Everyone loves the idea of making their home more eco-friendly for many different reasons. A more eco-friendly lifestyle and home mean saving money and lessening your eco-footprint. It also means more creativity in the way you live and how you decorate. The good news is, there are several ideas to make your home more eco-friendly.
It might sound daunting, but eco-sizing your home is easier than you’d think! Follow these easy ideas to make your home and life more eco-friendly and sustainable!
1. Don’t Budge from your Budget
Once you’ve determined how much you can afford to spend on your new project (or any project), don’t budge from your budget, no matter how much you might be tempted. Ultimately, we want to build a less reliant lifestyle on money, and things and more focused on the intangible elements of living a good and healthy life.
2. Buy Reclaimed
Buying reclaimed furniture or using reclaimed materials for home upgrades is a great way to give your home some unique character, save money and reduce the eco-footprint of your home.
Find a local Goodwill or Habitat for Humanity Homestore, where you can get lightly used furniture and home goods, for half the cost, with the profits going to benefit those in your community.
3. Wash your Clothes in Cold Water
Washing your clothes in hot water takes time and energy, all for minimal payoff. Washing clothing in cool water requires less energy for your wash cycle and can work wonders at getting out stains that haven’t been set in yet.
4. Think Energy-efficient
When updating your home, you can always go more eco-friendly by looking into EnergyStar appliances. These appliances are reliable and proven to reduce the cost of ownership while using less energy in your home.
Energy-efficient appliances are found everywhere and for almost every price point. Like the LP furnace, a brand trusted to provide energy-efficient heating for years.
5. Get a Recycling Bin and a Compost Bin
Recycle materials instead of throwing them away, and repurpose leftover food by creating a compost bin. Recycling is suitable for your home and the environment. It saves you money when you can repurpose old containers or materials around the house.
You can even use recycled materials from around the house for fun family art projects. Compost bins are great for creating your own fertilizer, saving you money on pricy gardening supplies and minerals.
6. Shop Around for Supplies
What’s better than instant gratification? Getting what you need at a lower price! Shop around for lower-cost or more eco-friendly or recycled materials when updating your home. Shop for seasonal deals, and watch for sales that might come up unexpectedly.
Many local stores can offer more significant discounts for those willing to commit a bit of time to come and see their inventory or do a “near me” Google search for sales and deals in your area that don’t require shipping.
7. DIY what You Can
Doing it yourself will help you save money, repurpose or reuse things around your home, and allows you to create a custom piece of art or functional furniture for your eco-friendly home. For example, some people like to repaint old furniture for a more sleek and modern look at a fraction of the cost.
Finally, putting in the work to update your home and living space will give you an immense sense of well-being and pride in your career, not to mention the exercise you will get while completing the project.
8. Decorate your House with Plants
Plants are living art and can be placed around your home to add life and a bit of natural air filtration to a room. Plants add a unique look to any room and life and color to every space.
Carefully choose plants that will thrive indoors, or start your own outdoor garden using your compost bin as fertilizer. The more plants and natural decorations you keep around the house, the less you will come to rely on big-box, mass-produced decorations for your home.
Who knew that more eco-friendly living is also a catalyst for a more unique and natural-looking home! Taking that step toward a more eco-friendly home is a great way to do something good for the earth and show your family and friends that you care about our collective future.
