Living a sustainable life is something that we should all aspire to. While it’s tempting to think that we should be making earth-changing shifts in our behaviour, the reality of it is that we can make earth-changing shifts by doing a range of small, but meaningful, things.
Whether you make the shift to LED outdoor lights or install a rainwater tank, there are a huge array of things that you can do to make a difference to the planet. After all, it’s something we all need to do as part of our responsibility as citizens of earth. For many of us, we would need two – or even three – earths to sustain our lifestyle if everyone on the planet lived like we did.
So it comes down to each and every one of us to make positive changes to impact the earth.
Aussies have a real problem with wasting energy. We consume a whole lot more energy than many other countries and are pretty shocking when it comes to renewable energy. The food and energy we use, the plastic and timber – the fuels – it’s all using natural resources and creates a huge amount of waste. If the rest of the planet lived like Australia did, we’d need THREE PLANETS to sustain us. It’s a frightening future that we might face, so what can we do about it? Projects that are a scourge on the environment like the Adani mine need to be opposed, of course – but what can we do in our homes? What is more accessible? We want to take a look here so that you can ensure a more sustainable future for you and your children.
Save Water
There’s nothing worse than seeing water being wasted – especially when you know it’s such a precious resource. Make sure you install water saving devices in your shower and on your taps, and get a water tank for your home if you can. It’s such an easy thing to save, so make the effort.
Switch it off
Don’t leave lights burning or the TV on standby – make sure you switch the power off at the wall and turn off lights when you’re not in the room. It can make a huge difference to your power bill and to the earth.
Get LED lights
There’s a great way to save even more on your power bill – and that’s with energy-efficient LED outdoor lights. They burn brighter and longer, can last up to 10,000 hours, and are a great way to ensure that you are looking after the planet.
Buy renewable energy
When you are using energy for your power bill, you’re getting the byproduct of greenhouse gases. So make sure that you are taking the extra step of buying clean energy to offset it.
Make all of your renovations green
If you are lucky enough to be undertaking some renovations in your home, then you need to be ensuring that all of your renovations are eco-friendly! Make sure you use local tradespeople and work to use renewable timbers and eco materials for building.
Insulate your home
There’s nothing that will chew through your power faster than running a big, inefficient heater or air conditioner throughout summer or winter. The optimal solution, if it is accessible for you, is to use insulation in your home and enjoy the cooling/heating effect of a well-insulated environment. You’ll find that you use a fraction of your heating and cooling – and you may not even need it at all.
Reuse your greywater
Greywater is any kind of water from the kitchen sink or laundry that you can reuse on your garden or for another purpose. If you use eco detergents, you’ll find that you can use the greywater from them safely on your garden.
These are just a handful of tips – but if you look around, you’ll be sure to find ways to be more sustainable in your home.
This post is sponsored by Sunshower Online
