One of the best and effective ways to be more sustainable is to make your home more water and energy efficient. It might sound like a big task but becoming more eco-friendly is way easier than it might seem.
I have rounded up some ways to best make your home as sustainable as possible. I genuinely hope these small suggestions become conventional in each home soon as we all need to make changes to save the world around us.
The kitchen.
Use natural cleaning products.
Not only are they environmentally friendly, but they are cheaper and have fewer chemicals compared to your average disinfectant. Many detergents and disinfectants have many harsh chemicals which unfortunately end up in our waterways and soil.
Natural and eco-friendly products are more biodegradable, have less of an impact on our environment and they don’t disrupt the natural balance of our eco system.
AER zero waste, natural, chemical free Kitchen and Bathroom cleaner is one of our favourite swap alternatives.
The living room.
Install double glazed windows.
Double glazed windows come with loads of advantages but the main one is saving money on energy costs. This eco-friendly upgrade reduces energy usage by 24% during the winter and up to 18% in the summer.
Also, they capture natural heat and store it in the winter, so you won’t have to turn on your central heating as much. Less energy is used to heat up a cold room which results in lower energy bills.
The bedroom.
Buy sustainable or natural bed linen.
The fabrics used for most mattresses and bed sets are often full of chemical toxins and grown with pesticides from the fibres which aren’t good for our health or the environment.
Buying sheets made from organic materials like Cotton, Linen, Tencel and Hemp are the top fabrics to look out for to help the environment and your health. Also, these fabrics are recyclable, biodegradable, and chemical free.
The Bathroom.
Installing flow regulators.
Easy to put in and water efficient, these water saving tap inserts limit splashing and reduce the water flow to five litres per minute.
Putting these in your showers and taps can save the average household £36 a year.
These regulators make sure that it releases water at an eco-friendlier rate of eight litres per minute.
The Office.
Going paperless
Reducing the amount of paper used helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Besides paper, the usage of ink cartridges and printers are just as harmful to the environment.
Printers and ink could contain harmful chemicals that if exposed to water and soil can contribute to ecological damage. Also, it is cheaper and more efficient.
The Garden
Composting.
Composting is environmentally friendly and is a practical way of creating organic fertilizer and adds nutrients to the soil which goes back into our eco-system.
By adding any leftover cooked or raw food scraps such as fruit and vegetable peelings, they create bacteria, fungi and decompose organic material. Another great advantage is that it reduces landfill waste.
