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Many people think living a more eco-friendly lifestyle is simply infeasible. They may assume, for example, that living on a modest income means they can’t afford more eco-friendly choices like solar panel roofs or hybrid electric cars. However, there are indeed many eco-friendly products you can use in your home that are both useful and affordable. Below are five such examples.

One of the most affordable and easy-to-install green products you can use in your home is LED light bulbs. LED stands for light-emitting diodes. You can contrast these against more traditional incandescent light bulbs. The filaments inside incandescent light bulbs “burn hot” to produce light. As such, they require a lot of electricity to operate. They also tend to stop working after a short period as well. This is the not case with LEDs. LED light bulbs work by producing light-emitting photons when a current is sent through individual diodes. According to the Department of Energy, this increases the efficiency of the bulbs by a whopping 90 percent. As a result, they use less electricity and last a lot longer as well.

When you renovate rooms in your house, you can make eco-friendly choices that will make a big difference for the environment. Most kinds of consumer paints include toxic chemicals that are bad for nature. Some of these chemicals are released into the atmosphere as the paint dries. They can even be harmful to a family living inside a home. However, one greener alternative you can buy is limewash paint. This is a kind of paint created from limes that are burned, crushed, and mixed to create a putty for the base of the paint. It does not include the harmful chemicals that other paints do. In fact, it can help to remove carbon monoxide from the surrounding air during the paint’s curing process and can actually increase the air quality within a home.

In certain parts of the country, the conservation of water is a big deal. This is true in the Southwest where deadly droughts can devastate entire communities and even place a strain on the food supply due to crops not receiving enough water. In this scenario, every drop of water counts. If you want to be more eco-friendly, you need to use less water in your daily activities. While replacing all your appliances with low-flow alternatives may be expensive, you can start by replacing your showerheads. Low flow showerheads use significantly less water and can be bought for very cheap from nearly any department store.

A lot of household cleaners are filled with toxic chemicals. They are bad for people, pets, and the environment. Instead of buying such cleaners, you can use a wholly natural alternative. One great choice is apple cider vinegar. All you have to do is combine it with water and add it to a spray bottle. One-part water and one-part apple cider vinegar spray will do a great job of killing germs and removing dirt and grime due to the small amount of acid in the vinegar. It’s also completely natural and harmless. You will save a lot of money using this mixture over the household cleaners you would buy in the store.

One thing you won’t be able to avoid using anytime soon is standard AA and AAA batteries for your TV remote, video game controllers, and a host of other devices. Unfortunately, batteries are pretty bad for the environment. Over time, these little batteries can corrode. At that point, the harmful chemicals contained within can leak into the environment and pollute water sources and the soil. One solution to this problem is to use fewer batteries. You can do this by using rechargeable batteries. While they may cost a little more, they can also be recharged as much as 100 times. This makes them a far better deal than standard batteries and a whole lot less harmful for the planet at the same time.

Conclusion

Overall, the little things matter in regards to living a green lifestyle. You do not need to be rich to make these changes. Many of them can be done for relatively cheap and will probably help you save money in the long term. The list above is only a starting point for cheap eco-friendly products you can use in your home.

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