From Guest Blogger Eileen O’Shanassy: Best Ways To Make Your Home As Green As Possible

Increasing your home’s eco-friendliness is an excellent way to save money, help the environment, and make your house more comfortable to live in. From modernizing your appliances to incorporating natural elements like bamboo, here are several simple strategies for going green.

Invest in New Appliances

Though it may look expensive at first glance, upgrading your appliances to more efficient models can be one of the fastest ways to cut down on energy usage. If you have old washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, or freezers, then you may be using a considerable amount of extra energy. Sometimes, the excess is so substantial that an upgrade could pay for itself in a year or two. Specifically, you should shop around for models that are rated by organizations such as Energy Star.

Update Your Lighting

Old light bulbs can last a long time, but that doesn’t mean that they’re giving you the best bang for your buck. In fact, a long-lived and inefficient bulb can end up costing you far more than a greener replacement. Furthermore, you may be so used to your old bulbs that you don’t realize just how harsh their lighting is. Softer, cheaper bulbs can end up solving a quality of life problem that you didn’t even realize you had.

Refine Climate Control

Regulating the temperature in your home might be a lot cheaper than you expect. Firstly, the change to a more modern heater and/or air conditioner can dramatically reduce your expenditures during extreme weather. Depending on where you live, you may also want to consider changing energy sources for your heater. Prices may have shifted dramatically since you last looked at the difference between gas and electric. Secondly, you should also focus on improving insulation and checking walls, doors, and windows for gaps. Even a small opening can force your HVAC to work overtime in bringing your home’s temperature to the right level.

Start to Compost

If you have a garden or wish to start one, then composting can be an excellent opportunity to recycle organic waste and boost your soil’s fertility. As long as you have a place to store the decomposing material that’s out of the way, you can rack up quite a bit of nutrition for your planets and lessen the load on your trash and yard waste services. On the ecological side, you can be assured that your waste is going to the best possible use, rather than the ambiguity that comes with handing your waste off to someone else to recycle.

Minimize Water Use

It’s easy to use too much water without even realizing it, but there are ways we can reduce our water use . From showers to toilets and watering your lawn, a little too much flow can add up to hundreds and thousands of gallons over the years. Consider a shower head attachment to reduce flow to a more pragmatic level, a dual-flush toilet system to minimize water waste, and an irrigation system that spreads out water more evenly to problematic areas. If you live in an area that’s not suitable for lawns, then consider a rock garden and succulents.

Consider Solar

Switching over to solar power can be expensive, but you don’t have to jump straight into an entire array of panels. You could pick up a few panels and use them to take a small dent out of your energy costs. You can also opt for simple uses of solar energy, such as low-tech solar water heaters or opening up your shades during winter to increase the amount of light that gets inside.

Switch to Bamboo

There is an increase in number of products that can be made with bamboo fibers, such as towels and tables. The general idea is that you are exchanging environmentally-damaging ingredients for a more sustainable replacement. Instead of having a table made from ancient forests that are being cut down faster than they’re being replanted, you can use cheap and easily replaced bamboo from specialized farms. Don’t be fooled into thinking that bamboo is weak either. Bamboo is actually strong enough to grow through concrete and steel, and is harder than Red Oak. It’s going to be a good alternative wood for a green home.

How to Make a Lasting Impact

Whether you’re doing it to save the environment, money, or both, you should decide what kind of adjustments you want to make based on how much effort you’re willing to put in over the long term. For those that want to make an upfront purchase and forget about it, there are plenty of options for buying more efficient replacements for your long-term appliances and furnishings. For those that are happy to make a conscious effort on a regular basis, then there are plenty of disposable products that you can buy from greener sources.

Learn more about clean, renewable energy here!