How To Invest In A Greener Home Life

Our planet’s health and wellbeing is making weekly headlines around the world right now, as attention is being focused on global warming, pollution, and the desperate need for humans to stop talking about making a change and actually do it. But where do you even start? If you’re wanting to do your part and make some positive changes around your home but need a little guidance, here are a few suggestions.

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Learn How To Properly Recycle

Recycling is a great way to cut back on general waste, but many people make mistakes when sorting their recyclables that can actually lead to them being trashed instead. Different cities may have different rules and regulations on specific recycled goods, but information on how your hometown handles everything is an easy topic to search online. Many cities will have this information available on local government websites, and may even provide you with containers to sort your recyclables with at home.

Stock Up On Eco-Friendly Products

These days more and more companies are making sure to indicate if their products are better for the environment than other mass-produced options may be. If you take the time to search for eco-friendly products like natural soaps, natural cleaning products, and reusable items instead of easily disposable ones, you can consider your home that much greener. Things like natural cleaning products can often also be better for your home drainage systems, so you may be doing yourself (and your plumber) a favor as well. Also make sure to do you part by purchasing some environmentally friendly reusable items like canvas shopping bags, travel coffee mugs, and water bottles. Often, coffee shops will even give you a discount on your morning cuppa joe if you bring your own container! 

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Switch to Energy-Saving Resources

There are lots of ways you can conserve general energy usage around your house. Start small, with your light bulbs! There are LOTS of different kinds of energy-saving bulbs available, for all sizes and fittings, and what you save on power, you don’t lose in quality or brightness. There are also ways to conserve your daily water usage, like installing water flow regulators on your showers or water saving devices in your toilet cisterns. Also have a look into your local energy providers to find out if there may be a greener option for you to switch to, and possibly even save some money by doing so.

Get Into Gardening

Nothing quite makes you feel like you’re giving back to Mother Earth like literally digging your hands into some earth and growing something! Start your own backyard garden for home grown vegetables, or plant a few pots of herbs on your kitchen windowsill. In addition to saving you a little money here and there on your grocery bill, food does seem to magically taste better when you grow it yourself! Help out the local bee population (and thus, all kinds of plants that benefit from their pollination) by planting some bee-friendly flowers around your house. Add a little green inside the home too, by tending to some air-purifying house plants. 

Buy Local

Support your local farmers markets, restaurants, and other independent food sources around your city. Doing your part to sustain local businesses does a great deal for the economy, and ensures that you know exactly where your food is coming from, and that it has been ethically sourced.  If you eat meat, there is also a lot of research that suggests that cutting back on your general meat consumption is much better for the environment, and may even be better for your health. 

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The Power of Solar Panels

Affordable renewable energy is much more accessible than it used to be. If you’d like to make a big change to your home that could also make a big difference in your power bills, do some research on solar panels. It may be more expensive than just switching out your light bulbs, but don’t worry! You may be able to get home improvement loan, a loan from your bank, or even a so called SMS loan to help you get started. If you own your house, or have permission to install things like solar panels, it can be a fabulous investment and well worth the effort for a long-term housing situation.

Insulate Your House

Along the same lines as looking into solar panels, improving your home’s insulation is a great investment for long-term energy savings. Replacing older windows with double-glazing, and ensuring that your walls are properly insulated with something like injectable foam can really cut down on the amount of energy needed to heat and cool your house throughout the year.

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These tips might just be the tip of the iceberg that is global conservation, but every little effort helps! Taking these steps in your own home can have a positive impact on your life, your neighborhood, and in the grander scheme of things, your planet.