An Eco-friendly Home: 6 Tips and Tricks to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Living an eco-friendly lifestyle starts at home. If you want to make a positive impact, you should start with adjusting your home life to reduce your energy use and general waste. If you’re not sure where to begin, here are six tips and tricks for getting started.

1: Improve Insulation

To be more eco-friendly day to day, you want to reduce how much energy you use, and one simple way to do so is by keeping your home’s heating off as much as possible. Of course, this isn’t always possible through the winter months when the only other option is to freeze. While putting the heating on is necessary from time to time, you can reduce how much you do so by improving your home’s insulation.

Make sure you cover any drafts and try to upgrade your windows to double or triple panes if you haven’t already. If you use your garage, a vertical rising garage door is perfect for keeping the heat inside rather than escaping. It also saves space, so it’s a win-win.

2: Install Solar Panels

Using renewable energy is an excellent way to reduce your carbon footprint from home. The initial installation may be costly, but the energy you save in the long run makes it worthwhile. Plus, you might even inspire your neighbors to follow suit and use solar panels!

3: Use a Recycling Bin

By this point, most households make a conscious effort to recycle what they can. It might sometimes be difficult, though, especially if you have to separate everything. In this situation, it helps to buy a specialized home recycle bin to store all your various recycling rubbish. Some bins have three separate sections to ensure you don’t get the items mixed up.

4: Always Switch Off the Lights

One of the simplest ways to reduce your carbon footprint at home is by switching off the lights every time you leave the room. It’s easy to forget, especially if you only mean to leave the room for ten minutes or so, but it makes a difference! Consider getting smart bulbs so that you can control the lights from wherever you are.

5: Leave Your Car in the Garage

Your car may be your pride and joy, but do you really need to use it to travel five minutes? Leave your car in the garage when necessary and start walking or biking to nearby places. Not only will it reduce the greenhouse gases you emit, but it’ll also help you keep fit!

6: Save the Water

Water is a necessity in life. That doesn’t mean you should leave the tap running while you brush your teeth or that a thirty-minute shower is essential. Cut down your water use, and you will reduce your carbon footprint. Some simple ways to do so include: