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Here are just a few ways to make your home greener this year—not just in the immediate wake of Earth Day but all year long. For the best results, make sure to do some research to find out exactly when you should be planting your vegetables. You may even be able to start some seeds relatively soon from inside your home and then transplant them into your garden or outdoor planters once the weather is right. As long as you do your research, you should be more than able to grow your own array of vegetables at home.
Clothes shipped across the world have a significant carbon footprint, and often come packaged in plastic. Letting your grass grow longer between cuts not only saves petrol or electricity, and therefore reduces carbon dioxide emissions, but also encourages more wildlife into your garden. Try cutting every three or four weeks and let dandelions, daisies and violets bloom in spring, followed by buttercups, clovers and selfheal in summer. “Reusing furniture is the best thing to do, and so much more fun than buying new,” says Nicola Harding, founder of interior design studio Harding and Read. “Chefs talk about what to do with carrot tops or whey from cheese, but that’s not where we need to make changes,” says Feast food writer Anna Jones. If oats have already been made into porridge, follow Claire Thomson, chef and author of The Art Of The Larder (Quadrille, £25), and substitute for some of the flour and water in bread dough.
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You’ll need some form of energy to power your home, but it doesn’t have to come from sources that damage the planet. A reputable solar panel company can help you to identify the right panels for your property and your usage levels. In addition to this, thermal coatings do a great job of keeping your home warm during the winter and cool during the summer or vice versa. When you can maintain a comfortable temperature this way, you’ll reduce your energy usage and your fuel bills, which will make your home much more energy-efficient. As building firms and contractors introduce new zero-energy homes, you’ll see eco-friendly properties popping up all over the country. If you’re on the lookout for a new home or you’re planning to relocate, choosing a zero-energy property could be a viable option.
Clothes swaps – known as swishing – are one of the greenest ways to refresh your wardrobe. They offer credits based on the value of the items you bring, which can be swapped for items brought by others. If your electrical appliance really is beyond repair, Rhoads suggests you “call the manufacturer or company of purchase to see if they will take back items or packaging for reuse or recycling”. Not all charity shops accept electrical items, but the homelessness charity Emmaus accepts working items.
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You can have a much greener home when you choose products that are major materials that are 100% sustainable, and support small farmers. Plus, your home will look absolutely stunning in my natural materials, as these often look better and lighter in the home. Old water heaters use gas to heat 50 to 70 gallons of water at all times, even when you’re most likely not using it. If you turn it down a few degrees, from 110 to 105, and put an insulating wrap around it, you will save a lot of energy. It only heats water when you need it, using electricity only when it’s engaged.
One of the easiest ways to green your home, save energy as well as cut utility bills is to install programmable thermostats. After all, almost half of your energy bill goes to heating and cooling your house. Making your home more energy-efficient doesn’t have to be a difficult or onerous task.
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Instead of worrying about your food waste going into landfill, choose to ensure that you are putting your food into compost bins. EPA.gov, 10 percent of homes have leaks that can waste up to 90 gallons or more of water per day, and the average household’s leaks can account for more than 10,000 gallons of water wasted every year. Pay attention to any dripping noises you might hear around the house. An unexplainable spike in your monthly statement can be a sign of a leak. Even if you’re not ready to replace your heating system, you can improve its energy efficiency by enhancing its controls. Traditionally, heating controls and thermostats were used to control the temperature in an entire property.
Having a greener home doesn’t always mean that you need to have the newest eco-friendly technology—instead, it can just mean that you make an effort towards more sustainable practices in your home and garden. This is a lot easier to do if you’re able to install smart heating controls like Hive or Nest. If you’re not able to do this consider taking a little time to adjust your heating timings when heading out for the evening or a weekend away.
We get it—in a lot of locales, the tap water doesn’t taste as good as it should. To get your requisite eight cups of water a day, you’re turning away from the tap and opting instead for pallets upon pallets of bottled water. In a testament to the power of advertising, bottled water is an alluring product whether you truly need it or not. The same companies who sell you soda are also happy to sell you a “clean, refreshing, healthy” product that is anything but clean or healthy for the earth.
Energy-saving light bulbs have an uptime to 12 times longer than traditional bulbs, offering the same amount of light quality for a lot less energy. You won’t have to think about changing the thermostat again – it does it all for you. In addition, you can shave an extra 3 to 5 percent off of your energy bill for every degree that you set your thermostat below 68 in the winter and above 78 in the summer.
Repainting your home is a great way to refresh any tired space, but it’s important to ensure you’re being eco-friendly when you do it. A VOC is a volatile organic compound, and many traditional types of paint have them. This is why it’s suggested that you have windows open for proper ventilation while you’re painting. Although you should still make sure that you’re keeping the room you’re painting well ventilated, there are now options that have significantly fewer VOCs or even no VOCs at all. Make sure to speak with the suppliers at your local paint store to find out about your options.
If you’re worried that your area doesn’t get enough sun to produce solar power, there’s no need to panic. Solar panels can use the sun’s rays to produce energy even when it’s overcast or dull outside. This means you can produce solar energy to power your home at any time of the year. No matter which construction and MERV rating you’re looking for, you can find the HVAC filters you need here at Remember the Filter.
If you live in England and Wales, you can get a water meter fitted for free, but you may need to pay £300 if you live in Scotland. A number of investment funds have clean water and sanitation as their dominant theme, says Becky O’Connor of Royal London. For example, Parvest Aqua and RobecoSam Sustainable Water are recommended by ethical financial website good-with-money.com. There’s no justifiable excuse for packaging short-use, everyday beauty products in virgin plastic. Alternatively, you could opt for products packaged in glass that haven’t travelled too far.
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