When we think about supporting the environment, we’re not only thinking about the world we are living in right now up until we pass. We’re also thinking about the world our children, and our children’s children, and our children, children’s children will grow up and live in! But thoughts alone aren’t enough to make our care for the environment a meaningful one. It requires our effort and some perseverance too.

What it doesn’t mean is; you need to be extreme and sell your home and all of your things. Followed by living off the land in a log cabin in the woods (unless you want to of course). It means making some adjustments here and there that could slot quite well into your current lifestyle and in turn, create a world of difference. This is because, yes, you are saving the environment from further damage, but you’re also setting an example for your children. You’re showing them how to live outside the box. Inside the box is the typical lifestyle generated and followed by society. Outside the box being a healthier, environmentally friendly and arguably, more fulfilling way of living life.

Install Solar Panels

As expected, solar panels are, of course, an essential go-to for those thinking of committing to becoming more environmentally friendly people. Using the sun to generate pure electricity without taking anything away from the world, is well, genius. Solar Panel System technology is becoming more advanced, and as a result, some solar energy panels can account for a significant chunk of the power in your home. The investment you need to make isn’t cheap, but you are estimated to break even on average, two decades before you start making significant savings on your purchase. So if you’re not planning to move home any time soon, solar panels could be your way of creating pure power for your home that won’t negatively affect the environment as traditional power sources do.

Compost Bin

Whether you’re guilty of leftover bits of food on your plate, to eggs and bananas in the fridge nearing their expiry date, we all at some point or another waste food, probably without even realising. But it doesn’t need to end on a landfill site, you can use it! In your very own compost bin. The food that you no longer need (here’s what you can put in a compost bin) goes into the container and decomposes into organic matter. You can then use the compost this in your own garden and reap the benefits of healthy plants and shrubs, plus there’s no need to buy compost ever again.

Organic Food

We will always need vegetables and herbs to make delicious meals and keep our families fit and healthy. Yet, it’s surprising how we’re all stuck in autopilot mode, driving to and from the shop and farmers markets to get our veg, when most of us have a perfectly good garden outside where we can grow our own food!

Once your compost bin is set up, you also have natural fertiliser to help your homegrown veg and fruit grow. With no need for pesticides and nasty chemicals, you can be sure you’re food is organic, and all it takes is a trip out to the garden to pluck fresh tomatoes or pull out some potatoes for dinner. Planting seeds to grow food in your backyard means fewer emissions transporting food to and from the supermarket for thousands of miles, fewer pesticides and fertilizers used in the world and the added benefit of turning your garden into a child friendly learning zone, by teaching the youngsters how to become budding farmers!

Natural Cleaners

Each time you load up on your go-to cleaning products at the supermarket and use them to scrub the tiles in the bathroom or the kitchen floor, the water you’re washing away is contaminated by chemical products. Not only this, but cleaning products also release pollutants into the air and around the home, which can be particularly harmful to yours and your families respiratory system and skin. Believe it or not, it’s not entirely necessary to use cleaners such as bleach all of the time to clean your home when natural cleansers will do. Think of baking soda, white vinegar, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and natural salts (such as sea salt). These natural cleaning products alone can remove stubborn stains, limescale, and eliminate odours around the home without impacting the environment.

Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

A quick, easy change you can make in your home is to change all of the light bulbs to energy-efficient ones. Energy-efficient bulbs are created to use less electricity in comparison to traditional filament-burning bulbs, consequently saving excessive electricity use and reducing your carbon footprint.

Insulate Your Home

To conserve the energy you use in your home, insulating the wall cavities and loft area will provide a more comfortable and energy-efficient place to live. Insulating your home will help to effectively regulate the temperature in your home. This is a cost-effective solution to reduce the energy bills, as you are less likely to need to spend more on heating that can quickly disperse through the walls and ceilings, which is particularly significant for the colder months. In turn, it will reduce the impact your carbon footprint is currently having on the environment.

Recycling

Through no choice of our own, the items and food you buy come with an assortment of unnecessary packaging and labels attached which you, of course, need to dispose of. A few tips to prevent wasting packaging items is to use reusable bags when shopping to avoid excessive use of plastic bags. But also to source food and things that use recycled packaging.

Merely living, whether turning on the heating, throwing out unneeded packaging or simply cleaning your home can harm the environment. Attempting to instigate all of the above into your home routine could be quite daunting. However, gradually inviting different forms of eco-friendly living from the ideas mentioned above into your home can help the environment. Making gradual changes to how you live will also be watched and taken on board by your little ones. This most likely to instil energy environmentally friendly habits in them too. One change at a time, that’s all it takes!