In an age where sustainability is becoming a more pervasive way of life, people are looking closely at the products they buy and also how they consume. In doing so, they’re attempting to change their lifestyles so that they can contribute positively to the sustainability movement. Your home is a place where you’re likely to consume a significant amount of food, products, and energy as well as produce waste in the process. Being more conscious about the things you do on a daily basis could help positively contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change, landfills, and pollution. With that being said, here are tips on how you can create a more sustainable home.
How to Create More Sustainable Home
Buy Sustainable Furniture
In your bid to create a more sustainable home, start by buying sustainable furniture. This means looking at the materials used to make the furniture as well as being sure they’re made in an environmentally friendly way. How the furniture has been transported can also fall under the umbrella of sustainability.
In terms of the characteristics of sustainable furniture, pay attention to functionality, comfort, and also ease of use. If you can find pieces that are multifunctional, this would also be helpful as you’ll need less furniture and save space in the process.
Use Less Water
As you likely know, water is one of the most important natural resources there is. Less than 1% of the world’s water is freshwater and readily available to be consumed. Having said that, when you waste it, you leave businesses, farms, and communities vulnerable to scarcity. Below are a few tips on how you can save water at home
Turn off Faucets: It’s so easy to fall into the habit of leaving water running while you handle domestics. A running tap can pump between 6-12 liters every minute, which is a lot of water to waste. Instead, use a bowl to wash up and make a conscious effort to only use what you need.
Check Your Plumbing for Leaks: To help conserve water, make sure that you don’t have any leaks at home. You can do this by getting regular plumbing checks done to see if there are any leaks. If you find that there are, it would be good to have a professional come in and fix the problem. Search for “handyman near me” in your search engine and compare services and costs before choosing.
Use a Dishwasher: In case you didn’t know, an efficient dishwasher will consume less water than washing dishes by hand. If you don’t have one already, buy one so that you can save water and the time it would take to handwash dishes.
Add Indoor Plants
Most people enjoy the outdoors, so why not bring it inside? This can be done by adding plants to different parts of your home. Not only does this make a lush décor idea, but more importantly, it helps to purify the air in your household. You’re going to have to take time out to read up on different plants, so you know which are best for indoors. Some require low maintenance, while others demand a significant amount of attention. The parlor palm and spider plant happen to be ideal for inside of the house.
Use Natural Cleaning Products
Some products, especially ones used for cleaning, can be harmful to the environment. Specific ingredients that are harmful include triclosan, phosphates, Volatile Organic Compounds, and phthalates. When buying cleaning products, look at the ingredients and be sure they’re environmentally friendly. Alternatively, use natural cleaning products as many can be just as effective. Here are a couple of homemade cleaning products to try.
Distilled White Vinegar: If you buy vinegar, it can be used as a nontoxic disinfecting agent. This means it can be used to remove rust from a cast iron pan, remove stains from the refrigerator, or keep your glassware sparkling.
Liquid Dish Soap: If you need a multipurpose cleaning solution, try liquid dish soap. No matter what brand you get, it can be used for erasing greasy stains on clothes, cleaning hairbrushes and combs, as well as removing carpet stains.
Baking Soda: Another item that has multiple purposes is the popular baking soda. It can be used to clean plastic food containers, especially if they have stubborn stains. Also, if you want to scrub down kitchen surfaces, combine it with water. One last tip is to use baking soda to get rid of any mildew in your bathroom.
Sustainability isn’t something that can be achieved by one person. It requires a joint effort by people all over the world. Hopefully, this article has helped you realize that you can help make a difference by slightly altering your lifestyle and the way you consume.
