Making your home into a safe space can make a real difference to your mood. When you know you’re coming back from a long day of work to a cozy hideaway, the relaxation is imminent as soon as you step through the door.
But wouldn’t you feel even better about coming home if you knew that your house was an eco-friendly haven? The environment is becoming more and more important to look after and doing your bit by having an eco-friendly home can make all the difference.
Even making your outhouse or storage facility more environmentally friendly can add to the overall reduction of your personal carbon footprint.
How to make your home more eco-friendly
An eco-friendly home doesn’t necessarily need to be purpose built with all the latest technology. There are plenty of things you can do to enhance your home’s ability to operate at an optimum level whilst using as little energy and resources as possible.
While it would be ideal for everyone to live in a home that utilizes as little resources as possible, this is not a realistic expectation. But if we all make the necessary small changes, the planet will thank us in the long run.
There are a few things you can do to make your home eco-friendlier:
- Harvest your own rainwater
Water is one of our most important resources and as we witness our climate changing, it’s imperative to make sure we have enough at the right times. Collecting rainwater can save you money as it limits how often you’re using water you have to pay for.
Not only can it save you money, but it also makes you more aware of how much you’re using. Only using the water you need is beneficial for your wallet and the planet.
Most states will encourage people to harvest their own rainwater, however, there are a handful of states where it isn’t allowed. Make sure you check harvesting rainwater is legal in your state before you implement any changes.
- Using renewable energy sources
Investing in solar panels or other forms of renewable energy is one of the best ways you can help the planet. They do often incur an initial cost to get everything set up however, once that’s all done, it’ll save you money as well.
Minimizing the amount of energy, we use from fossil fuels will dramatically reduce the harm made to the planet. And when we have a natural resource of energy right there in front of us, we should make the most of it.
Solar energy is only going to become more popular and more efficient so why not start now?
- Get some energy efficient light bulbs
This might seem like a very small change – but it’s very effective. Energy efficient light bulbs have been around for a good long while now, but the extent of their effectiveness is only just starting to become noticed. They use a lot less electricity and also need to be changed more infrequently than standard bulbs. This saves you money twice over as well as benefitting the planet.
- Ensure your home is well insulated
There are many ways in which cold air can come in and hot air can escape in the home. Making sure your windows are double glazed is one of the best ways you can make sure that your home is properly insulated. This will stop the cold air entering and the hot air escaping. This means less wasted energy and less money spent on your energy bill.
Your roof and doorframes should be the next port of call as they can also unnecessarily let out heat. It’s one of the best ways you can save money and the planet.
Having an eco-friendly home isn’t as big of a chore as you might first expect. And once your home is well insulated, why not make a start on your storage facilities too?
