New Year’s Resolutions to Make Your Home More Sustainable
By Cora Gold
The new year isn’t only a fresh start. It’s a time for renewed hope that things can be better. However, only action can bring the changes we hope to see — hence, resolutions.
While feeling overwhelmed when you think about the climate crisis is understandable, it’s even more important to realize that everyone’s behaviors contribute and make a difference. You can control your corner of the world, and actions like the ones below make more of a difference than you know. Get more sustainable this year by making these eco-friendly resolutions.
1. Adjust That Dial
The bad news is that America’s primary energy source remains fossil fuels. Unless you’ve converted your property to solar, you burn them to stay warm.
The good news is that adjusting that dial while you are away saves a bundle in cash and emissions. According to Energy Star, you can save up to 10% per year by adjusting your thermostat seven to ten degrees from its original setting during the eight hours per day you are away.
2. Think Local First
The farther a product travels to reach you, the greater the emissions. Sourcing your daily needs from local stores supports your neighborhood economy.
Furthermore, you might be able to walk or bike errands, making them emissions-free. Traveling this way also introduces you to new, smaller shops you might never have otherwise known existed. Skip the big box the next time you need towels in favor of a local vendor.
3. Upgrade Smart
If it’s time to replace your appliances, opt for the latest Energy Star models. Today’s brands use up to 70% less electricity and 40% less water than older versions, making them far more efficient. Also, keep tabs on the amount of products you use. A touch of fabric softener is enough; too many scent beads leave waxy streaks on your clothing.
4. Grow Some Food
Reduce your trips to the store by growing some of what you need at home. If you buy organic, you can experiment with saving the seeds from the produce you already use, coaxing it to new life. That way, you’ll grow fruits and veggies you love to eat.
You can also experiment with composting, which works best if you have a place to put it. Urban apartment dwellers can fill containers with the resulting soil or donate it to a community garden. Entrepreneurial sorts seeking a new capital investment might even implement a community composting program, keeping food scraps out of landfills and public gardening spaces well supplied.
5. Improve Your Waste Management
What’s one thing — one, not a complete lifestyle change — you could do to dispose of your waste more efficiently this year? It might mean adding a separate recycling can to their budget for some. For others, it might mean shifting from single-stream to sorting and dropping cans and cardboard at the center once or twice a month. Still others might decide to put a recycling bin in their car for sorting during road trips.
6. Go LED
When it’s time to replace those old incandescent bulbs, skip the grocery and go to your nearest big box hardware store if you have one nearby. You’ll be amazed at the array of today’s LEDs, which let you create a signature look with lighting. Best of all, these bulbs save energy. According to a recent University of Michigan study, LEDs are even more efficient than fluorescents, saving 44% over each tube.
7. Donate Your Unwanted Items
You have plenty of things sitting around your home that you never use. Donating them clears clutter and ultimately reduces landfill waste when you take a slow-as-you-go approach.
Instead of letting things get so bad, you need a major cleanup that results in a trip to the dump, gather things each week as you clean, and immediately place them in your car. They’ll be in plain view the next time you drive past your local donation center for a quick drop-off. You’ll sigh in relief each time you look around your beautifully uncluttered home, knowing that your unwanted items have found love with someone who needs them.
Resolutions for a More Sustainable Home
Thinking of the enormity of the climate crisis can paralyze. It’s far better to focus on what you can do — after all, humans can certainly clean up a mess they created themselves.
Resolve to take positive actions like the one above to make your corner of the world more sustainable, and you’ve done your part to create a greener planet. Better yet, your actions can inspire others to make similar eco-friendly switches, building on the goodness.
About the author: Cora Gold is a sustainability writer who aims to live a healthy, low-waste lifestyle. Read more from Cora in Revivalist magazine, LinkedIn and Twitter.