Contributed by Tanya Mayer

In the past few years, we’ve all felt the importance of keeping our planet green and the effects of not doing so. Did you know that we can be green even in the way we build and take care of our homes?

Not only homeowners but also property managers have come up with lots of exciting, eco-friendly ideas that help avoid energy loss, toxic wastes and other harmful impacts on our planet. And if the impact on the environment doesn’t do much for you, maybe the great impact on your monthly bills will do so.

Here are some of the best ways of making your home eco-friendly and energy-efficient.

Being Energy Efficient

Heating and cooling account for about half of a  household’s utility bills, especially in the winter. Too often, people tend to leave their heating on for way too long, even when they don’t need it.

So a great way to avoid that is by installing a smart meter. You can program to turn the furnace off after you leave for work and back on right before you come home from work, for example. That’s the way to go if you want to reduce both your carbon footprint and energy bills. 

Besides heating and air conditioning, numerous key factors contribute to energy consumption around your house. For example, your light bulbs. If you’d invest in some smart light bulbs, they will consume much less energy than traditional ones, and they rarely need to be replaced. Right after that, you can consider some other ways of reducing energy like installing solenoid valves or solar panels.

Saving Water

Being eco-friendly doesn’t mean that you should only be concerned about energy consumption; you should also think about the amount of water that you waste on a daily basis. There are tons of things you could do in order to avoid water waste.

Start by fixing all the leaks in your house. You might think that you don’t have any, but most of the time they’re not even obvious — and it’s incredible how much water can go to waste because of them. After taking this mandatory step, you can start thinking about installing low-flow fixtures. You can make changes in your daily routine, such as

• not running the tap while you brush your teeth
• running the dishwasher only when it’s full
• spend less time in the shower

Your Daily Routine

It’s good to spend the time and the money to buy and install all sorts of technologies around your house that will make it as environmentally friendly as possible. But at the end of the day, it’s more important how you change your daily routine to be greener.

Therefore, even if you can’t afford to buy smart, energy-efficient products, you can still adopt plenty of daily habits to reduce your monthly bills and keep the planet less polluted. For example, you can try natural cleaning products, so you avoid the use of chemicals that are very harmful to the environment. Consider using vinegar, borax, soda, and other simple, economical, and versatile products.

You can also change your shopping habits and start looking for recycled products. Create your own compost out of food leftovers and kitchen scraps. install a rain barrel. Make homemade pesticides whenever you work in your garden. Your options are endless, so keep looking for new green habits to save your planet and your bank account.

So what does it take for you to make your home more energy-efficient and eco-friendly? Not much; you just need to work on a few daily habits, to make some changes around the house and to invest some money which you’ll get back in no time.

The current state of the planet requires us to pay more attention to the way we consume energy, water, and other resources. A large number of people have started to take action, and you can also do so, starting from your own home.

About the author:

Tanya is a writer, a mother, and a wife. In her spare time, she loves to read and write on various topics. You can reach her at mayert@gmail.com