As a species, humans have a massive impact on the environment and unfortunately, this is mostly negative. The fuel we use to live our lives, as well as the land we destroy to fill with crops and homes affects the balance of nature and eventually, we will end up hurting ourselves. Fortunately, there are a number of small things we can do at home to reduce our personal carbon footprint and encourage others to follow in our footsteps. If you are interested in reducing the impact your home has on the environment, here are 5 small things you can do.
1. Use Natural Materials
Using natural and non-toxic materials to decorate and clean your home will reduce the impact you have on the environment. Using eco-materials that have been sourced sustainably is a conscious way to modernize your home. Then swapping your regular household products to eco-friendly and toxin-free cleaning brands, paints, etc., will lessen the amount of pollutants released into the environment.
2. Improve Energy Efficiency
Making your home more energy efficient will benefit you and the environment. For example, if you change your home lighting to energy efficient LED bulbs, you will end up saving money and the environment. Insulating your home, getting double-glazed windows, maintaining your HVAC system and installing a smart meter are all ways you can improve your home’s energy efficiency.
3. Remember to Recycle
Recycling is an easy and satisfying way to reduce your home’s impact on the environment. Recycling certain materials will decrease the amount of waste your household produces, and it may save you money on arts and crafts materials for the kids, storage and packaging. To have a positive direct impact on your local wildlife, recycling food waste in a compost heap will benefit the outdoors in many ways.
4. Reduce Plastic Use
Plastic is one of the most harmful waste products. The production of plastic requires a high amount of fossil fuels, which leads to high levels of pollution. Due to the stability of the material, plastic takes years to break down, which means they remain in the environment for a very long period of time once it has been discarded, so it makes sense that reducing plastic use will make your home eco-friendlier.
5. Improve Yard Biodiversity
If you are lucky enough to have a front and a back yard, then you should take care of it to the best of your ability and improve its biodiversity. You can do so by planting a variety of plants, shrubs and trees that provide a home and food for the local wildlife. As mentioned previously, a compost heap will improve the health of your local wildlife. Taking care of your garden will also make you proud of it.
These small changes may seem insignificant, but if everyone chose to change their ways, then they will have a much better impact on our environment. Fortunately, this time, the impact will be a positive one, and once loved ones see the money you save and how much better your home looks after making these changes, they won’t be able to resist trying it out for themselves.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
