Getting right with the planet starts at home. Some may say it’s our universal collective duty to do our part as we race toward a looming climate deadline that requires each of us to get our carbon footprint in check!
Adopting sustainability in your life starts with easy lifestyle changes and conscious decisions on the materials, products, and furniture we put into our homes. Couple that with a little waste reduction, and you’ve earned your eco-warrior at-home badge!
Let’s break down some of the easiest considerations and changes you can make for an eco-friendly home.
Have you been waiting to update your home with new furniture? Stop! Fast furniture, akin to fast fashion, promotes a culture of disposability, leading to increased waste and further emissions as the furniture choices of years past collect in our landfills. Instead, refresh your side tables, chairs, and bookcases with eco-friendly paint.
Fusion Mineral Paint is an excellent choice for your DIY upcycled furniture projects. More than just a pretty coat, this paint is free from volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ammonia, and formaldehyde, making it a healthy choice for you and your ecological footprint.
Put down your lawnmower this year! Or at least give it a break. The new home landscaping trend is to let nature do its thing instead! In place of traditional non-native turf lawns, many homeowners now opt for pollinator gardens. These gardens are designed with native plants to attract pollinators like bees, butterflies, and birds, which are crucial in supporting local ecosystems. These gardens are usually low maintenance, as native plants are well-adapted to local conditions, saving both water and effort in the process!
Green cleaning is coming through as a big trend in 2024, with companies like Blueland and Grove Collaborative offering all-in-one starter packs to make over your cleaning routine. What’s the problem with your cleaning products? Conventional brands are packaged in single-use plastic, have more water than active ingredients, and can contain harsh chemicals that get flushed down the drain and end up in our local waterways.
Look for brands that have a refillable model, are concentrated, and, most importantly, use plant-based biodegradable ingredients.
This year, it’s time to bid farewell to the grid. See ya, fossil-fueled electricity! Hello, renewable energy. Adding solar panels to your home is an excellent way to make it more eco-friendly, as well as save money to reinvest in green updates to your home!
As long as there’s sunshine, solar panels can generate and store electricity on your rooftop, carport, or in a freestanding area in your yard. Ultimately, going solar reduces reliance on fossil fuels, thereby cutting down on carbon emissions. It also increases the property value of your home and can help charge your electric vehicle!
Electrify smarter! Adopting smart technology in your home can significantly increase efficiency, leading to energy conservation, cost savings, and a more streamlined lifestyle. So, what is smart technology? In short, they’re gadgets that help your home run more efficiently, which means saving energy and your impact on the planet.
Look for smart thermostats that can help auto-adjust your home’s temperature, intelligent lighting systems that allow you to time its use remotely, and smart plugs to turn off appliances during off-peak hours.
Almost 146 million tons of food ends up in landfills each year — and behind that loss are the even larger quantity of natural resources that went into growing and farming it. Beyond the waste of resources are the greenhouse gases created as the food decomposes in landfills, contributing to climate change.
Composting food ensures that food waste becomes part of a circular solution. Its vital nutrients can be used in your garden, donated to a community garden, or even picked up by your local waste removal service and sent to farms. Consider investing in a tabletop composter like the Lomi to be part of the solution! The worms will thank you.
While none of these are going to turn around global warming on their own, they each contribute to an overall philosophy of “start where you are, do what you can” when approaching eco-anxiety. Your home is a great place to start!
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Published December 19, 2023 3:07PM
Eveelife is an eco-oriented lifestyle platform that helps consumers make more purposeful choices about how they live and what they consume. We do it by curating content and products that help them make more conscious, carbon-free choices while amplifying their EV ownership experience.
