Trying to live a more sustainable life, but unsure where to start? It can be difficult to know where to begin when it comes to lowering your carbon footprint, but once you’re in the habit of making sustainable choices, an eco-friendly lifestyle is easy to get in the swing of. From your kitchen to your garden, there are plenty of small changes you can make to get your
energy efficient journey off to a good start.
Make your heating work harder
Your heating bill is not only one of your highest outgoing costs, but makes up a huge part of your annual carbon footprint. As we get further into winter, it’s not realistic to save on energy by keeping your central heating off, but there are ways you can stay sustainable without the need to pop another jumper on. Rather than keeping your heating on all day, installing a
thermostat will mean your radiators only come on when you need them to. Central heating systems like Heatline boilers help you in your journey to energy efficiency by limiting the amount of energy being used each time you use your heating system. A smart timer lets you keep cosy in the mornings when you’re getting out of bed, without needless energy being
used up before you need it.
Get DIY happy
Rather than buying new items every time something in your home breaks, brushing up on your DIY skills will help give your home a whole new lease of life. Learning life skills like bleeding your radiators, changing your lightbulbs to lower energy bulbs and even patching up holes in your socks lowers your carbon footprint and ups your skill level in the DIY
department too.
Start planning your meals
Food waste is one of the biggest contributors to your carbon footprint, with an enormous ⅓ of food produced globally being thrown away each year. It can be difficult to keep track of the food you have in your fridge, especially when you’re in a rush to feed the whole family. One of the easiest ways to avoid removing rotting food is to make a meal plan each week. Getting into the habit of sitting down to plan every meal you’ll make, and the ingredients you’ll need will stop you from picking up unnecessary items during your food shop – and will help you cut down on overspending too.
If you’re green-fingered, you could also continue your eco-friendly journey in the garden. Keeping hold of your grass cuttings, any food waste that can’t be eaten, fruit and vegetable peelings and old flowers means your compost will grow into richer soil that you can use to help your plants grow more healthy for the years to come.
Unplug your appliances
Did you know your appliances keep using electricity even when nothing is plugged into them? From your iPhone charger to your Wifi, switching your appliances off when you’re not using them means you’ll stop unnecessary energy being used in your home, reducing the power you need to keep your home running smoothly.
Hang your clothes out to dry
While it’s tempting to tumble dry your clothes, especially in the winter, machine-drying your clothes is one of the biggest power suckers in your home. Line drying your clothes outside if possible, or on a clothes horse somewhere warm will keep them smelling nice and save you a huge amount of energy every year. Be careful not to leave your clothes horse too close to your radiators, though. Leaving no room between radiators and your furniture stops the air from circulating properly, so you’ll end up using more energy than necessary to heat your home and dry your clothes.
Taking these small steps every day might be difficult to get used to at the beginning of your eco-friendly journey, but making small adjustments will soon see you cutting down both on your spending and your carbon footprint.
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