An Eco-Friendly Home Is a Happy Home

Everyone wants to run the perfect eco-friendly home and we have some tips in this collaborative post to help you work on that.

You have to get the kids to school on time, feed the pets, cook delicious dinners and keep the cushions fluffed and bouncy at all times. Not to mention the time constraints we have have against us. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day. Balancing a full-time job and a healthy home life is the biggest challenge everybody is faced with. Sometimes we get so busy and wrapped up in our ‘to-do’ list that we forget how we’re treating our home and more importantly our planet. Eco-friendly living should be at the top of every household’s priority list. You can all make tiny changes to your everyday life, which will really add up and make a difference to our precious world.

Remarkable Recycling

This is the one of the easiest and most effective process to incorporate into your everyday lives. Make recycling fun and get the kids involved. Start up a project to make different coloured bins for different materials. Learn the importance of separating your paper, plastic, glass and aluminium.

One of the biggest threats to our environment at the moment is plastic. Sadly, some of the most beautiful creatures in the sea are suffering everyday because of our lazy recycling habits. Whales and dolphins have been found washed up on shore lines with mounds of plastic in their stomachs. Make your mark today and ditch the plastic bags and plastic water bottles. Go out shopping and treat yourself to a set of reusable shopping bags and a refillable water bottle. There are tonnes of stylish and eco-friendly brands out there. Spending a little bit of cash on a couple of these small things will make a different to our suffering planet.

Wise-Up With Water

Your household is probably responsible for wasting gallons of water every month without good reason. There are several methods you can put into practise right now. You will save a fortune on water bills without having to compromise on comfort and you will be able to also be able to improve the value of your home if it’s marketed as a more eco-friendly home.

Install a shower timer in your bathroom. Set yourself a challenge to take a short five minute shower each day. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you can get squeaky clean! You’ll notice a huge difference in your water consumption if you invest in a low flow shower head too. You and the family will soon get used this planet-friendly way of washing.

You know that leaky tap you’ve been meaning to get fixed for a year? Do it now. It may seem like a minor DIY dilemma, but you won’t be complaining when your water bill is so low you’ll wonder if your family have even showered at all! Finally, don’t forget to turn of the taps whenever you can. Teach the kids to brush their teeth without running water and be efficient when doing the washing up. One bowl of water will be plenty to bring the sparkle back to your plates.

Excellent Energy Efficiency

The energy consumption in your home could easily be cut in half. Turn off the lights when you leave a room and invest in some compact fluorescent lightbulbs (they use a quarter of the energy than regular light bulbs do!). Turn off all of your electronic devices when you leave the house and go to bed too. Things like mobile phone chargers and televisions should be unplugged whenever possible.

Did you know that oil heating doesn’t produce carbon dioxide like gas does? Checkout the deals online for home heating oil  and switch to the slightly cheaper and safer way to heat your home. When it’s chilly outside you’re going to need a good heating system, so make sure it’s the best eco-friendly deal you can find. Remember when you’ve got the heating on to keep all windows and doors firmly shut to avoid energy wasting.

Go Organic

Not only is organic food much tastier and healthier, it’s so good for the environment. When farmers produce organic fruits and vegetables they don’t use pesticides. This way of farming reduces their carbon footprint and lowers greenhouse gas emissions, which are responsible for global warming.

Whilst you’re on the organic train, try going meat-free as often as you can.  Rainforests are being destroyed everyday to raise cows and meat. If we cut down on buying expensive meats we can contribute positively to a greener planet.

Take one step at a time with each of these green ways of living. You’ll soon start to notice you’re actually saving money, time and you’re having fun too and you will have a more eco-friendly home. Let’s teach our children to love our planet. We only have one, so let’s take care of it.