Making Your Home More Sustainable

One of the goals of just about any parent is to help make the world a better place for our children. This can be done in a variety of ways. Now, I’m not saying that you can change the world just for your family. But you can make your own corner of that world a bit better than you found it. Part of this is by helping to make your home more sustainable and environmentally conscious.

Here are easy ways you can reduce your carbon footprint by “going green” and making your home more sustainable:

Use Less Energy

One of the first things you can do to be more sustainable will also save you money in the long run. (So, count that as a win-win!) Let’s talk about ways to cut your energy consumption (which in turn will reduce your monthly power bill).

• Change your regular light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent bulbs. These use less energy and actually last longer, meaning you won’t be adding lots of dead bulbs to the trash heap.
• When you buy a new appliance, such as a washer or dryer, look for those that are Energy Star Qualified. These can cut energy use between 10 and 50% off a regular appliance. And, in some cases, your purchase may qualify you for a tax credit.
• Insulate your home to cut down on heating costs and power. This means insulating your attic/basement as well as the walls. Additionally, if you have wooden floors, simply putting down a thick rug can cut down on this as well.
• Install double-glazed windows with thermal backed curtains. This will help you keep the cold air out in the winter while trapping in the heat. (Conversely, during the summer, it traps the air-conditioned cold air inside while keeping out the heat.)

Use Less Water

Another big area of waste in our homes is water consumption. There are little things you can do around the house to cut down on this, such as:

• Install low-flow showerheads and low-flush toilets. The showerheads will not only cut down on water usage, but energy use as well since your water heater will not have to work as hard. A typical toilet flush will use six gallons while a low-flush toilet uses less than two.
• Fix leaky faucets and “running” toilets immediately. This can waste gallons of water each and every day just from a toilet that is not working properly.

Other Tips

There are other areas you can cut back as well. One of the biggest is your use of chemical products to clean your home. Use natural cleansers that do not use these chemicals or you can even make your own cleansers with a few things from the pantry. By doing this, you will not be supporting companies that use chemicals in their products.

Taking care of our environment is everyone’s responsibility. It may not be possible for one person to save the world, but by making some changes to your home, you can do your best to make your corner of the world a little more sustainable.

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