To some people having a green home sounds very expensive and time-consuming, on the other hand, it will save quite a lot of money over the years.
It is not as tough and expensive as everyone thinks, making one simple change per month will be sufficient enough to start saving, this is especially great for those on a tight budget – some changes are actually free of charge and simply just require a little time.
After a year or two you could be living completely green, reducing your carbon footprint at the same time and you could also inspire your friends and neighbors to do the same, let’s face it, who does not like saving money? All it requires is a lot of small changes and eventually you will become a green household.
So what are you waiting for? Let’s begin…
- Start A Compost Pile – You can compost quite a lot of things that you use within the home, such as egg shells, tea bags, grass and hedge trimmings and more, for a full list you can check out the composting guide.
- Switch Electricity Supply – Ask your energy supplier whether you could purchase greener energy such as solar panel energy, biomass or even geothermal – this could save some money over the year.
- Recharge Batteries – Try buying rechargeable batteries and get rid of your dead batteries by recycling them.
- Cancel Your Newspaper – Why purchase newspapers when you can read all the papers you want for your local area on-line for free! Not only will this save money but it will also save our trees.
- Power Down Plugs – Your laptop or desktop may have been powered down, but I can bet you it is still sucking that electricity on standby, switch them off via the plug, you will be shocked at how much it actually saves.
- Driving Long Distance? – If you are thinking of going on a road trip, try renting a hybrid car. Hybrid is both good for the earth and the wallet since it uses batteries to power the engine, don’t worry you will not loose any power, see more here.
- Eco Friendly Cleaning – I actually covered this one on NatrualNews.com, I explain about the danger of using bleach in the home. Using Eco friendly products to clean the home will not only be cheaper but also save your health, there are a lot of health risks that come with domestic products, click here to create 27 chemical free cleaning recipes.
- Like Reading? – Try reading your books on-line or purchase a Kindle from Amazon, the batteries on the Kindles last a very long time. If you still prefer books, take a look on the Internet for a used copy.
- Do Not Heat An Empty Home – This one is kind of obvious, but a lot of people still seem to do this. We all like a nice hot home to walk into on a cold winters night after work, try using a thermostat timer to come on 20 minutes before you get home, this will save a huge amount of energy.
- Stop Food Waste – Cooked too much food? I do this a lot myself, all I do is try to make as many dishes out of the meat as possible and use sealed storage tubs to put them right back into the fridge. A whole chicken could easily provide me with 4-5 days worth of meals! If you are British you make prefer to create Bubble and Squeak.
Further Resources
Make Your home Eco-Friendly On A Budget – NaturalNews.com
Eco-Friendly Campuses/Condo’s For University – Canadian Real Estate University
The Best Eco-Friendly Homes – From The UK Telegraph