to shell out a large sum of money to have solar panels professionally installed, but many solar energy users report that the savings they have made in the long run made it all worth it. As your lifestyle becomes more environmentally friendly, you might even be lucky enough to have the energy to go off-grid and enjoy an electricity-bill free existence.
With these ideas in mind, you can create a more sustainable and eco-friendly place, making your home and life helpful to the environment.
