Making your home eco friendly

Making your home eco friendly can be fun and easy. Most importantly, it doesn’t have to cost a dime! Many eco friendly strategies, such as converting to solar or wind power, are impractical or impossible for most people. There are still plenty of small things that you can do, however, that are will make a big difference over time.

Basically, it’s all about habits. Small changes in everyday behaviors will have an enormous impact on how eco friendly your home becomes. Developing a habit takes about 21 days so commit to doing things a little differently over the next month. Choose just one or two areas on which to focus and, once those habits are set, move on to another area.

Eco Friendly Habits

Take a cloth bag every time you go shopping – Plastic and paper bags waste a tremendous amount of resources and clog landfills. Re-purpose a tote bag that you already have or get one from a local thrift store.

Use natural, homemade cleaning products – Baking soda and vinegar, either alone or together, are safe and effective for a variety of home cleaning needs. Search the Internet for non-toxic, homemade cleaner recipes.

Cut down on waste – Buy items in bulk or with minimal packaging. Don’t bring anything into the home without assessing its useful life and whether you really need it. Creatively re-purpose or recycle as many items as possible. Make sure to compost food waste and yard trimmings.

Conserve water –Turn off the faucet when bushing teeth or shaving. If possible, install low flow showerheads and faucet aerators. Place a gallon milk jug full of water inside your toilet tank. An adequate flush depends more on the fall of the water than the quantity. Displacement within the tank effectively reduces the water used for every flush. If a gallon jug is too big, try the half-gallon size instead.

Conserve electricity – Turn off the lights when leaving a room. Turn off and unplug computers, printers, televisions and other electronics when not in use. To make this task easier, plug these items into power strips and use the switch to turn them all off at once. Wash clothing in cold water and line dry. Rinse dishes under slowly running cold water if washing by hand and air-dry if using a dishwasher.

Switch to cloth napkins – Paper napkins waste valuable resources. Make your own from cloth or buy them inexpensively at a local thrift store.

Save on heating and cooling – Adjust your thermostat. Just a few degrees cooler in the winter and warmer in the summer can make a huge difference. Turn the system off when nobody is home. Change furnace filters monthly or as recommended. Use ceiling or portable fans to circulate air, reducing the need for additional heating and cooling.

These are just a few ideas to get you started. Be on the lookout for other ways to make your home more eco friendly!


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