The need to become more environmentally conscious has grown in importance over the last few years. Recent research shows the increased risk humans and the environment face due to pollution and climate change.
With an estimated 7 million people killed worldwide every year by air pollution, the importance of an eco-friendly environment cannot be overemphasized.
One of the crucial ways to create and ensure an environmentally friendly environment is to live an eco-friendly lifestyle.
Although the process of living an eco-friendly lifestyle may seem quite difficult, you can easily achieve it by becoming more eco-friendly in your home.
Wondering how to be more eco-friendly at home? Then take a look at these 9 tips.
9 Things to do today to be more eco-friendly at home
The key things are to reduce waste (zero-waste is better), reduce energy consumption, and stop using single-use items.
Check out these 9 things you should do from today to help you be more eco-friendly.
1. Turn lights off when not in use
Light bulbs have been one of the most significant sources of energy consumption over time. In recent times, however, manufacturers have produced energy-efficient light bulbs to make a massive difference in the energy used by light bulbs.
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While this is good, it can get better. How? By turning lights off when not in use. You will use less energy if you switch things off, right?
Although this may seem insignificant compared to purchasing energy-efficient light bulbs, it helps to reduce the amount of energy used in your home.
Additionally, turning off your lights when not in use will help you save money.
For example, if you use a 60-watt light bulb and turn it off for an hour, you can save 0.06 kilowatt/hour, and if your electric rate is 20 cents per kilowatt-hour, you can also save 1.2 cents during that hour that the light bulb is turned off.
2. Utilize canvas bags instead of plastic bags
Plastic bags pose a serious threat to the environment due to their carbon content, which is harmful.
They are not biodegradable and, when disposed of, usually end up in landfills resulting in land pollution, which is harmful to the environment.
On the other hand, canvas bags are an eco-friendly alternative that you can use instead of plastic bags. They are durable, reusable, and versatile, making them an excellent choice to take with you when shopping for foodstuffs, fruits, or groceries.
3. Use eco-friendly cleaning products in your home
Many cleaning products contain various chemicals that have a harmful environmental impact.
Some of these cleaning products, which are regularly used for washing clothes, dishes, and cleaning the home, are made up of chlorine, perchloroethylene (PERC), formaldehyde, and sodium hydroxide, which are harmful to the environment and human health.
Instead, ensure you think green before you purchase your cleaning products. Use environmentally friendly cleaning products that contain natural ingredients such as vinegar, castile soap, and baking soda.
Green cleaning is an excellent way of being more environmentally friendly.
4. Compost your food waste
Composting is an environmentally friendly method of disposing of leftover food and waste. It is the decomposing of organic matter through a natural process that provides fertilizer that you can use to enrich the soil.
It involves creating an ideal environment for decomposing organisms, including bacteria and fungi, to work on organic matter and speed up the process of decomposition.
The benefits of composting your waste which include reducing the amount of waste and the number of harmful gases released into the atmosphere, greatly outweigh the risks associated with disposing of your trash into landfills.
There is also the added benefit of home compost bins which allows you to compost your food waste right from your home.
5. Eat healthily
Living an eco-friendly life should also be reflected in what you eat, and limiting the amount of dairy and meat you consume is important for an eco-friendly lifestyle.
Research has shown that animal-based agriculture amounts to about 15% of worldwide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
This is primarily because animal-based food production has a higher greenhouse gas output than grain and vegetable production due to the highly inefficient transfer of plant energy to animal energy. Therefore, consuming such foods increases your carbon footprint in the atmosphere.
Therefore, you must eat less meat, eat more plant-based foods, and eat local and organic grown food to reduce your carbon footprint and eat healthier.
6. Leave your car at home take public transportation sometimes
Vehicles produce a huge amount of carbon emissions, thereby increasing the carbon footprint in the environment, with each average passenger vehicle producing about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide every year.
With an increased number of cars on the road, there is the risk that this figure will increase, even more, thereby creating a harmful environmental impact.
The solution? Avoid driving your car every day and try to use other alternatives such as walking, riding a bike, or taking public transportation a lot more to reduce your carbon footprint.
7. Choose eco-friendly alternatives instead of disposable plastic water bottles
The quantity of disposable plastic bottles disposed of every year is staggering, creating an unhealthy environment filled with toxic gases and carbon footprint.
While bottled water is hugely popular, other alternatives are eco-friendly and safe.
Depending on where you are located, tap water is generally approved by EPA standards to be safe for drinking.
Other alternatives such as glass water bottles, stainless steel, and reusable water bottles are suitable for both hot water and cold water and can be used instead of a plastic water bottle.
8. Buy second hand
Although this may seem a little hard to come to terms with, it is a good way to ensure an eco-friendly lifestyle.
When you buy second-hand items, it saves you money and reduces the carbon print on the environment, and to assure; you can buy second-hand items that are of great quality.
9. Invest in eco-friendly toilet paper
Toilet paper is one of the most used household items. Sadly, it requires at least 17 trees and 90,921 liters of water for a ton of paper rolls, and with an average consumption of 100 rolls for an individual every year, it is not an eco-friendly manufacturing process.
Bamboo-made toilet paper is an eco-friendlier alternative and represents a considerable difference in the effect on the environment.
The same can be said for paper towels, replacing these with a more eco-friendly alternative.
Conclusion
Creating an eco-friendly lifestyle starts with small changes that you can make to the home.
Although these changes may seem quite daunting, they are necessary to create an eco-friendly environment and to help you remain environmentally conscious. For example, you can still be more environmentally friendly where you live in a house or apartment.
Save energy where you can, consider zero-waste alternatives to household items, and reduce waste.
You might even save money at the same time!
Good luck.