How to Make Your Home More Eco-Friendly
When you are a parent, it is not always easy being green. Even though you know you should be living a life that is as environmentally friendly as possible, parenting already consumes so much of your time and energy—you do not want to spend even more of it making your home eco-friendly. So here is a list of tips and swaps to help you make your home more eco-friendly, as simply as possible.
Swap Out Your Toilet Paper
Roughly 27,000 trees are literally flushed down the toilet every single day. This is an almost unimaginable number, and one that almost everybody is contributing to. So why not switch out your favorite toilet paper for a brand that uses recycled paper? This is such an easy change to make and it comes with an added bonus that recycled TP is often cheaper than other options, meaning you can save money while you clear your conscience.
Stop Using the Dryer
Throwing your clothes in the dryer is obviously the fastest way to get them to dry, but it is far from the greenest option. By air-drying your clothes instead, you could reduce your household’s carbon footprint by 2,400 pounds a year. Again, this could save you money as some households pay upwards of $100 per year just for the electricity needed to run their dryer. So step away from the dryer and hang your clothes out on a washing line instead – if you have to use the dryer at least make sure you are filling it properly!
Invest in New Windows
If you have old windows at your house, chances are they are letting out huge amounts of hot air in winter and cool air in summer. Estimates suggest that poor-quality windows cause up to 30% of home heating and cooling energy use, so replacing yours with an eco-friendly or double-glazed option (or even triple-glazed) is a great way to cut down on emissions. Try to find a company that uses environmentally friendly FSC-certified timber for its frames, such as timberwindows-direct.co.uk, as timber production requires 24 times less energy than the more frequently used steel.
Get a Compost Bin
By composting as much food waste as you can, you will not only be reducing the amount of garbage you send to landfill, you will also be creating an amazing fertilizer. If you do not grow plants and still want to compost, 150 communities in the US now offer curb-side compost collection, but if you do not live in one of these areas, there are many places that will accept compost donations. Try reaching out to a local school to see if they need any or look for a local community garden or farm to donate to.
Buy Secondhand Homeware
Buying secondhand is an amazing way to be greener as it is a way of re-using – meaning that items are kept out of landfill and fewer new products are built. As a parent, you may occasionally already buy secondhand clothes and toys for your kids, but why not branch out? Make it a house rule that you will only buy secondhand or recycled furniture and homeware. With so many websites out there offering secondhand goods, it is easier than you think to find something you will love.
With these energy-saving solutions, you can rest assured that you are playing your part in reducing emissions and living an eco-friendly life at home.
