As the seasons change, maybe you're thinking of making changes to your home? Change doesn't have to be expensive. Sometimes, it's all about making better choices. Consider that making changes in your home can also mean taking better care of yourself! These are 10 (of many) Healthy Green Tips for Your Home:
- Eliminate chemicals in your home. Cleaning products oftentimes contain harmful chemicals. Baking soda and vinegar are great cleaning products alone or together! Baking soda has no harmful chemicals and vinegar acts as a natural disinfectant. Both provide better indoor air quality versus other chemicals that linger on surfaces.
- Clear drain lines to eliminate odors in your home by finding the source of the issue first. Dishwasher lines and drains are a common source of odor in your kitchen. Clean the filter in the bottom of your dishwasher frequently. Run your dishwasher at least once a week to clean out the lines. Covering up odors with plug-ins, candles and other “fresh air” products doesn’t correct the source of the problem. Oftentimes, those products add chemicals to your environment without correcting the issue.
- Save energy! Replaced burned out bulbs with LEDs; use 220 appliances during off-peak hours; and charge your EV during morning hours. Old refrigerators in garages use a LOT more energy as they are fighting the heat in your garage to keep a refrigerator cold. Saving energy in your home reduces your carbon footprint. Start with an energy audit from reliable companies on your energy providers’ website.
- Check the insulation in your home. During an energy audit, the type of insulation will be reviewed. Make sure you have at least 10” of insulation on the floor of your attic and that it is evenly distributed throughout your attic. There are other types of insulation that are more costly with a better insulating factor, depending on your budget. Radiant barrier and spray foam are two types of insulation installed on the underneath side of your roof with a higher R value. These keep your attic and ducting cooler during hot summer months.
- Reduce waste by purchasing products that have biodegradable or reusable packaging. A common product with wasteful packaging is toothpaste. The typical toothpaste tube is not recyclable, and these create a lot of waste. Locate shops that provide biodegradable or recyclable packaging. Use old t-shirts for cleaning versus paper towels; use reusable pads to clean floors; buy recycled products to eliminate trash; and re-use containers for storing other products.
- Improve your drinking water! Filter your drinking water with a carbon-based filtration system. Saltwater filtration systems add salt to the ground water and use a lot of water to flush out their systems. Arizona’s public drinking water is hard and the calcification in the water creates build-up on plumbing fixtures and doesn’t feel as good on your skin or hair. Some cities are banning saltwater systems due to the excess salt being added to the ground water.
- Save Water! Reduce water usage in your home and yard. Choose high efficiency toilets, water reduction water faucets, and turn off the water when brushing your teeth. Plant low water use plants!
- Create your own garden on your patio or backyard. When replacing bushes, plant for bees, butterflies and birds. Research what works best for you whether full sun or part sun.
- If you work from home, view all of your electric devices for energy efficiency. replace old equipment with Energy Star labeled printers, computers. Connect al devices to a smart power strip. Smart power strips may also have USB ports that can be operated remotely with the ability to turn off those using more power. Make sure to turn off all equipment when not in use.
- Shop for produce at farmers markets that sell locally grown produce versus buying from large grocery stores. Locally grown, organic produce usually means reduced pesticides. Locally grown produce ripens on the vine and the carbon footprint to drive in town is much less than large trucks coming in from out of state. Out of state produce is often picked before it ripens, reducing nutrients in the process.
- Use fabric bags or containers to store produce and refrigerated items where feasible. Unused produce can be frozen for later use in soups and sauces.
- Use your dollars wisely when shopping and support local businesses first. Shopping local keeps tax dollars in Arizona, helping small businesses stay in business.
If you’re interested in making changes to your home, feel free to visit my site (gotgreen.info) to locate vendors for products and services. Since 2008, this site has been home to many successful and consistent businesses in the sustainability space!
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