5 small ways to be more eco-friendly at home

If you are fed up with living a wasteful lifestyle and are looking to live a more eco-friendly one, the chances are you are a little lost and maybe overwhelmed with how to tackle it. Beginning something new can be stressful, especially if you are unsure of where to start. Just thinking about and starting your research is the most difficult step to take. Ideally, start by focusing on the smaller changes before you start to tackle the more difficult steps. Let’s have a look at some of the changes you can make this year:

1. Be more eco-friendly at home paper-wise

What does that mean? It involves two things:

• Reduce the amount of paper you use, and
• Recycle more often

The world that we are in now is far more reliant on digital technology and computers than past generations. It is really easy to go days without using a notebook or a single piece of paper. The less paper you can use, the less that the trees in our forests need to produce to make new sheets.

You could also make the change to request any bills to come through digitally, referred to as “going paperless,” rather than by postal mail. If paper material is an essential part of your job or schoolwork, though, you can’t eliminate it. But what you can do is to make sure to recycle as much of the paper used as possible.

Paper is part of the household rubbish you can recycle to help the planet. Ask your local facility what else you can recycle, such as certain plastics and tinfoil.

2. Start a compost pile or bin to be more eco-friendly at home

Nearly all homes have plants in the garden and need to use some compost to give them a good life. Compost bins have become more popular in recent years, thankfully, as many people are trying to become greener. Compost bins are a great way of reducing food waste, as well as putting it to good use in your yard.

Some homeowners may choose to use in-ground composting methods. In-ground composting involves digging a hole in your garden or putting subpods and placing food waste and other compostable materials directly into the soil. Over time, these materials will break down and enrich the soil with nutrients that your plants will love. Learn what in-ground compost is here if you are considering incorporating it into your gardening routine and ensure to do some research to make an informed decision about the best way to compost for your specific needs.

3. Choose reusable bags instead of plastic

You will find that the majority of stores now offer canvas bags as an alternative to their plastic ones. In some stores here, plastic bags are not even offered to customers anymore.

Paper bags are extremely wasteful, especially if you aren’t reusing them. If you invest in some canvas bags instead, you are making a small change to help the environment. Not only will you save money from buying plastic bags repeatedly, but you will also be making a positive difference to the planet.

4. Use the right light bulbs

It’s the final tip to being more eco-friendly at home! You don’t need to rush out and swap all your light bulb today or all at one time.

Instead, the next time you need to replace one, choose a better, greener option. It won’t take long for you to replace them all in your home.

This way, you don’t need to spend a chunk of cash in one go. You could also go one step further with your energy by installing solar panels or changing your supplier to a green energy provider.

5. Swap your TV

If you have any plasma or LCD TVs in your home, you may be using more energy than if you were to swap them for an LED. Research suggests that an LED TV can use close to 70% less energy than a plasma one.

You don’t need to go out and change all the TVs in your home all at once, of course. That would be expensive! Instead, when it’s time to get a new one, consider buying one that uses energy in a smarter way.

These five simple steps hopefully help you to become more eco-friendly at home. Have you made any other changes? Please share some of them in the comments below.