For most people, your home is going to be one of the biggest contributors to your carbon footprint, but there are ways that you can significantly lessen its impact on the environment. An eco-friendly home and lifestyle will take some commitment, but if you take it one step at a time, it will all become second nature before you know it!
One of the easiest and most impactful things you can do to green your home is simply to seek out any traditional incandescent light bulbs and replace them with either CFL or LED lights. Both CFL and LED lights consume less energy and put out more light than incandescent lights, and while the initial price tag might be higher, you won’t be running to the store to buy more any time soon, as they have incredibly long lives.
Once you’ve replaced your light bulbs, it’s important to teach your children (and yourself) about the importance of turning them off every time you leave a room. This also goes for computers, televisions, and kitchen appliances as well. In fact, for these appliances, your best bet is to invest in some power cords. Appliances like these will continue to use up energy even when not in use, so connecting it to a power cord, then turning the power cord off whenever you turn off the appliance, is by far your best bet.
Another way to go about making your home environmentally sound is to focus on what and how you eat. The first step to greener eating habits is to buy in bulk from local farmers whenever possible. Buying in bulk reduces the amount of times you start up your car to shop, and buying local not only gets you fresher food, but you also avoid buying food that has been shipped across the country on planes.
If you can’t buy local, it’s still good to avoid foods processed in large factories. Do your research on a company before you go shopping, and make sure their practices are as environmentally safe as possible. Just because something claims to be organic doesn’t mean it’s necessarily eco-friendly.
Once you’ve bought and eaten your food, it’s time to dispose of the scraps responsibly. The best way to do this is to start a compost. Some foods, such as meat scraps, have to be thrown out in other ways, but vegetation can always be reused as compost. Not only will this keep your food out of trash dumps, but it will vastly improve your garden or lawn.
Another huge tip for saving the earth and saving your wallet is to pay close attention to your water consumption. Using too much water does more than hike your water bill up, it robs the land of a much needed resource and is a huge contributor to pollution. Take shorter showers, wash clothes in cold water, and teach your kids to turn off the tap when brushing their teeth.
SheKnows.com has compiled a list of great tips on creating and maintaining a greener lifestyle for your home and family at: http://www.sheknows.com/home-and-gardening/articles/803354/ecofriendly-ways-to-green-your-home-and-family.
At True Built Home, we see environmental stewardship as a duty, and always work with you to make it easy for you to live an environmentally friendly life. See our website for more on our commitment to building green homes, and while you’re there check out all of the options we offer for custom built homes: http://truebuilthome.com/.