Food Time

How to Make Your Home More Eco-friendly

Attitudes toward the environment have shifted rapidly over the last few decades. Today, around three in four adults claim to be at least somewhat worried about the potential impact of climate change. Other environmental concerns, around waste and pollution, are also widespread.

So, other than by voting and shopping in environmentally sound ways, what can we do to act on these concerns? There are a few simple changes we might make in the home to reduce our impact on the natural world. Let’s consider a few of them.

Renewable energy

In some cases, it might be worth generating your own energy. This can be done with the help of solar panels and energy storage, or through heat pumps, which can suck heat into your home from the surrounding air, or from the ground.

Growing your own

It’s worth thinking not just about the energy your home needs to operate, but the food you’ll be consuming, too. By reducing the mileage associated with the items in your fridge, you’ll be able to shrink your overall carbon footprint massively.

The best way of doing this is by growing your own food, at home. You can do this with the help of things like polytunnels and greenhouses. A polytunnel is an affordable alternative to a greenhouse, that will provide you with a space to grow everything from tomatoes to marrows and more.

Change your appliances

The appliances you use will consume a huge amount of energy. Here, you might think of your fridge, your washing machine, and your dryer. But it’s your boiler that will use the most energy by far. Swap it out for a more efficient one, and you could save considerably, while reducing your impact on the wider planet.

Of course, there’s also an environmental cost to throwing out an old appliance if it’s still functioning well. As such, you’ll need to consider the costs and benefits before upgrading. For most people, it’s worth waiting until the appliance in question is in need of an expensive repair before throwing it out and installing a new one. Obviously, it’s important to dispose of your old appliances in a way that’s responsible.

Using biodegradable products

Finally, we should consider the disposable products being used in the household. This might mean recycled toilet paper, and toiletries that rely on natural ingredients. Even the plastic handle of your toothbrush will one day end up in a landfill – so why not look at a bamboo one, instead?


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