There’s something beautiful about having an eco-friendly home. While there’s a sense of pride associated with owning a greener home, you’re also contributing to minimizing waste and reducing the various kinds of harm done to our environment when you make use of eco-friendly home hacks to craft a greener home.

One of the things many people get wrong is that they often think being eco-friendly is overwhelming and expensive. The good news, however, is that making your home eco-friendly doesn’t cost you so much. In most cases, all it requires is that you make a simple change at a time that can go a long way in reducing not only our carbon footprint but also our living expenses.

Why Making Your Home Eco-friendly is Important

Eco-friendliness is one term that has come to stay in our day-to-day vocabs. But have you ever wondered what it means to have an eco-friendly home? Merriam-Webster defines this as not being harmful to the environment. Simply put, making your home eco-friendly entails practicing sustainable tips such as choosing nontoxic cleaning products for your everyday chores and improving your home’s energy efficiency.

So, what do you stand to benefit from having a greener home? One of the significant benefits of a greener home is a healthy indoor environment. Imagine having a home that is free from likely environmental pollutants and harmful chemicals. What you enjoy is a healthy indoor environment where you can thrive and be happier. Another benefit that comes with an eco-friendly home is that it increases your property value.

From renovating homes with budget-friendly ideas and creating a home without borders by infusing cultural elements to doing something simple like enhancing the outdoor living area, a lot of homeowners are always looking for ideas that will help them improve the value of their property. This is where sustainability comes into play.

These days, greener homes are becoming highly attractive to buyers because they’re seen as worthwhile investments. So, making your home eco-friendly is a surefire way to increase its value. Besides the value it adds to your home, you’ll also be adding a lot of value to the planet and future generations. Plus, you’ll enjoy water and energy efficiency when you embrace eco-friendly practices in your home.

13 Simple Sustainable Tips for a Greener Home

Making your home eco-friendly doesn’t have to cost you too much. Here are some of the practical and simple sustainable tips to make your home green:

1. Start Using LED Light Bulbs

If you want a simple way to save energy and lower your utility bills while you reduce your environmental impact at the same time, switch to LED light bulbs. They use a whopping 75% less energy than traditional bulbs and last 25 times longer. Plus, they produce way less heat, which means your AC won’t have to work as hard to keep your home cool.

Another awesome part is that LED bulbs come in all shapes and sizes now, from recessed lighting to dimmable options, giving you different options to create a cozy setting in your home.

2. Quit Purchasing Bottled Water

Bottled water is convenient, especially on a hot day when your skin is vulnerable to the sun. However, those single-use plastic bottles are incredibly harmful to the planet. Most of them (like, 80%!) don’t get recycled and end up in landfills or the ocean. And get this – it takes three times more water to make one plastic bottle than the bottle can even hold!

But there’s a simple fix: grab a reusable water bottle that’s the perfect size for your on-the-go adventures like biking or whatever activity you’re engaging in. Not only will you be reducing waste, but you’ll also save cash in the long run.

3. Recycle and Compost

Recycling and composting are effective strategies to reduce waste and live more sustainably. Start by making sure you have recycling bins in multiple rooms, not just the kitchen. This way, you’ll be more likely to recycle paper, glass, and other items that would otherwise end up in the trash. And speaking of composting, food scraps and leftovers don’t have to go to waste. With a compost bin, you can turn them into nutrient-rich fertilizers for your plants. Plus, it’s easier than you think!

Modern compost bins are designed to be clean, odor-free, and pest-free (just look for one with a tight lid and secure hatch). By composting, you’ll reduce your household waste and create something valuable for your garden. Did you know that half of the trash we produce at home is food waste? Let’s put it to good use! Get a compost bin and start turning scraps into fertilizer. Your planet (and your plants) will definitely thank you!

4. Reduce How Much Meat You Eat

Did you know that raising livestock takes up a whopping 30% of the Earth’s surface? And it’s not just the land use that’s the issue – animal agriculture also produces some serious greenhouse gases. More so, livestock produces more harmful emissions than all the cars on the planet combined. Surprising right?

But here’s the good news: we can make a difference just by eating a little less meat. By choosing veggie-packed meals or seafood options, we help preserve natural spaces for recreation and enjoyment and reduce our carbon footprint.

5. Reduce How Much You Use Paper Towels

We all know how convenient paper towels are, but the bitter truth is, they’re not doing the planet any favors. In fact, using paper towels generates way more carbon emissions than drying your hands with a hand dryer or even a good old-fashioned cotton towel! So, what can you do instead?

Get creative and turn an old t-shirt into a reusable rag! It’s a great way to reduce waste, save some cash, and help the environment all at once. Just collect your rags in a basket, wash them all together, and repeat! It’s a simple swap that can make a big difference in making your home eco-friendly.

6. Go for Eco-friendly Toilet Paper

We all use toilet paper daily, but we barely take time to think about its environmental impact. It takes a whopping 17 trees and over 90,000 liters of water to make just one ton of toilet paper rolls. But there’s a game-changing alternative—bamboo toilet paper.

Bamboo grows super fast, like, up to 36 inches in just 24 hours. That makes it a way more sustainable option than traditional toilet paper. By switching to eco-friendly bamboo toilet paper, you can begin to live more sustainably and go green at home.

7. Install a Smart Thermostat

If you want to make your home more eco-friendly and more comfortable while saving some cash at the same time, you should consider installing a smart thermostat! These genius devices let you control and schedule your cooling and heating systems, making you use less energy when you’re not home. Imagine coming home to a perfectly cooled or heated space, all while saving some serious cash on your utility bill. This simple act can even go a long way in making your home a stress-free haven.

8. Unplug Unused Electronics and Turn Off the Lights

Make it a habit to turn off those lights when you leave a room or the house – it’s a simple way to reduce your energy bill and carbon footprint. Did you know that incandescent bulbs waste most of their energy as heat, not light? This fact makes turning them off a no-brainer. Halogen lights are similar, so switch them off too. For CFLs, follow the 15-minute rule: if you’ll be back in the room within 15 minutes, leave them on, but if it’s longer, turn them off to save energy and prolong their lifespan.

LED bulbs, on the other hand, are energy-efficient and won’t be affected by frequent on/off switching! The best idea is to consider installing sensors to automate the process and make energy-saving a breeze. This simple investment can come very handy in relieving you from the financial stress that comes with high utility bills.

9. Use the Cold Water Setting When Washing Your Clothes

Did you know that your washing machine uses a whopping 90% of its energy just to heat water? You can make a big impact and go green at home by switching to cold water. By doing so, you’ll reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 1,600 pounds per year! Plus, cold water is gentler on your clothes, keeping them looking their best for longer.

Hot water can fade colors and wear out fabrics, so unless you’re tackling tough stains like oil, there’s no need to crank up the heat. If you’re worried about cleaning power, try the warm setting – it’s a happy medium that’s still energy-efficient and effective.

10. Utilize Organic Cleaning Products

There are lots of cleaning products that contain harsh chemicals. While those harsh chemicals might be great at killing bacteria, they’re not so great for the planet. They can harm animals, plants, and even our waterways! So, what’s the alternative? Organic cleaning products are a fantastic option.

What makes them better is that they contain natural ingredients that are environmentally friendly and meet strict green standards. Plus, you can even make your own cleaning products using simple ingredients like lemon juice, baking soda, and vinegar. It’s a win-win: you’ll reduce packaging waste, avoid harmful chemicals, and keep your home green and clean.

11. Use Reusable Grocery Bags

When it comes to eco-friendly home hacks, one of the simple sustainable tips to keep your home green is to ditch those flimsy plastic bags and upgrade to reusable grocery bags. Canvas bags may cost a tiny bit more, but they’re total game-changers. They’re way stronger, can hold more goodies, and are super versatile.

You can also use them for storage or packing. And if canvas isn’t your thing, no worries! Reusing plastic bags is still a great way to go green. Just repurpose them as small trash can liners or recycle them. Every little bit counts and making this simple switch can make a big difference for our planet. Start bagging it up, sustainably.

12. Go Paperless

Going paperless is one of the sustainable tips for a greener home. Not only will you avoid the stress of lost bills and potential utility shut-offs, but you’ll also score discounts from many billers who always want their customers to go paperless. Plus, it will help you keep your home decluttered.

By ditching paper bills, you’ll also help save trees and reduce waste. And if your biller doesn’t offer paperless options, speak up and ask them to join the 21st century! If you do need to use paper, remember to recycle. Did you know that over 40% of trash is paper and paper products? Producing new paper from scratch costs more energy, compared to recycling paper. Let’s reduce, reuse, and recycle our way to an eco-friendlier life!

13. Save Water

Saving water is one of the simple ways to go green at home. However, a lot of us tend to struggle with this. But saving water may not be as daunting as we often think it is. A simple way to start is by turning off that faucet while brushing your teeth or scrubbing dishes.

You should also take shorter showers, even though this means you’ll have to sing a shorter song. More so, only run the dishwasher or washing machine when you’ve got a full load. These tiny tweaks go a long way in water conservation, and our planet and your water bill will thank you!