5 Ways to Make Your House More Sustainable

It is great that everyone is trying to do their extra bit for the environment; savouring their straws for more than one drink and taking reusable cups to the nearest coffee shop, rather than getting a new one each time.

However, there are plenty more things that we could be doing around the house to become more sustainable – some of the changes are so small that you’ll question why you haven’t been doing them longer!

Here are 5 ideas that you can do to make your house a little greener:

1. Overfloor Heating

Everyone knows that heat rises, so when a radiator gets turned on, the heat pretty much travels up the wall and out of the ceiling. You need to put your radiators on a pretty high temperature to feel the benefit.

One change that you could make to your home to make it more sustainable, and to save you a chunk of money on your bills each month, is swapping your radiators for overfloor heating. Heat will rise above the floor into the room, rather than above the radiators and out of the window, meaning the temperature will need to be a lot lower, saving energy.

2. Sustainable Furniture

I only recently found out that furniture isn’t vegan – who knew? Make sure to check the labels before you purchase anything to make sure that it’s animal friendly. There are plenty of companies that say how they’re using less plastic too, so do your research!

It isn’t just local restaurants trying to go vegan and plastic-free, but it is also your everyday furniture brands such as Happy Beds, who recently launched their cardboard bed. It is 100% recyclable and 100% vegan, and there is even a year’s guarantee.

3. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

If you don’t have a recycling bin yet, then shame on you. Sometimes though, something non-recyclable may accidentally sneak into the green bag – start being extra cautious about what goes in the recycling bin and ensure that you wash all of the food out of the containers first.

Not only should you be recycling, but reuse what you can. If you’ve bought a drink from the shop recently, then keep that plastic bottle in the house as you never know when it’s going to come in useful; the gym, a long Sunday walk or you could even reuse it around the home.

4. Make Wiser Consumer Choices

When you’re doing your weekly food shop, take notice of what foods come in plastic and what foods don’t. If you’re picking fruit and vegetables, then take your own bag with you rather than using one of their sandwich bags, or, don’t bother to put it in a bag at all.

Also, do you really need to buy one of those square boxes of pink, green, yellow and orange straws when there are only 10 people coming to your gathering? Although it might cost a little more, your guests will appreciate your effort if you invest in metal, reusable straws.

5. Watch Your Water

The chances of us being able to use less water in our household are high. If you hear the tap dripping from another room, then make sure that you turn it off, and if you are washing the dishes, make sure that the dishwasher is completely full before turning it on.

The recommended time to brush your teeth is of course two minutes – now think about how many times you could fill up a cup of water if you were to leave the tap running for that duration. Make sure that you turn it off while you’re brushing and turn it back on only when you need it.