Everybody, deep down, cares to some extent about the environment. Nobody likes to see a plastic cup or polybag tumbling down the street with the wind. But while some aspects of saving the planet’s environment may be too big for you alone to solve, there are ways to reduce your carbon footprint.
Starting with the home and how you run it is always a safe bet. The home is where you spend most of your time and part of what contributes to your own segment of pollution.
Taking a look at how to optimize your home for the better is a brilliant place to start living a greener life!
Start With Water
You use water every single day; be it for drinking, bathing, showering, doing the dishes, you name it. And cutting down how much water you use is a good place to start when wanting to make your home more environmentally friendly.
Making sure your washing machine and toilet have water-saving technology is vital. Things like the toilet tank bank can be installed to help you save water with each flush, and more modern washing machines will be better at saving water.
Even just using the economy setting can save on both water and electricity usage for things like the washing machine.
While not a popular choice, hand washing your dishes instead of using a dishwasher can also save a lot of water.
Making sure to install a water meter to monitor usage and catch anything like hidden pip leaks is also a smart decision to make.
Replace Your Radiators
For homes that are a bit on the older side, the radiators you have probably aren’t doing your energy bills any favors.
There are far more efficient models of radiators on the market nowadays with energy-efficient technology built into them. There are also things like heated towel rails that can replace radiators in places like the kitchen and bathroom, which tend to be more energy-efficient.
Service Your Heating System Regularly
But why stick with just radiators? Take a look at the other aspects of your heating system too.
All machines will have parts that wear down over time making them less efficient and boilers are no exception to this rule.
Getting a new boiler if you own a very old one is absolutely the way to go, as modern boilers will have modern technology built into them. But regardless of your boiler’s age, keeping your boiler ticking over efficiently can save energy (and money too).
But if you don’t have the budget for that, then make sure you are getting it serviced every few months to catch any issues that can result in a less efficient boiler.
Update Your Energy Plan
If it has been a while since you have taken a look at your energy plan, this is another thing that you can consider.
More and more energy companies are now offering green plans that only provide your home energy from renewable sources – such as solar, wind, hydro, wave, or geothermal energy solutions.
Some of these plans may cost slightly more, but this cost goes into making sure your energy usage is having the least impact possible on our planet. A worthwhile cost if you ask us!
Change Your Habits
As a last parting tip, try to think about what you buy and use every day. You can make a huge impact by simply avoiding things like one-use plastic products (such as straws), re-using plastic bags (or getting a canvas bag instead), and choosing products with minimal or no plastic wrapping at all.
It might not seem like much but your small little changes go a big way to helping the planet.
About the Author/s
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.
