As the price of energy becomes more and more expensive many of us are looking at ways to not only reduce our energy expenditure, but to incorporate other green practices into our life, and practice some kind of sustainable living.
What is sustainable living?
Sustainable living is all about reducing your use of natural resources and making sure that you replace what you use wherever possible. This can also include choosing to not consume a particular product, or changing how you do certain things.
Easy ways to practice sustainable living and save money too
It’s a fallacy that you need to invest money in order to save the planet’s valuable resources. Here’s 7 easy ways to practice sustainable living on a budget, that you can start right now.
- Change the lights in your home. By changing from traditional bulbs to CFL, you’ll not only reduce the amount of electricity you use, but as energy efficient light bulbs last longer, you’ll reduce the amount of waste going into landfill.
- Start using natural cleaners. Reduce the amount of contaminants you introduce into your home in the form of aerosols and chemicals, and use natural products such as white vinegar. Or consider buying products in the largest sizes possible to reduce the amount of packaging.
- Reduce, reuse and recycle. Wherever possible reduce the amount of things you bring into your home and, before you throw anything out, check to see if you can recycle it or donate it to a charity.
- Unplug your devices when they’re not in use. Most electronic devices continue to use energy even if you’re not using them, so remove the plug from the socket.
- Buy the right sized house. If you’re living in a four bed house when there’s only two of you, you’ll be able to reduce your outgoings by moving to a smaller property. Furthermore you may be able to reduce your mortgage and or release the equity in your existing property. If you’re looking to sell quickly in order to free up your equity, Open property group will buy your home with the minimum of fuss.
- Change your washing habits. Most of us wash far too much, including ourselves, our dishes, our clothes and our linen. By placing too much emphasis on keeping spotlessly clean, we’ve reduced our immune resistance to diseases, plus we’re wasting an enormous amount of water. Start taking shorter showers, using a small bowl instead of a dishwasher and wearing clothes for longer periods before washing.
- Become a minimalist. Being a minimalist doesn’t necessarily mean living with the bare minimum of things. It simply means that you make sure that everything you own is either something beautiful that brings you joy or that it’s put to its maximum use. This naturally encourages you to consume less, recycle more and be more mindful of what you do buy.