We live in a day and age where we should all strive to empower green living, i.e., making more environmentally conscious and sustainable lifestyle choices. As homeowners and inhabitants of this planet, we should learn how to make a difference and keep this lovely planet habitable for centuries to come.
In this article, the teams at Habitat for Humanity of Broward and Habitat for Humanity ReStore bring you these excellent tips to help you live a green lifestyle and to make more environmentally-friendly choices.
How to Live a Greener Life?
Some homeowners may think that living a green lifestyle is a difficult shift to make. And while it’s true that some of these green living tips do require a bit of adjusting, with a little patience and time, everyone can get used to them and start living more in tune with the environment.
1. Using LED Light Bulbs
This one is simple: LED light bulbs use less energy, last longer, and don’t contain any harmful materials. You can opt to change all of your bulbs all at once, but you can also make a difference by swapping them at a slower pace every time one standard bulb goes out.
2. Using Energy-Efficient Appliances
This technology generally uses less electricity, but at the same time, they are just as efficient. These devices can help you protect the environment and save up some money in the long run. Still, replacing every home appliance at once can be financially challenging. Hence, it’s best to change them one at a time and also look for opportunities to recycle your old devices to avoid them ending up in landfills.
3. Turn the Lights Off
This easy action has the potential to help you adopt a greener lifestyle without any drastic changes. Challenge yourself to embrace the soft glow of a small lamp or the energizing sunlight that enters through your windows. Try avoiding the use of big overhead lights throughout the day.
4. Turn Off Your Electronics
Imagine a world where you switch off your electronic devices and appliances when you’re done with them and unplug them to prevent them from wasting power in standby mode. Yes, this includes your chargers too! By taking this mindful step, you take back control of your energy usage and contribute to a sustainable future.
5. Canvas Bags for the Win!
Embrace green living by saying no to plastic bags and using reusable canvas bags instead. This doesn’t only mean grocery shopping but every kind of shopping you might do. Remember, going green should start with subtle changes like this.
6. Try to Use Less Water
Among our green living tips, this should be high on your priority list. Generally, you can include the following to stop wasting water:
- Install low-flow faucets, toilets, and showerheads
- Take showers and not baths
- Enjoy shorter showers
- Keep the tap off when brushing your teeth or washing the dishes.
7. Save Energy With Your Appliances
Make an effort to use less energy when using your household devices. For starters, consider the following:
- Run the washer on cold water
- Open the door of your dishwasher to dry the dishes
- Hang your clothes to dry if you can
- Run your dishwasher, dryer, and washer at night
- Don’t preheat the oven
- Use your microwave oven instead of the oven or stove when you can
8. Opt for Renewable Electricity
While switching to an energy plan that’s powered by renewable energy might not be something you can pull off without any extra effort, it’s one of the most crucial factors when it comes to true green living. This will go a long way in helping the environment.
9. Commit to Recycling
How to live a greener lifestyle? Start by encouraging a local recycling program and ensure to follow the rules. It’s also an excellent idea to check your local stores and facilities where you can recycle heavier items such as plastic bags, consumer electronics, light bulbs, etc.
10. Leave the Car in the Garage
Some green tips will also depend on where you live. If you can, embrace public transportation. If you have access to subway systems, trains, and/or buses, make an effort to use them whenever you can. Fewer vehicles on roads and highways mean fewer exhaust gases in the environment.
On that end, you can embrace a green lifestyle even if you don’t have public transportation in your area. By setting up a rideshare or carpool system with your coworkers, family, and friends, you can significantly reduce the amount of emission gases in your area. Four or five people taking one car means four or five times fewer gases are emitted than if everyone drove their own vehicle.
11. Plant a Tree
Trees are crucial for the health of the environment. That said, well-laced trees in your yard can provide you with shade, lowering the temperatures inside your home. Not to mention trees can also help the environment by extracting CO2 (carbon dioxide) from the atmosphere.
12. Choose In-Season Organic Produce
Whenever you can, opt for produce that comes from no more than a 100-mile radius. If your food is coming from places far away, you are actively contributing to climate change because of the carbon dioxide that is emitted into the atmosphere by trains, trucks, and planes that deliver the food.
13. Refrain From Overusing Single-Use Products
Opting for canvas bags isn’t the only way you can start living a green lifestyle. You can do quite a few more things to help the environment in this aspect. As such, consider using the following as well:
- Reusable utensils
- Coffee pods
- Cups
- Travel toiletries
- Condiments
- Laundry soap
Instead of using single-use products, make a difference by choosing multiple-use high-quality items that can help cut down your personal waste production.
On that note, you can also cut down on buying bottled water. Reducing the amount of plastic bags you consume can potentially help clean the planet, as fewer single-use plastics will end up in landfills.
14. Cut Down on Dairy and Meat If You Can
We’re not saying you should become a vegan or a vegetarian if that’s not your plan, but embracing a more plant-based diet can help you reduce your carbon footprint. It has been argued that the cattle raised for consumption significantly contributed to climate change because of the amount of methane that cattle-raising factories produce. For starters, you can always go one day without meat every week.
You Can Always Do More for the Environment
Making a conscious effort to live a greener lifestyle is a massive step towards saving the planet. As a matter of fact, there are several other great green living tips you can embrace that didn’t make this list. Want to learn about them as well? If yes, feel free to reach out to us and learn more about environmentally-conscious living.
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