Living an environmentally-friendly lifestyle is a lot easier than it sounds. It even provides many advantages, both to your personal life and to the environment. You don’t have to give up your current way of life completely to live more sustainably.
Check out these easy ways on how to go green at home:
Recycle
Recycling and segregating your trash is one of the easiest and most effective ways to go green. Use a separate waste bin inside the home specifically for recyclable items to make it easier to segregate waste.
Be mindful of what you’re putting in the recycling bin, as well. Check each item and make sure they’re recyclable. If a non-recyclable is tossed in with recyclable waste, it will contaminate the whole bin and will be unfit for recycling.
Buy organic food
Support your local farmers and butchers by shopping at the farmers’ market instead of the regular grocery store chains. Organically farmed produce also contributes fewer greenhouse gases and uses less water.
You’ll always get the freshest produce and meats when you buy from local shops. Buying locally-sourced items also translates to a lesser carbon footprint because the products didn’t have to travel by airplane, trucks, or ships.
The best way to have your veggies, spices, and herbs while using up the least carbon footprint is by planting these yourself. Read up on urban or backyard farming and start your own garden now!
Go digital
Much of our paper waste at home consists of bills or junk mail. Trim this down by going paperless.
With an email billing arrangement, you won’t have to worry about losing bills or keeping track of payments. To really go paperless and decrease your carbon emissions, pay your bills online, as well.
Unplug appliances
Appliances and gadgets still conduct passive energy when they’re plugged in even if they’re not being used. Unplugging appliances and electronics when you’re not using them will lower both your carbon footprint and your electric bill.
Getting smart plugs or smart power strips can also help you in managing your power usage. With these smart home gadgets, you can monitor each appliance’s electrical consumption and turn them on or off using an app.
Use less plastic
Single-use plastic is one of the biggest contributors to land and water pollution. Plastic bags, water bottles, and the like aren’t biodegradable and usually end up in landfills and the ocean.
Reducing your plastic use is a great way to reduce waste. Instead of buying bottled water, keep a reusable metal water bottle with you. You can also forgo plastic straws in favor of metal ones. When grocery shopping, stop using plastic bags. Use paper bags or reusable cloth and canvas bags instead.
In Santa Cruz County, going green at home has never been easier. The county has numerous ordinances in place to preserve the environment. It is also home to plenty of great eco-friendly establishments. Learn about the area and homes for sale in Santa Cruz County today!
Start your real estate journey with me, Amber Melenudo—your most trusted Santa Cruz County Realtor. Call me at 831.661.5591 or send a message to amber(at)davidlyng(dotted)com.