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Unlike paper towels, you can find reusable dish cloths in a wide assortment of colors and patterns, making them a perfect vehicle for showcasing your personal style. For example, this Swedish Discloth Set is made from environmentally-friendly cellulose and comes in a delightful, yellow lemon pattern. Another popular method for cutting down drastically on food waste is smart shopping. Create a list beforehand and buy only what you absolutely need for the week to prevent unused food items being tossed in the garbage. Reduce needless food waste so we can feed our families and our resources by investing in a slew of reusable food storage products. These unseen menaces rack up energy waste, making your home less energy-efficient and sustainable.
In fact, leaving unused devices plugged in can cost you up to $200 more per month, on average, in electricity. However, the truth is that electricity is often produced in power plants that use fossil fuels. Clean alternatives are available, but up until now they have been beyond the reach of most people. When improving our homes, we can ask ourselves if a piece of furniture we don’t need could be given a second life. Our Buy back and resell service is one way we’re making it more affordable to live more sustainably. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the cost of unused but plugged-in devices is around 19 billion dollars annually in the US and generates 44 million tons of carbon.
Ways to Make Your Home Sustainable
Here are eight simple sustainable home improvements that can be made to any property to lower its energy consumption and reduce expenses. When it’s time, replace appliances to energy efficient models (look for the “energy star” label). Unfortunately, millions of trees are consumed each year to create toilet paper. This not only worsens our climate crisis, but also endangers wildlife habitats and indigenous communities worldwide. Partaking in a regular energy audit can help you save money in the long run, reduce unnecessary energy use, and improve the quality of your existing energy output.
Salvage and junk yards can be goldmines for cheap and easy-to-reuse materials that can be incredibly cheap to buy. Before you head to a big brand store to buy wood for countertops or flooring, look for reclaimed wood you can repurpose. Not only does this save you money, but it also saves the planet too. You can often find classic, old-school fixtures and fittings there too, including sinks and bathtubs.
Make sure your big purchases have big environmental benefits.
Cutting down on disposable, single-use plastic is a step towards a more sustainable home life and a step towards protecting our environment from harmful waste. Who Gives A Crap is a certified B Corporation that specializes in sustainable, biodegradable, septic-safe, non-toxic toilet paper that is tree-free and gives back. Who Gives A Crap donates half of its profits to non-profit organizations focused on building toilets and improving access to water and basic sanitation in developing countries. Each year, households discard 254 million tons of paper towels. Just like plastic, this unrecyclable paper chokes up landfills and creates needless waste.
While you’re at it, if you’re in the U.S., go ahead and make sure you’re on the “do not call” list, just to make life better. It’s good to remember where our food originates, and it doesn’t have to be huge or complicated. Sustainable materials, like Terrazzo or PaperStone, are not only visually appealing, but they also offer major benefits to our planet. One such option is the reusable trash bag from Zero Waste Market. This 13–16-gallon reusable bag is machine washable, leak-resistant, and mold-resistant, and eliminates the need for disposable, plastic trash bags. Unsurprisingly, the shower is a major source of water consumption at home.
SUPPORT RENEWABLE ENERGY
There are lots of little things we can do in our homes to play our small part in reducing landfill waste, cleaning the air, and preserving the natural landscape. But we double our efforts when we get our kids involved, helping them understand the why to our what. Being eco-wise is about celebrating creation, being good stewards with what we’re given, and passing on those values to the next generation. If you have the outdoor space, a clothesline dried by fresh sunshine is a zero-emission alternative to putting a load in the dryer. Choosing a more sustainable lifestyle at home doesn’t mean you have to tear down the walls and rebuild your home from scratch.
Just as keeping your car in shape improves your fuel efficiency, keeping your home in shape improves your energy efficiency. Many states now offer incentives to help you green your home or rental at low or no cost. Not everyone can run out and trade in their old gas-guzzling clunker for the latest planet-friendly hybrid car.
Simple habits to support your sustainability goals
Our goal is to inspire more than 1 billion people to live a better everyday life within the limits of the planet. Get good news, reforestation updates, planting event information, and more delivered right to your inbox. Waste guidelines can be confusing, so reach out to your local waste treatment facility to find out exactly what they accept. You can also check our tips on How to Recycle, and be surprised to learn some things you’ve been dutifully tossing in the bin (i.e. yogurt cups) get incinerated or baled and sent to third world countries.
If you’re resolved to add an element of eco-friendliness into your home this year, you’re in luck. More plant-based food options Our goal is that by 2025, 50% of main meals offered in IKEA restaurants will be plant-based and 80% will be non-red meat.
How to save energy at home When it comes to saving energy, the little things can make a big difference. We have loads of products and tips to make your home more energy efficient. To maximize the impact of your donation, our partners on the ground will determine the most appropriate species of tree and shrubs. We only plant native tree species that will restore the local ecosystem, re-establish wildlife habitat, and reduce the likelihood of future fires.
This simple home improvement can be completed in a day or two and makes a huge difference to the sustainability of your home, and your energy bills. You’ll be recycling perfectly usable items, you’ll be supporting your local economy, and you’ll be saving money. These materials last much longer than their non-sustainable equivalents and are crafted from recycled materials, which translates to less of our planet’s natural resources being consumed. If you are taking a hot shower, the Alliance recommends collecting the normally discarded cold water in a bucket for watering plants or some other use around the house.
Installing strips on the backside of a flatscreen television can bring light into a space without causing screen glare. Some systems can even work with your television to accentuate the viewing experience by mimicking the lighting on the screen. Dual pane UPVC windows help to retain heat in your home during the colder months and cool your home in spring and summer by keeping warm air outside.
When choosing new appliances always look for their energy-efficiency rating. Though lower-rated products may be a little cheaper, they will cost you more in the long run. This home improvement is a big investment, but it can make a tremendous difference. Generating your own electricity on-site makes huge savings on your electricity bill, and you can even sell any excess energy you produce to energy suppliers. In the right conditions, this home improvement can make you money not just save you money.
Buy organic food whenever possible; it may cost a little more, but it keeps harmful pesticides out of our land and water, protecting farm workers, wildlife and your family. Check out this map of imperiled species harmed by pesticides in the United States. We’re working hard to run our business in more sustainable ways, and at the same time, we’re also developing products and services that enable people to reduce their impact on the planet. By focusing on energy, air, water, waste and food we can help you live more sustainably.
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