10 QUICK and EASY changes for a more ECO-FRIENDLY home!
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10 QUICK and EASY changes for a more ECO-FRIENDLY home!
My home wasn’t always as eco-friendly as it is today. It's been a long journey, with lots of little a-ha moments along the way! I LOVE sharing what I have learnt… so here are my top 10 favourite changes that I’ve made, to make my home more eco-friendly.
1. Use a cold water wash for your laundry rather than a warm or hot water wash. Cold water uses less energy and thus emits less carbon emissions. I was shocked to learn from energyrating.gov.au, that approximately 80% of the energy in a warm water wash is actually associated with heating the water! Also, a cold wash can be gentler on fabrics and help colours stay fresh and true for longer!
2. Sun dry your washing… theguardian.com reported that if all Australian households with a tumble dryer hung up one load of washing outside each week, we would save over a million tonnes of CO2 in a year! That’s a huge figure…but if that is not motivating enough, line drying is completely free! It’s better for your clothes and linens too, as tumble dyers degrade fabrics much faster than line drying. Better still, did you know that the sun’s ultraviolet rays act as a natural antiseptic, killing any bacteria in your sun-dried sheets! We LOVE sun-drying all our laundry and I just LOVE the smell of sun-dried sheets too!
3. Stop using chemical cleaners on your floors…. I had an epiphany when my eldest started to crawl. I went and looked at what I was using to mop the floor and it had no ingredient list and I already knew that it smelt disgusting! Cue a night of research and a few test runs later…and now I use hot water, a cup of white vinegar and a little splash of tea tree oil. It cleans my tiles like a dream, disinfects and smells pretty good too! I have heard that you shouldn’t use it on hardwood floors, marble, granite, stone or unsealed grout….So proceed with care and test a small inconspicuous area first!
4. Make your own home made spray cleaner for every day cleaning such as: wiping down kids highchairs, kitchen bench top, stove top etc. I half fill a spray bottle with white vinegar, add a splash of tea tree oil and fill the rest with water…. works a treat, is non-toxic and so, so cheap! Again, I have heard it’s not suitable for all surfaces so check a small inconspicuous area first. I use this all over the house for general spay and wiping purposes! LOVE it!
5. Quit using chemical window cleaners! Spray mirrors or windows with white vinegar instead…. or if that is not working ecostore.com.au have a great window/glass cleaner, (as well as other great cleaning products) and all ecostore's products are free from nasty chemicals! Alternatively, you can use a microfiber cloth with a little water and then polish it off with a dry piece of flannelette.
6. Carpets need freshening up? Try putting some bicarb of soda into a sieve or a shaker and sprinkle over your carpet, leave for a couple of hours and simply vacuum up…..it’s fresh, non-toxic and super cheap too!! Do a small test patch behind the couch first. I have stacks of carpet and use this method twice a year to keep it nice and fresh….works a treat!
7. Is your sink clogged? No need to reach for the toxic stuff! Just pour some good old bicarb down there, wait a couple of minutes and then add white vinegar….It makes a very entertaining reaction that my kids LOVE to watch, and it will unclog the drain while it’s at it! You may need to have a few goes at it to get it completely unclogged. I must admit, I find this one really fun too… It’s very satisfying to watch!
8. Are you using anti-bacterial soap? You can stop... it doesn’t kill any more germs or get rid of any more dirt than regular soap and water! Plus, it’s got some nasty stuff in it that actually gives me dermatitis….Yuck! If you can’t get your head around using a cake of ordinary soap and want a liquid soap, then ecostore.com.au hand soaps are amazing and so gentle on the skin. They won’t strip the natural oils from your skin and they won’t make your hands feel dry. If you use as much as we do, you can even buy ecostore hand soap in 5 litre refill packs, which reduces packaging waste…. LOVE!
9. Add a couple of new plants to your home…. inside or out, both are great! Plants actually help purify the air and they look gorgeous too! Air your home out daily if you can. The air quality is poorer inside than out…. so open those windows and let the fresh air in!!
10. Think before you buy…
* Read ingredients lists. If there is no ingredient list, I’m usually suspicious and do a little research first.
* Be aware that the terms “natural” and even the term “organic” can be misused or misleading!
* Buy quality that will last so you do not need to replace things as often.
* Think about how something has been made. Has it been made ethically?
* Does the item have chemical finishes that may be toxic, such as anti-wrinkle or flame-retardants?
* Reduce waste where you can…. don’t over-consume and don’t buy products with excess packaging. If you can, buy larger sizes of the products you LOVE so you can recycle less and use fewer resources.
All these things might seem small in themselves, but they do make a real and positive difference.
I hope you’ve found a couple of new eco-friendly ideas from this post!
Pop me a comment and let me know about your favourite eco-friendly change! xxx