Being more sustainable seems to be becoming a more significant trend every day. Why wouldn’t it? Living a sustainable lifestyle is fantastic for our environment. It’s about improving the health of our environment and ensuring a better quality of life for generations to come.
Now that we’ve established why it’s so important to reduce the number of natural resources we use and decrease the amount of waste we generate. Let’s talk about how we can do that in our homes individually. However, before you start mentally calculating how much it’s going to cost you to redo your house, there’s something you need to know. I mean, a Tesla isn’t the same price as a bag of potato chips. Did you know you don’t have to break the bank to upgrade your house to a more eco-friendly home? There are a couple of ways you can easily save money and still be sustainable. So let’s get right to it!
Don’t Be in Haste to Tear it Down
Yes, it’s an ancient house; you just moved in, and you would like to make it your own; you’re dying to get a bigger bath. Well, before you go crazy, knocking down walls and ceilings with your wrecking ball, you might want to rethink tearing the entire building down. If you have some construction work going on that includes massive renovation, it’s beneficial to first assess the structure for what you can salvage. Consider which walls can stay, which tiles you can recycle, what cabinets can get another coat of paint, and which light fixtures you’re cool with leaving. You get the picture, take an inventory before bringing the house down.
Alternatively, you can reuse cabinets, vanities, flooring from junkyards, yard sales, or just old stuff from your previous house.
Stay Properly Insulated
The cost of heating an entire home can get pretty expensive, pretty quickly. Thankfully there are ways to ensure that bill crashes without getting frostbite. Firstly, you should consider insulating your attic. But wait, won’t that cost you more money? Yes, it will, but not in the long run. Heat rises, and thus a lot of heat meant to circulate in your home and keep your toes toasty escapes through your badly or non-insulated roof. So insulating your attic saves you money in the long run.
Another thief of heat is the gaps in your walls and around your windows. These tiny spaces that are multiple in numbers can allow heat to escape from your home. So seal up those walls and fix those broken windows. While you’re at it, check for leaks in your air ducts that could be allowing heat escape.
Cut Back on Water
We may live on a planet that’s 70% water, but most of it is either unusable or inaccessible. So, we have to make the most of the water we do have. A great way to do this would be by swapping your current showerhead, for one that’s low flow. You probably use a lot more water in the shower than you realize, and reducing the amount that everyone at home uses would save several gallons of water over the years.
If you don’t mind spending a couple of extra bucks and a couple of hours, you could even build your rainwater retrieval system. The rainwater you collect can be used in watering your garden and in flushing. If you go the extra mile of treating it, you can use it for your laundry and even cooking.
Do your Lighting Properly
Now that we’ve talked about cutting back on your heating and water bill let’s head on over to your light bill. Lighting is an essential part of every home, and it’s also one of the most natural areas to get sustainable. One of the most sustainable energy sources we have in the world is our sun. In an hour, it’s capable of generating more energy than we currently need on Earth for an entire year. So switching your power source to solar is something you should consider.
Regardless of where you are, there are a growing number of installation companies skilled to help you convert the energy from the sun to electricity in your home. If you live in the south-eastern part of Queensland, you can have access to one of the best Brisbane solar power specialists who would harvest clean and renewable energy from the sun for your home while reducing your dependence on energy providers.
Small ways you can reduce your light bill are switching to LED bulbs, which consume far less energy and rechargeable batteries, which consume less power as well.
A famous saying goes, there’s no plan B because there’s no planet B. It’s our duty as citizens of the Earth to protect it, and do everything we can to preserve our home, by making our homes better and more sustainable. With the tips above, you should be able to save up on a ton of bills while reducing your carbon footprint.
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