Greening Your Home – Top 5 Tips for a Smart Home

The rapid rise in the cost of electricity as well as increasing global warming are of utmost concern in the current era. One of the biggest challenges we face is the increase in pollution as well. To solve this problem, governments and individuals need to make a joint effort to move forward to “Greenism”. This involves going green and being more environmentally responsible.

Greening Your Home

Those who don’t have an idea about greening their home should follow these ideas as they allow you to play your part in conserving the environment.

Compost

There is so much easily compostable trash that goes to the landfill.  You can compost so much of the trash and it is incredibly rewarding.  Less trash to the landfill and rich compost to enrich our gardens. Composting is good for the environment and good for your gardens because they act as a natural fertilizer and eliminate the need for any kind of chemicals as well. In addition to that, compost produces beneficial bacteria and fungi that break down organic matter which results in the creation of hummus.

hand made of branches holding a green earth

Recycle

This one is certainly not new.  You probably remember talking about recycling as early as elementary school.  However, you would be amazed to learn that there are people who don’t recycle.  Recycling saves a lot of trash from hitting the landfill and allows us to make better use of our earth’s precious resources. Besides, some companies also offer their products in paper bags and other materials that can either be safely disposed of or recycled. Try to buy your commodities and products in packaging which is good for the environment as well as recyclable.

Reuse

Like recycling, reusing items instead of sending them to the landfill is not a revolutionary idea but it is easy to forget about.  As mentioned above, you can often have trouble remembering reusable grocery bags.  For example, you can use them as trash bags in our small trash cans.

When planting seedlings, there are also lots of things you can reuse.  You may have heard a lot about reusing those little plastic k-cup containers to plant seeds.  You can also use toilet paper tubes and yogurt containers, as well.  Bottom line, before you throw something away, think about how you might be able to reuse it. 

Plant and Grow Organic Gardens

If you’re a follower of this blog, it should be no surprise to you that we advocate for planting and growing organic gardens.  There are so many benefits to doing this.  Plants and greenery support our environment and ecosystem.  They teach our children about caring for the earth and its beings.  They also make sure that you and your family have a constant supply of fresh fruits and vegetables that are pesticide-free.

Organic gardening is an easy and smart way to green your life. Check out this post on getting started with raised bed gardening.

Hands holding and caring a green young plant

Go Solar

One of the biggest concerns of all times is the rising demand for electricity and other forms of energy with the clash against depleting resources required to fulfill all of this demand. This often leads to power breakdowns as well, more commonly in the city side. Although many are not affected by power cuts, it is still an important aspect to consider for the environment. One of the best ways to save power is to go solar. 

Solar panels are becoming increasingly popular all over the US and in many other countries as well. The one-time cost may be a bit high but it would give you a good return in the coming years. Besides, you will be able to save a major sum on the monthly expenditure of electricity that you currently pay. Electricity coming from renewable resources such as solar panels is considered to be good for the environment which is why we recommend it too.

Solar panels

Buy Green Appliances

One way to solve the problem of increasing the burden of electricity and reduced resources is to invest in appliances that save more and spend less. Not only will these appliances be a lesser burden on your pocket in the long run with reduced bills but they will also be good for the environment. For example, the trend of inverter air conditioners has been gaining popularity because they consume less electricity.

Those who can’t invest in solar panels due to their high prices should try to invest in appliances which are not going to harm the environment in any way. Appliances other than air conditioners such as toasters, refrigerators, pressure cookers, and many more also come in variants that save more electricity. You can check them out on Amazon.com as well. 

Ecological friendly and sustainable environment

Programming The Thermostat

Do you have a programmable thermostat?  They are a great way to easily control your energy usage and make sure you are heating and/or cooling efficiently.  Check out the options that your thermostat provides you to start saving today.

These are just my top 5 EASY ways to go about greening your home.  There are many other things that you can do.  Here are some additional ideas:

  • Save On Hot Water – make sure your water heater isn’t heating your water above 120 and install an insulated water heater blanket.
  • Stop Phantom Loads – This is when electricity is being used by appliances and electronic devices even when they are shut off.  Make sure you unplug any devices/appliances that you can or plug them into power strips that are easy to switch on and off.
  • Seal cracks in your home. 
  • Install insulation.
  • Upgrade windows.
  • Upgrade your lighting.  It used to be all about CFLs but the new thing is LEDs.  While CFLs have a lifespan of 10,000 hours, LED lights to have a lifespan of 50,000 hours (!), use about 1/3 the energy of CFLs and do not contain mercury.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, the world has come to a point where mass exploitation of resources is being done regularly with the factor of sustainable use of resources not being taken into consideration. Besides, people are not being careful either. The least you can do is play your part by transforming your home into a modern green home. Save the resources so that they can be used by the next generations as well.

You can also follow our guide to scrapping gardening to make your garden without using any major resources.