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Green Living Habits: Budgeting Tips

green living habits

Green Living Habits

There are plenty of ways your home can go green without you having to spend your life savings and kid’s college fund. When they decide they don’t want to go to college, use it for something you’ve always wanted, like a trip to the Bahamas. But as far as nurturing true green living habits, you can do it by implementing small but powerful changes into your daily habits and home in general in order to nurture the environment and live a healthier lifestyle altogether.

Reduce Waste Production

Statistically, roughly one third of food produced in the world is wasted, which amounts to 1.3 billion tons of food getting lost or wasted every year. Don’t waste your food.  Instead, plan your daily or weekly meals and reduce the amount of food you store in the refrigerator, which directly correlates to excessive electricity use, furthering the negative ecological effects. Only buy the food you need and plan ahead so as not to waste any food that is left uneaten.

This is a great way to reduce waste production and save money. You can also contribute to the preservation of the environment by making a compost pile in your garden, recycling as much as possible, in addition to implementing a zero waste home policy.

Shop at a Local Market

By shopping at your local farmer’s market, you minimize the negative effects that product transportation has on the environment. Instead of damaging the Earth with fossil fuels by transporting goods, you can simply walk to your local market where you will most likely find cheaper goods grown by people you trust. Plus, walking is healthy, so two for one.

Turn the Lights Off

Energy consumption is one of the biggest problems in the world right now as electricity is growing scarce with overpopulation, where millions of people don’t have access to basic energy supplies. So, make sure to turn off the lights whenever you leave the room to conserve energy but also to reduce your electricity bill.

Additionally, unplug every home appliance when you’re not using it as appliances that are plugged in also consume, or rather waste, energy. Another great idea for going green and saving energy is switching the lights in your home for LED lighting, which is far friendlier to the environment since it consumes less energy but provides more light. Also, each LED light bulb can last for more than 7 years before needing replacement. So, do the Earth a favor.

Programmable thermostats can also be a great addition to your energy-saving efforts. Just program the thermostat to a slightly lower temperature in the winter and a slightly higher temperature in the summer in order to save energy and minimize costs. Try programming it to a lower temperature when you’re not at home to prevent wasteful energy consumption.

You Don’t Need Paper or Plastic

Everyone knows that paper and plastic production harms the planet by boosting the emission of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. You can contribute to the fight against global warming by utilizing technology you surely have at your disposal and reading the paper online instead of buying a paper edition. Additionally, bring your own non-plastic bags to the grocery store next time, and you will make your tiny but invaluable contribution to the preservation of the environment.

Optimize Your Home

There are tons of ways you can optimize your home to be eco-friendly all by itself. Everything from water efficiency to energy consumption, from using eco-friendly paint to implementing renewable energy methods ‒ these are only a few of many solutions you can implement into your home and lifestyle. You can check out this link for even more greenovation ideas that will keep your home eco-friendly for years to come, saving you considerable amounts of money in so doing.

Use Natural Cleaning Products

The majority of big brand cleaning products are not only harmful to the environment with their toxic chemicals, but are also detrimental to our health. Remember, you inhale these toxins every time you open a cleaning product, and that cannot be healthy for you. Instead of contributing to the negative effects of toxic cleaning products, try using natural solutions that are easy to make and only require simple ingredients, like vinegar, olive oil, baking soda and lemon. The use of these natural products will result in a cheaper way of household maintenance, and more importantly, a healthier lifestyle.

In the end, making your home more eco-friendly shouldn’t be a stressful chore, it should be fun and fulfilling. Hopefully, now you a have a better idea on how to implement small, inexpensive changes into your lifestyle and create a greener environment for yourself and those you love.

About The Author

Article written for WhosGreenOnline.com by Lillian Connors: If one thing is true about Lillian Connors, her mind is utterly curious. That’s why she can’t resist the urge to embark on a myriad of green living/home improvement projects and spread the word about them. She cherishes the notion that sustainable housing and gardening will not only make us far less dependent on others regarding the dwellings we inhabit, but also contribute to our planet being a better place to live on.