People around the world are becoming more and more eco-aware but few think that the battle for our planet is fought in our very homes. An average household uses a lot of electricity and water, in addition to creating a bunch of waste, so being able to control these factors is important. An environmentally-friendly person cannot afford to live in a home that wastes energy and resources of Mother Earth. There are ways in which your house can be converted into an eco-friendly structure and here are just some of them to get you started. The phrase “think globally, act locally,” has reached your doorstep!
1. Home Compost
An alternative to decreasing the amount of household waste is to reuse it. If you thought that organic waste cannot find a second purpose, you were wrong. If you own a garden, you can designate one of its corners for creating home compost.
Food leftovers and fallen leaves can be placed inside the compost bin to create a fertile ground that you can use in gardening or even redistribute to your family, friends and, neighbours. By home composting, you will stop wasting food, which is a global problem, especially in so-called First World Countries.
2. Roof Solar Panels
This really depends on the location where you live but the Sun shines across the globe, so why not harness its energy, especially if you in Australia, for example. Instead of futilely heating our roof and attic, sunlight can be converted into power with the help of solar panels that are installed onto the slated roof of your house.
This is a huge investment that will take decades to pay itself off but after that time you will basically have free energy which is priceless in itself. Not only will you do away with the electricity bill but every single kilowatt you generate will be 100% renewable, clean energy.
3. Waste Management
When it comes to other types of waste, such as recyclables, they can be collected in specials bins and later on transported to nearby recycling facilities. Some neighbourhoods already have a waste disposal system in place, while in big cities like Sydney, homeowners themselves have to drive the trash away.
Also, try not to accumulate too much waste in your attic or in the basement. Instead of hoarding all that junk, simply hire a skip bin, like the ones Skip Bin Hire Australia rents, and have a truck take everything to the dump in one go. That will be the fastest and the most eco-friendly clean-up in your life!
4. Energy-Saving Lighting
An important segment of protecting our planet is saving energy. Everything we use, including the walls of the house, required a certain amount of energy to be made. That is why it is important to tackle energy wasting even in seemingly trivial cases, such as replacing the light bulbs.
Incandescent light bulbs use most of the power they receive from the home grid to warm up themselves and only 5% to light the room. The proportion is reversed in the case of energy efficient light bulbs which produce far more light than warmth. In addition, they save energy and lower your utility bill at the end of the month. Who says you can’t be eco-friendly and thrifty at the same time.
5. Natural Cleaning Products
Nothing pollutes our rivers and destroys nature as harmful industrially produced chemicals. Large factories have a lot of toxic waste which is mostly to blame for polluting the environment but your home is also a polluter, in case you didn’t know that. Of course, the extent of the pollution is far lesser but you still release toxins into nature.
The most detrimental part of your house is the cleaning cabinet that contains various chemicals that eventually find their way into the ground and pollute your garden where children like to play. That is why you should replace stock produced cleaning chemicals with homemade organic cleaning solutions. Once you start making your own “potions”, you will be amazed by the cleaning power of vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, and citric acid. Recipes with tutorials for home cleaning products are available online.
6. Good Insulation
Going back to the issue of saving energy, when it comes to heat, the best way to preserve it is to insulate the walls of your house. By doing this, the temperature can be set lower on the thermostat, because you won’t lose energy through faulty windows or a hollow roof. In fact, wall openings, such as doors and windows; the roof, and the floor should especially be sealed, so as not to let heat escape the house.
Conclusion
As you have seen, creating an eco-friendly home is easier than you initially thought. If you introduce order and planning in your daily home routines, your house can be transformed into a real eco-hub.
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