Reducing our carbon footprint is at the top of many people’s lists as we all want to move towards environmentally friendly living. So, how can you reduce your carbon footprint at home? Let’s look at some fantastic and surprisingly easy ways:
Solar Energy
Investing in solar panels for your home is an excellent way of reducing your carbon footprint. You will also significantly lower your energy bills with up to 50% of your energy generated by your solar power system. Use the sun’s power to naturally fuel your home, leading to less reliance on fossil fuels and commercial energy companies. Renewable energy helps to lower the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere significantly.
Cleaning Products
Biodegradable, non-toxic cleaning products are much more environmentally friendly. Greener cleaning products are just as effective at cleaning as standard products, but they are much kinder to our planet. Reduce airborne chemicals and use products with fully-recyclable packaging to help bring your carbon footprint down.
Reduce Food Waste
Did you know that many households throw away as much as 30% of their food? This is a colossal amount of waste. Fossil fuel labour, water, time and money go into making food, and so much is wasted. Food waste causes methane – a flammable greenhouse gas that affects climate change. Filling our landfills with food waste harms the planet, so reducing your food waste is a great way to decrease your carbon footprint. Ensure all food is stored correctly, freeze and use leftover food and compost your waste.
Buy Greener
Most green products are just as powerful as their more harmful alternatives. If you follow the instructions on the labels of green products, you will yield the same results. These products are kinder to your home and its inhabitants, meaning you will protect your children, pets, and the planet.
Reuse and Recycle
Did you know food and product containers have many potential uses? A quick look online will supply an astonishing and endless amount of creative and useful purposes for empty containers. Before you throw something away, try to find an alternative function for it. If you must throw it away, be sure to recycle absolutely everything that is recyclable. Regarding food waste, composting your scraps is a great move towards sustainability. Try to be more mindful of the three types of waste – compost, recyclable and landfill.
Colder Washing
Look at your washing schedule and see if you can cut down on loads at all. Jeans are an example of clothing that does not require regular washing. If you have only worn a garment for a few hours, does it need to be washed? You would be surprised how much you can reduce your energy consumption by changing your laundry habits. Around 75% of the energy used by washing appliances goes towards heating water. Washing at a colder temperature will usually produce the same results, but it will be kinder to the environment and your energy bills.
Grow your Own
While not everyone will have garden space for an allotment, you can get creative with space and grow your own food. Fruit and veg can be homegrown easily and offer a much more environmentally friendly food supply. It will also help bring that weekly shopping bill down! You can find a wealth of information about growing your own food online and forums where people share advice and tips. You can even share your homegrown treats with friends and family, reducing your carbon footprint further.
Reducing your Carbon Footprint Long-term
Making the changes listed above will help you reduce your long-term carbon footprint and could inspire others to follow suit. Protect the planet and save some pennies with small sustainable lifestyle and routine changes.