10 Ways to be more Sustainable at Home
November 18, 2022
The world’s focus is turning towards greener activities and one of the trending words is sustainability. What exactly does sustainability mean? Ability to maintain or support a process over time.
- Use Low VOC paints containing fewer Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) than regular paints. VOCs are chemical compounds found in all kinds of products and are potentially damaging to health and the environment. source fmb.org.uk
- Your home will use plenty of energy so why not switch to a green energy provider? Also, try to conserve energy at home and this could simply be remembering to turn of lights / electrical items in rooms you are not using (how many of us leave the TV on even when we are out the room for a while?). This can also help save you money! Extend this thought process out to your heating requirement at home.
- Have a recycling system at home starting from the kitchen primarily with bins set for specific waste (your local authority may request this of you for bin collections). Think about having a food compost heap at home, reduce your purchase of items in plastic packaging.
- Re-use items when you can, this can be items such as envelopes / cardboard boxes you receive through the post to plastic pots / tub or glass jars for planting seeds and storage etc.
- Research sustainable products local to you / online. Today there are many ‘green’ themed suppliers with a key focus on products that are sustainable such as bed sheets and curtains!
- Upgrade light bulbs to LED light-bulbs!
- When doing your weekly shop check the product packaging and pick out the brands who highlight their sustainability activities. The likes of organic toiletries, biodegradable grooming essentials can all be eco-friendly options as well as foods / drinks including wine! Think about re-fill options on products such as shampoos. Natural cleaning products keep toxins out of the water supply. Remember to buy local, buy organic!
- Repair and upcycle when you can. Reduce your waste by re-using items you would have once considered discarding. Think about researching locally second-hand or upcycled furniture which not only reduces the waste sent to landfill.
- Grow your own. If and when you can, think about planting foods in your garden / balcony / local allotments. From herbs to potatoes, growing your own not only helps you to keep healthy, but reduces your demand on conventional supermarkets / packaging / transport etc and it can also save you money!
- Change your habits at home. This could be reading books over browsing the internet / watching movies or try and walk / cycle short distances over taking the car.
As an additional action you can perform at home is to spread the word! Let people know who visit you what you do and why, introduce them to sustainable activities and get the subject trending within your network / community.
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