Striving for sustainability in the home is a good act in and of itself. But aside from doing your part in protecting the environment and conserving natural resources, you’re also creating a healthier home for yourself and your family.
To get you started on your journey towards sustainability and creating a healthier home environment, here are some of the best things that you can do:
1. Install solar shades
Indoor solar shades are designed to reduce the sun’s glare and help control the temperature inside the house. As a result, you can achieve better control of cooling costs, especially during the summer months. Moreover, you can protect your family, your furnishings, and your interiors from ultraviolet rays that can otherwise cause damage with prolonged exposure.
2. Buy a water filter
A water filter removes contaminants from tap water, making it safe to drink, cook with, and wash with. That said, you no longer have to buy boxes upon boxes of bottled water, thus reducing your plastic waste production and saving you thousands of dollars every year.
3. Ban smoking
Aside from being an air pollutant, cigarette smoke is harmful to both the smoker and the people who inhale secondhand smoke. If you are a smoker, quit the habit as soon as possible, or seek professional help if you can’t do it on your own. If there are other smokers in the house, help them quit as well, or at least ask them not to smoke anywhere near or inside the home.
4. Upgrade your appliances
Older appliances are likely to be energy gobblers, unlike their newer counterparts. If your devices have been around for more than a decade, it might be time to invest in more modern, energy-efficient appliances.
Moreover, replacing old appliances is doing your home’s health a favor. For example, when you replace an old microwave with years’ worth of food residue caked in it, you’re effectively reducing the risk of food contamination.
5. Choose whole foods
Try to buy less food that comes in commercial packaging, especially plastic and metal. Choose whole, fresh foods that you can buy in bulk from eco-friendly grocery stores or farmers’ markets instead. Aside from reducing your waste and incorporating healthier foods into your household’s diet, you’re also helping the local community by purchasing locally grown and made products.
6. Buy indoor plants
Indoor plants serve a bigger purpose other than being decorative objects. They also function as natural air filters that can absorb pollutants and odors from the air, the carpets, and the furniture. On top of that, having indoor plants is known to have mental and emotional benefits, such as stress reduction and mood improvement.
7. Avoid harmful cleaning products
Commercial cleaning products that contain chemicals such as ammonia or chlorine are harmful to both your health and the environment. Instead of cleaning products that contain toxic chemicals, use green cleaners, or better yet, make your own cleaning solution with natural ingredients.
Sustainability and health often go hand in hand. Thus, if you can’t really have one without the other. To make your home cleaner, greener, and healthier, start with the strategies mentioned above, which happen to be some of the easiest.
