There is the general notion that one would need to shell out huge amounts of money in order to make a home eco-friendly. On the contrary, you can adopt some simple and inexpensive approaches to make your home more eco-friendly. Here are some of those tips you can try out when starting to go green.
Learn about environmental friendly materials
The first step to making your home more eco-friendly is to learn about the basic materials items are made from as well as the environmental impact of these materials. Switch to organic and natural materials, leaving out all the synthetic ones that could have affect the surroundings. Recycled plastics, bamboo products, reclaimed wood and fair trade products are some of the materials you can opt for. Once you get to know which materials are safe and which are harmful, you can make an informed decision.
Opt for Second Hand Stores
Do not dispose old items, which are still in working condition. Rather, contribute them to second hand stores. You can also choose to buy from second hand stores rather than buying entirely new items. Chances are you may end up buying a nearly brand new item at a fraction of the cost you would pay for a new variant. So make it a point to check second hand stores first before visiting others.
Learn some DIY Skills
You can implement plenty of eco-friendly ways in your house with a few simple DIY skills. Learning to do things yourself will help you fix, recover, redecorate items to make them look brand new without spending too much in the process. Incorporating an eco-friendly approach to your DIY skills would also ensure that you get things done yourself without harming the environment in any way.
Inquire about Government Programs
In certain areas, replacing items would entitle homeowners to gain tax rebates on new energy efficient items. So check with the local governing authorities to see if you can qualify for this win-win situation. In addition to ending up with a more efficient appliance and a bigger tax break, you ensure that the environment stays free of more carbon dioxide and other harmful gases.
Choose the Right Paint
Choosing the right paint for your home can make a great difference to your eco-friendly ideas. Older paints are known to contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which keep on releasing toxic fumes into the environment even after the paint dries. Your best bet in this case would be to look out for paints with low or no VOCs, thereby keeping the surrounding air as well as the environment free of these fumes in the years to come.
Bring more plants into your home
This is one of the best ways to make your home more eco-friendly. Plants help to clean the air and can be great additions to indoor spaces. Not only would they keep the air inside your home fresh and clean, they would add the necessary green touch to your home in a subtle and yet, beautiful way. So opt to keep some plants indoors as a step to making your home more eco-friendly.
Choose the Right Light Bulbs
Traditional light bulbs are known to be hazardous for the environment in the long run. Hence, switching over to compact fluorescent light bulbs would help you reduce the impact your home has on the environment. In addition to this, compact fluorescent lights last longer and are more efficient than traditional light bulbs, thereby saving you plenty of money down the road in replacing damaged or inefficient light bulbs.
Summary:
You can adopt these simple steps to make your home eco-friendly. While they can help you get started on the right path, you would need to learn more about how you can reduce the impact on the environment and act accordingly so that your home becomes truly eco-friendly.
