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Eco Friendly Home
We all want our homes to look great, but we also have to think about the entire process that comes before all that décor ends up in our home. Eco-friendly living has been the biggest hit in recent years and it’s no wonder why. For years we have been draining the Earth’s resources, cutting down forests and polluting the world through production. All experts say that it’s time we started making sustainable homes and taking better care of our planet. And if you are wondering what you can do to make your home an eco friendly home, here are some tips that I picked up along the way.
Reuse and recycle
Before you buy the next piece of furniture, décor or any utensil for your home from a shop, try and see if there is something in your home that can be reused. An old pillowcase can become a lampshade, a shelf can become a desk and an array of other things can be transformed and reused to be something else. The next step would be asking friends and family if they have something that they don’t need and can give to you. Something that otherwise would have ended up in a landfill, with a little bit of work, can be transformed into the dream object you wanted to buy. The third step, if none of those above work out, is to go to a thrift store: you will pay less and you are making sure that those objects get a new life and don’t end up in a landfill. When getting rid of furniture, you should follow the same steps: see if you can use it for something else, offer it to your family, friends and neighbors and if none of that works, sell it or gift it to a thrift shop. Do whatever you can to reduce the amount of trash that comes out of your house.
Use live plants and organic materials
Wood will always look better than plastic in every situation and we should try to use it as much as we can in our home. Using live plants as decoration is a great way to bring life into your home and if you have something like an herb garden, it can also be functional. Try to always buy wooden rather than plastic details, since wood brings an earthy feeling to the home, and it is a lot healthier, especially when talking about wooden utensils.
Consider materials
When talking about décor, the most important thing we need to consider are the materials we use. Whether your salon floor is going to be covered in a faux engineered wood or recycled hardwood is your choice, and it is an important one. Try to go around your house and think about every item you see. Do you know where the material is sourced from? Is the material the healthiest choice for your home and for the planet? When I was making my home more eco-friendly, I found an architect in Sydney who could advise me on all the steps I needed to take to make my home sustainable. The main guidelines: Try to only use things made out of responsibly sourced or recycled materials and support companies that have eco friendly options.
We should all do our part to make our planet safer and our surroundings healthier. As well as making our homes sustainable, we should teach the next generation to do the same, because we all need to drastically change our habits if we are to make this world truly sustainable and eco-friendly. Remember the old rule: think globally, act locally – and change will happen.
