5 Easy Tips for Going Green in the Home

If you look at “going green” as an intimidating lifestyle choice, it can be hard to ever take steps towards more sustainable living. But, it is a very broad philosophy, so it is not a surprise that many people are reluctant to make changes to their daily routine.

If you realize that “going green” can simply be about the small steps you take to reduce your own impact on the world around you, the concept becomes much more approachable.

Here’s a list of a few ways you can make your household more environmentally friendly. Try incorporating some into your family’s routine.

Compost

Composting is like recycling for organic materials, and it’s a great use of your household’s waste. You simply put compostable items into your compost bin instead of throwing them away, and you get back very fertile soil.

Once you start composting, you’ll be surprised to see how much of your daily trash goes into your bin! Not only does this mean you’re reducing landfill trash, which can lead to pollution of soil and water, but you are also saving in trips to the gardening store for fertilizer.

Use Cloth Instead of Paper

The amount of paper products we use daily is astounding. Unfortunately, most ways we use paper is such a part of our routine that we don’t notice it. Try these ideas to eliminate some paper use.

• Save old t-shirts for cleaning rags, so you aren’t using paper towels to do your chores.
• Make sure you dry your hands and your dishes with hand or kitchen towels; this is much more efficient and saves an incredible number of paper towels.
• Use cloth napkins, instead of paper ones, and you should only need to wash them once a week.
• Scraps of paper or computer paper that only had one-side printed on can be run back through the printer for another use.

Unplug appliances

Just because you aren’t using an appliance does not mean you aren’t using energy; appliances continue to use energy even when turned off.

Do a walk-through of your house and see how many appliances are plugged in, but may only rarely get used. If you have a lot of them, that wasted energy adds up!

Unplug the appliances that don’t get much use or don’t have to be reprogrammed each time they lose power; good examples are a toaster or a printer.

Plant an Herb Garden

Planting an herb garden is great introduction into the world of gardening. If you have stayed away from a small vegetable garden, plant an herb garden first and develop your green thumb and confidence. This is also a great idea because herbs are expensive and necessary in most dishes.

Use a Reusable Water Bottle

If you have to have water on the go, make sure you drink it from a reusable water bottle.

If the reason you drink bottled water is the taste, buy a water filter for your kitchen faucet or a water pitcher with a filter; then, you can have filtered water in your reusable bottle. Either method keeps you from constantly using and throwing away plastic bottles!

Liz Childers writes about Gerber knives for Knife Depot and bird feeders for Backyard Chirper.