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“What is the use of a house if you don’t have a decent planet to put it on?” This is what the author and naturalist Henry David Thoreau first asked back the 19th century, and his question still applies to our lives today. Because if we’re not living sustainably– then we’re slowly ruining our own and only planet.
And if you’d like to do better by your own children, then here are seven simple and immediate ways you can turn up the sustainability – starting with your own home.
The Home of the Future is Smart, Simple, and Sustainable
Since we were kids, we’ve been taught about “The Three Rs” of environmental responsibility – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. And when it comes to your home, you can put those same principles into practice. Here’s how.
- Less Lawn, More Garden
Keeping a lawn nice and healthy requires a lot of water – and that’s just to grow more grass that you’ll need to mow a few weeks later. However, if you limit that landscaped lawn and instead plant even a small, backyard, vegetable garden, you’re already doing both yourself and the world a favor.
Because while eating dinner out is absolutely easier, when you add it all up, it’s rather expensive and wasteful. But with your garden, rather than buying every single thing from the grocery store, you’ll have a nice supply of veggies that’ll be fresher, tastier, cheaper, and ready for dinner whenever you are. Plus, if you start composting as well, you’ll soon create your own pile of beautiful and rich soil, which you can then use to plant a bigger garden.
- Wash Away Your Water Waste
When it comes to maintaining that lawn and garden, many folks set out the sprinkler and forget it for hours. But as you think about your home’s personal conservation of water, keep in mind that, according to National Geographic, “Nearly 60% of a person’s household water footprint can go toward lawn and garden maintenance.” So, instead, set an automatic sprinkler timer to switch off after a certain amount of watering. Alternately, you can collect, store, and reuse rainwater. It’s clean, it’s free, it’s great for your garden or yard, and you can even make gravity do the work to pump it out.
Beyond the lawn, you can also reduce your water waste by installing low-flow toilets (dropping each flush from six gallons to one and a half), installing faucet aerators and low-flow shower heads, and taking showers as opposed to baths – as they use about half as much water, as long as you limit them to less than five minutes.
- Be Brighter: Upgrade Your Lightbulbs AND Save
While the glow of an old-school, incandescent lightbulb may bring back fond memories of your childhood, humans have since figured out how to be brighter about artificial lights. And today, you have two better options: CFLs and LEDs.
Compared to incandescent bulbs, Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs use about 75% less energy and last about ten times longer, and Light Emitting Diodes (LED) bulbs cut energy use by more than 80% and last more than 25 times longer. And while they do cost more upfront, you end up saving a lot in the long run.
- Discipline Your Energy-Hungry Appliances
If you don’t have the spare change to buy a new suite of quality, energy-saving appliances featuring the Energy Star certification, then the least you can do is use your current appliances more wisely. Wait for full loads in the washer, dryer, dishwasher, etc. before turning the household appliance on, and keep your home temperature at a more temperate level – perhaps even with the assistance of a smart thermostat.
- Plug and Patch Those Pesky Leaks
Ever feel like your AC and heater just can’t keep? It could be that your home is letting the air escape without you knowing. To fix this, go around your house and plug, insulate, replace, repair, caulk, or seal up all the holes you find to make your home as leak-proof as possible – and watch your utility bills drop drastically.
- Act, and Clean, Naturally
Rather than buying all those harsh, artificial chemicals and coating your home with them in the names of cleanliness and hygiene, you can instead, use natural, environmentally-safe, non-toxic cleaners. For example, the acid in white vinegar makes it naturally capable of killing mold and bacteria, and you can use it to clean mirrors and windows as well. Baking soda is great for deodorizing, and lemon juice is great for combatting grease, stains, and stinky smells.
- Soak Up the Sun
Go solar, guys. It’s literally an endless supply of free energy. All you have to do is harness it by installing a set of
solar panels on your roof. And you know what folks call a solar spill? A beautiful day.
And while it may feel like all these little changes you’re making at home won’t make much of an impact outside of it, many experts say otherwise. As conservationist John Muir, , so wisely pointed out, “When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.”
So always remember that every one of your environmentally sustainable efforts – all together – will not only net you a bunch of savings on your home utilities, but they’ll also reduce your amount of wasted power and water, as well as decrease our country’s carbon footprint. And we all bear the responsibility for taking care of this one Earth we have to share.
About the author: Stacee Flanagan is the Energy Solutions Director over at Allconnect. Since 1998, Allconnect has simplified and expedited the purchase and setup of home utilities and services (like Internet, TV, and Electricity) for millions of movers and homeowners all across the United States.
