Promoting an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle from the Comfort of Your Home

11.05.2020 GREEN LIVING 0.0 0

eco-friendly lifestyle

For most people, their home is one of the places where they spend a significant amount of time. Some may even say that their home is where their heart is. Your home hopefully reflects your heart and the eco-friendly lifestyle you wish to promote.

There are so many ways to live a more natural and sustainable lifestyle that it can be overwhelming to know where to start. When making changes to your home, the best way to start is with the simplest and most achievable actions. Much like the ripple effect, small steps can lead to big changes. Here are some starter ideas to create a more eco-friendly lifestyle, starting with your home.

Declutter Your Space

Review all the objects you keep and donate as much as you’re comfortable with. Having a cluttered room makes it harder to clean and increases the chances of allergies from higher dust levels. If you’re already prone to allergies, consider removing rugs, carpets, and curtains, which may collect dust mites, pollen, and other allergens.

Use Natural Beauty and Household Cleaning Products

Believe it or not, cosmetics, skincare products, and hair styling products and dyes have some of the highest levels of chemicals found in your home. To make matters worse, these cosmetic and beauty products are applied on or near your skin and eyes. In addition, the household cleaning products that you have under the sink are loaded with dyes, fragrances, and chemicals, all of which are overkill when you need to clean and disinfect your home.

Go through your household products and eliminate any with artificial fragrances and harsh chemicals. If you’re not sure about a product, visit the GoodGuide for more information on the ingredients in home and beauty products. The website will rate the products and list the potentially toxic ingredients found in the product to help you decide if it’s worth keeping.

Replace your cosmetics with organic versions. Consider using pure argan oil or more natural, fragrance-free moisturizers on your skin. As for home cleaning products, natural products, such as vinegar, baking soda, and lemon oil are just as effective to clean and disinfect your home as some of the store-bought chemical versions.

Reduce Your Water Usage

Americans waste one trillion gallons of water per year. Water is a precious resource; anything you can do to reduce your consumption can help reduce this shocking statistic. There are a few simple ways you can save on your water consumption:

Install low-flow faucets in your kitchen and bathroom(s)
Collect rainwater to water your plants
Collect and reuse the water you use when you’re prepping in the kitchen to water your plants
Soak fruits and vegetables in a bowl to wash them instead of washing them under running water
Turn faucets off when you’re not actively rinsing
Take showers instead of baths

Consider Natural Remedies

If you want to truly live a natural, more wholesome lifestyle, clear out your medicine cabinet and replace some of your over the counter medicines with natural versions. Use pure essential lavender oil as a sleeping aid or to treat minor burns instead of taking a sleeping pill or using a petroleum-jelly based first aid ointment. You might also consider skipping harsh over-the-counter decongestants when feeling stuffed up, and try CBD oil instead. Derived from hemp, CBD won’t get you high, but could relieve hay fever and other allergies! Further, if you suffer from serious allergies in the springtime months, you might consider using eyedrops for allergies rather than taking antihistamines that can make you sleepy and unfocused.

Ask Your Employer to Work Remotely

More employees are working from home every day. Working home just a few days per month can help you cut back on your contribution to carbon emissions caused by commuting to and from work. If it’s possible to do your job from home, speak with your employer about giving telecommuting a try.

Sell the idea as a company-wide green initiative; the more employees that avoid commuting on specific days, the bigger the impact. To add to your commitment to green living, consider working out at home, walking to do errands, and avoiding the use of a car altogether on the days you work remotely.

An Eco-Friendly Lifestyle Can Also Save You Money

If you look back at the five tips to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle from home, you may notice that all the going-green ideas will also help you save money. Minimizing the clutter by getting rid of many of the objects you store or display around the house may encourage you to think twice before you buy. Opting for more natural products may be cheaper and cutting back on your commuting and water use can save you money on gas as well as your utility bill. Give a few of these small steps a try. As you get more comfortable with the changes, you can make larger changes to your home environment and habits.