These days, it is becoming more and more important for individual people to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Fortunately, there are many ways in which we can do this. One of the biggest hurdles that tend to get people early on is the idea that you necessarily need a lot of money or time to make the required changes. However, although some solutions are particularly more difficult to manifest, it is also true that there are a huge number of smaller, simpler steps we can each take to reduce our carbon footprint and live greener lives. Doing so will mean a more generous society and a safer planet for future generations, and is well worth the small efforts it takes. Let’s take a look now at some of the best ways to make your home a little greener.
Change Your Lighting
If you are looking for a small way to make a big cumulative change, it doesn’t come much easier than this. If you are still sporting the old style light bulb anywhere in your home, you might want to think about switching it up. Energy-saving light bulbs are no more expensive to buy now, and they are much more efficient in the long-term. If you use an energy-saving bulb in every room, you will be making a huge difference to your home and the planet. You don’t even need to make this change now if you don’t want to – you can simply replace your bulbs when they run out with energy-saving ones, and you’re away. What’s more, because of the way these bulbs adapt to the light level, you will find that you are paying less on your electricity bill each quarter as well. Not bad.
Brush Your Teeth Consciously
One of the most important aspects to living a greener life is ensuring that you use as little water as possible. Looked at in the top-down, macro sense, this can seem like an overwhelming task – but once again, it really just comes down to a few simple changes which we can all adopt. A good example which is always worth noting is to switch the water off when you are brushing your teeth. If you leave it on while brushing, you are wasting a huge amount of water twice a day, and that is rather needless. Instead, remember to turn it off every time. If you think you need it, putting a sign above the sink to that effect will help remind you – and those you live with – to do so. Again, as with most energy-saving tips, you will also save money this way, especially if you are metered in your water usage.
Switch Up The Energy Source
For a slightly more permanent change, but still one which you can do fairly easily, you might want to think about changing the way you actually power your home. A few years ago, the idea of using solar power to power an entire home seemed to many people to be absurd or expensive and wasteful. For people in cooler climates, there was even a concern about whether solar power would even be effective. To be clear: solar power works well regardless of how cloudy or clear the sky is in your local climate. What’s more, you might be surprised at how inexpensive it is to install these days – and there is the added bonus that, in most cases, solar will soon pay for itself, meaning that before long you might even be in a position to sell back to the grid. If you look at SolarCity customer stories and reviews you can see time and again that installing solar is a great way to go for just about anyone. It is one of the best things you can do for the planet, and your wallet.
Avoid Bottled Water
For some, the very notion of bottled water is anathema to living in a greener world. There is certainly something to be said for this point of view. After all, buying bottled water when you have it running freely from your time is absurdly wasteful, and it is not even necessary to do so. Bottled water is so wasteful for a number of reasons. First of all, it has usually had to travel many miles to reach you, which already makes it a far less sensible choice than just going to the tap. Sometimes, there are even air miles involved, further adding to the pollution of the planet. It is also true that the plastic used for the bottle is not doing the planet any good, so reducing your bottled water usage is worthwhile just for that reason alone.
