How green is your home? And how much effort are you prepared to make to live in a more environmentally friendly way?

There are plenty of blog posts and advice guides uncovering the many things you can do to ‘go green’ in the home – and I’ve featured plenty of ideas on this blog. But the reality is that, often, all you will be doing is making token gestures once in a while.

If you really want to help the environment, you’ll need to develop the right kind of habits and make sure you do the same things on a daily basis. In today’s guide, we’re going to take a look at some of the ways you can train yourself to live more sustainably, eliminate nasty chemicals from home, and save yourself a small fortune. Let’s get stuck in right away.

Make the commitment

A lot of households out there want to reduce their carbon footprints, cut down on their energy use, and live in a more environmentally friendly home. However, few of them are prepared to actually give it the commitment it needs.

Ultimately, the vast majority of people out there are wasting energy and resources in some way, and unless you are prepared to put in the work to find out how to make a difference, change routines, and develop better habits, it won’t make much of a difference. So, the most critical aspect of all is to make the decision – stick to it.

Focus on the basics

Once you have made the decision to go green, there are several things you can do straight away.

First, make it easy for yourself by replacing all your products with natural alternatives. Once you learn more about the chemicals in washing detergents, for example, you’ll soon know exactly what products to use as a natural replacement. Make a concerted effort with saving energy, too.

Turn down your heating by a couple of notches, and consider getting an energy monitor to track how much electricity you are using – nothing will help you identify the biggest wastes in the home more than seeing the numbers on your monitor shoot up in monetary terms. Finally, every time you turn on a tap, make sure that you use the water – don’t just let it drain away.

Be mindful

As discussed above, everyone wastes resources in one way or another. So, it’s vital that you start being more mindful of everything you are doing around the home. It might be worth making a list of all your usual activities, and how you do them, for a couple of weeks – or maybe even a month.

Pay attention to how warm you are heating your home, or how much food you are throwing away unused because it’s goe off. Be mindful every time you throw anything away – could it go in the recycling or be used another way instead?  

Once you have a long list in front of you, it will show exactly what kind of areas you should be focusing on. With a little luck, the process of going green will be a lot easier for you and everyone else in the household. Good luck!