The world is becoming increasingly conscious of the burden we place on our environment, and just a few minor changes can make a huge difference to your household’s eco-footprint. With this in mind, here are some simple things you can change around the house to make your home more eco-friendly.
Use tea leaves instead of tea bags
As it turns out, most UK tea bags aren’t fully biodegradable, which means that the copious amounts of teabags that are consumed by the British public each day (approximately 165 million) are just sitting in landfill. Tea leaves are an eco-friendly alternative to tea bags, and with very little difference in cost, you may not even notice the switch!
Purchase upcycled furniture
Not only will purchasing upcycled furniture help to make your home more eco-friendly, but it’ll create an authentic and vintage look for your home. It’s also considerably cheaper to upcycle than to buy everything brand new.
Hang thicker curtains
Thicker curtains are incredibly effective at preventing heat loss through your windows over the winter months, reducing your energy consumption and saving you some money! It’s also a good idea to keep curtains drawn so that direct sunlight can warm the rooms up throughout the day, without having to put on the central heating.
Install energy-saving lightbulbs
Lighting accounts for roughly 15% of the average household’s energy bill, which means that this is a good place to start if you’re looking to reduce both your energy consumption, and your utility bill at the end of the month.
As well as simply switching lights off as you leave a room, installing energy saving lightbulbs will help to reduce your energy bill each month. And because they last longer than normal lightbulbs, you also won’t have to go through the hassle of changing them as often!
Unplug your gadgets
As a general rule, if you aren’t using it then unplug it, as appliances (including chargers) will still use up energy even when they’re not in use. Switch it off at the plug, and make sure you don’t leave electronics, such as your TV and laptop, on standby, as this will still use considerable energy.