Is Your Home As Environmentally Friendly As It Could Be?

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In recent years, there has been a significant push for homeowners, renters, landlords, and guests alike to focus more on reducing their waste and put a more significant emphasis on how their actions can im[act the environment. Although your contribution to carbon emissions is far off the likes of large corporations, many still feel like doing their part to make the world a more pleasant and greener place.

The best place to start is their home. But, while you may have made some adjustments here and there, have you made your home as environmentally friendly as it can be (while still being comfortable)? If you still feel there’s more that you can do, consider these solutions that apply to any home.

Reconsider Your Energy Supply

You may hear a lot about using greener energy sources, but this can often fall under the radar, and you rarely consider it when you are trying to make your home more environmentally friendly. The energy you currently use may seem green enough, and the idea of changing your supply seems like a lot of hassle that you just don’t have time for.

However, every little change can make a difference. So, choosing a cleaner energy source such as Tri Gas & Oil, or opting for renewable sources can have a clear difference on the environment.

Switch Off Everything

It sounds so simple, but it’s also something that is easily forgotten. If you’re not using something, you should switch it off, and you can also teach your children the importance of protecting the environment by encouraging them to do the same.

You needn’t switch everything off. Nobody wants to reset their oven and microwave clock every day. But, with appliances like your laptop or your chargers, that minor electric current is still consuming more energy than it needs to. It may feel like something minor right now, but these can add up and impact your energy bill while also affecting the planet.

Use Socket Timers

If you find yourself struggling to remember to switch everything off, socket timers are a great way to overcome this. These work like regular sockets and plugs, but come with a built-in timer that switches the appliance off after a set amount of time.

But why is this useful? Socket timers work on several levels. They are ideal for kids who are stubborn about going to sleep at a specific time and keep them from using their lamps or devices all night long. Besides this, you will never forget to switch your lights or other electronics off ever again. The house will do this for you.

Embrace Smart Home Tech

You may even want to take such convenience a step further. Smart home technology is slowly permeating every home whether you realize it or not. From smart speakers to smart TVs to smart refrigerators and beyond, you likely have at least one smart device at home. To complement them, you may opt for a bundled internet and cable TV plan (look up https://att-bundles.com/directv-stream/ to know more) that can connect your smart devices, as well as enable them to function at their full potential. Moreover, you might not need to subscribe to a separate cable service.

While there are some privacy concerns, they can help you do a little more for the environment. Like socket timers, you can set timeframes for when a light switches on. You can do much more than this, though. Dimmable bulbs and energy consumption metrics will display your habits so you can make genuine changes to your home.

Make Your Garden Work For You

Going to the supermarket is a convenient way to get all your fruits and vegetables for the week. But you may have noticed that it feels like these go bad much more quickly than you’d like. The solution to this is to make your garden work for you and start growing fruit and veg at home.

It may sound complicated, but even beginners can start a garden easily enough. You won’t be able to completely abandon the supermarket, but you can at least show a little self-sufficiency and even discover a brand new hobby along the way.

Change Your Washing Habits

You may have grown up thinking the only way to get clothes or dishes bright and sparkling clean is by using hot water. Make sense, as hot water makes it easier to remove stains, but this same hot water also consumes much more energy than you realize. For washing clothes at least, you can get by easily on a cold water wash.

As for washing yourself, a bath might be needed from time to time, but it can be difficult to justify doing so every day. Instead, make the most of showers and save a soak for those days where you’ve earned it.

Be On-the-Ball With Care and Maintenance

Whether you live in a large house or a pokey city apartment, you will encounter plenty of home maintenance issues. If you’re a homeowner, you need to make sure you fix these by yourself, and being on the ball will make things easier on the environment.

A gap in the roof will cause a draft, which means you crank the heating up. Likewise, a leaking tap wastes water, even if you’ve convinced yourself that you can live with it. The better you are with repairs, the more environmentally friendly your home will be.

Rearrange Your Home

You may not realize that there are legitimate benefits of rearranging the furniture around your home. It can relieve stress, it can make you fall in love with your home again, but more importantly, rearranging your home helps you maximize the natural design.

Shifting sofas, bookcases, and beds elsewhere can clear space for vents to push hot or cold air through the home, so you’ll feel the effects of the AC or central heating. Shifting a sofa to the other side of the room can open up space and help you make the most of the heat that is naturally conducted through windows.

Greener Pastures

A green and environmentally friendly home is not as unattainable as it once was, and you don’t need to ditch all of your luxury comforts to make it possible. Instead, it’s all about being more intelligent with your energy consumption and your everyday habits. You’ll soon find that you can do your part for the planet and feel a little better about yourself, too.