Green living is attainable for anyone who is willing to start, as you can begin with small steps and build up over time. If you’re in a living situation that you feel should be greener than it is, the good news is that you can make it greener. Have a look at five ways in which you can do this starting today!
Add Plants
Indoor plants are a great and literal way to go green. The plus is that they will add some decor to your space while helping purify your air. Make sure to find out which plants will do well in different rooms, as each room has different needs and an environment that will dictate what plants thrive in it. If you’re on the market for a house in which you intend to practice green living, it’s good to note that the median price for a home that’s non-distressed is $216,000 while for a foreclosure home it was $155,000, about 28% lower than their non-distressed counterparts.
Get Efficient Appliances
The average person has a number of different appliances in their home, so you can make sure you’re living as green as is possible by getting efficient ones. When buying appliances, shop for those with a good energy star rating to be sure you’re getting the best. You could save this for your next upgrade, or if it’s within your budget, perform an overhaul and upgrade your washer, fridge, cooker, and more to more efficient versions.
Seal Your Windows and Doors
Your doors and windows need to be weather-proof and completely sealed in order to give you great energy efficiency in your house. If you can perform a visual inspection, do so and seal off any cracks you find with caulk. This will see you use less heat in cold seasons, and better use of your AC is a great tip for green living. Both caulk and weather stripping are pretty affordable and easy to find in a local hardware store near you so this is something you can do in a few hours max. Don’t pay the extra 10% that energy leaks around your doors and windows can add to your heating bills, according to the U.S Department of Energy.
Compost
While plant and food matter decompose, it doesn’t mean that they don’t play a role in filling the dreaded landfills. This is because they need oxygen to decompose, but there’s no oxygen in landfills, so they instead sit there releasing methane, a gas that’s even worse for the environment than carbon. If you have the space, it should be easy enough to start, but it’s possible even for people living in small spaces. You could use your balcony if you have one, or try using tumble bins or any of a number of the solutions you could find online.
Change What You Can
Even if you’re renting one of the 42.58 million housing units in America that house fellow renters, it does not mean that you can’t implement green living. While you probably won’t be willing to install solar panels and add electric car chargers to the place, you could change the lightbulbs to eco-friendly ones. You could also start reusing things around your house, and making your own cleaning solutions using organic ingredients. If you water your lawn, do so at optimal times to use water efficiently or do away with it altogether and get native plants which will thrive with less demands. Taking such steps will help you make your space enviably green in no time at all!
If you’ve been thinking of going green but haven’t been sure just how, try out the five tips above, in whichever order you can. Once you do one of them successfully, you will find it easy to do the rest, soon becoming great at it.
