Making Your Home a Little Greener

Hello World!  Welcome Friends! Most of us could do a little more for the environment. While you might be aware of the basics, such as reusing shopping bags, turning down the heat, and sealing draughts, there is much more you can do when making your home a little greener. Home efficiency plays a significant role, and keeping your heat in, while reducing waste helps minimize your contribution to landfill. Knowing how to calculate carbon footprint is a significant step in the fight for climate change. It will give you an idea of how you can make a difference by just amending how you do everyday things.

Additionally, there are changes you can make to your home using modern technology. Solar panels help reduce your energy bills while smart technologies can learn your routine to switch appliances on and off as needed. Then there’s changing the way you treat food. Buying only what you need and using seasonal foods helps reduce waste and supports the local economy.

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Upgrade Your Windows

Home efficiency is among the biggest concerns when it comes to waste. Energy waste is a major problem right now, and with prices increasing all the time, you want to reduce this as much as you can. For example, you can seal wall cracks, use draught excluders and manage your thermostats. But most heat is lost through windows and doors. Therefore, you may need to upgrade outdated panes with double-glazed uPVC products. Companies like Hartford Window services offer excellent products that will not only save money but last a lifetime as well.

Pre-Sort Garbage

Everything that can’t be recycled goes to the landfill. But you can use some garbage, like food, to make biofuels. However, many of the things you throw away can’t be processed unless processors know what they are. Sorting your garbage will help processing plants. For example, a glass bottle in your trash will end up in a landfill, so it contributes to the issue. After collection, it will be processed for recycling by placing it in the right bin. In some places, such as the UK, you can be fined for not presorting your garbage into necessary containers.

Reduce Food Waste

In addition to landfills and carbon emissions, food waste is one of the most significant contributors to landfills. There’s a lot of food wasted in the UK. Over 10 billion pounds worth of food is thrown away every year. You should buy by portion and divide ingredients equally if you’re wasting food. Buying ingredients based on your weekly or monthly food menu makes this easier. In addition, you’ll save money if you make your own family meals since you won’t have to buy extra stuff you don’t need. Companies like Hello Fresh offer portioned food deliveries.

Try Seasonal Cooking

Shipping and distributing food contributes a lot to carbon emissions. This is because consumers want all kinds of food to choose from. For instance, in the winter you can eat strawberries, and in the summer you can eat Swiss chard. Food is therefore imported from other countries. Non-organic food also gets sprayed with pesticides and preservatives. Learn how to cook seasonally, and you’ll reduce food production’s harmful effects. Furthermore, buying local and organic food will reduce hazardous ingestion and support local farmers’ animal welfare.

Switch to Natural Cleaning Products

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, hygiene has never been more critical than it is right now. However, most bathroom and kitchen cleaners contain dangerous chemicals. Moreover, many of the best-known brands aren’t eco-friendly. You can buy organic hygiene products from online entrepreneurs and alternative brands, like Cheeky Panda. Now, big companies like Unilever offer eco-friendly versions of their established products. However, many still contain harmful chemicals and aren’t manufactured with organic or natural ingredients.

Reuse and Recycle

You can reuse a lot of things in your home. By reusing plastic bags, grocery shopping alone can reduce plastic usage. Also, takeaway containers work great for storing stuff in the fridge, like cheese. You could also reuse plastic bottles when you go running or hiking. You’ll also save a lot of money if you buy good-quality pots and pans because they’re reusable. They should last a lifetime if you take care of them. Reusing everyday household items is a great way to reduce your landfill contribution significantly and reduce the amounts of single-use plastics.

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Change Your Bulbs

It’s a safe bet you’ve heard of LED lighting by now unless you’ve been living under a rock. Traditional fluorescents and incandescents are inefficient and have a high carbon footprint. LEDs are a great alternative. LED recessed lighting looks good in the home and saves you a ton of energy, too. They’re also more versatile than standard lights. Dim them, control them with your phone or AI assistant, and change their colors as you like. You can also set timers and profiles on a per room basis. Plus, they use up to 90% less electricity and last much longer.

AI Homes

Smart technology is probably a familiar term. Everyone these days just uses the word smart for everything. Inanimate objects can get awareness through AI, machine learning, and reading data. You can use this data to automate things around the house. Like your smart boiler learning your routines. That way, you’ll wake up in a warm house or walk into a welcoming environment when you get home from work. So many people want smart tech that architects are including it in new homes. But you can install most easily and control them using smartphone apps.

Replace Old Appliances

Along with efficiency, replacing old white goods will save you energy and money. Appliances like your fridge, washer, and dishwasher are examples of white goods. White goods are historically energy-guzzlers. However, plenty of new models from reputable manufacturers meet modern energy and carbon standards. By switching to more recent models, you’ll reduce carbon emissions a lot. Besides that, you’ll save a lot on electricity, gas, and water. Also, older cathode ray TVs are energy hogs, and you can replace them with efficient flat screens relatively cheaply.

Reduce Dependence on Plastics

We all know that single-use plastics have devastating effects on the environment. The use of hazardous materials like food containers, drink can rings, and cloths that contain microplastics is destroying the oceans alone. In addition, plastic kills over 100,000 marine animals and over 1 million seabirds each year. Switching to more sustainable products has never been easier. Think about using glass jars for storage, paper bags or boxes for food containers, and brands that use less plastic. If you must use plastic, buy transparent plastics as these can be recycled.

Solar Panels

Anything that cuts carbon emissions, promotes sustainability, and is cost-effective will make your green home better. Sun panels, for example, have been around for decades, but people were put off by the price. However, the technology has improved dramatically over the years and is now much more affordable. Modern photovoltaics can save you 25% on your electricity bills. They’re pricey, though. But there are government programs and they add value to your house. Additionally, the initial installation cost far outweighs the savings on your bills.

Try Sustainable Materials

Renovating and remodeling are popular things to do to your home these days. Also, If you’re looking at a house, the kitchen and bathroom are the first places you will look. So, you can increase the value of your home by renovating these rooms. However, kitchens and bathrooms are typically made with outdated techniques and materials that produce a lot of CO2. This increases your carbon footprint. To reduce this, people are turning to sustainable woods like bamboo. This wood adds a modern touch to facilities with its light color and linear grain.

Click the links below for any posts you have missed:

Adopting a Rescue Dog

10 Tips for Revamping Your Home on a Budget

Benefits of Hiring Co-Working Singapore

Invest In the Best Leather Sofa

How Much Are the MBA Fees in Singapore?

Attributes of Quality Interior Design

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Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful day/night depending on where you are in the world!  Go with God and remember to be kind to one another!

Toodles,