Make Your Home More Eco-Friendly - Tips For Beginners

If we want to tackle the climate crisis, we have to do it together–and the home is the perfect place to begin. 

Having an eco-friendly home isn't as unattainable as you may think. We can make changes over a long period, both big and small, to reduce our planet's footprint. We only need to know how and where to begin. 

Even the most minor changes, like forgoing single-use wipes, can truly make a difference right now. So you should never think that your efforts won't matter. If you want some ideas on where to start making your home more eco-friendly, you'll find some helpful ones below. 

Turn your kitchen window sill into a mini vegetable garden! Instead of throwing away your vegetable scraps, learn to regrow them. You'll save a bunch of money in the long run, and it's fun to watch them grow every day. You don't have to be green-fingered to regrow veg; it's super easy. Some of the easiest vegetables to regrow are celery, spring onions, leeks, lettuce and bok choy. 

Trees don't have to be cut down in order to make our toilet roll, yet they still are. In fact, popular toilet roll brands reportedly now use less recycled paper than in 2011. These brands should take a leaf out of Ecoleaf's book as they sell 100% recycled toilet paper that comes in 100% compostable wrap!

Most of the energy used to wash clothes comes from heating the water. However, fabrics don't always need to be washed on high heat. Most of the time, we can wash our clothes on 30 or 40. 

Don't waste a sunny day by drying your clothes in the tumble dryer--put them out on the washing line! Clothing also lasts much longer when they're dried naturally. Invest in a clothes horse to hang clothes indoors on bad weather days. 

A smart metre can help you be more conscious of how much energy you're using and which areas you need to improve on. This tool can come in very handy, particularly now that prices are rising. 

Much of the water you pay for goes straight down the drain, which is bad for your wallet and bad for the environment. By switching to low-flow fixtures, such as toilets, faucets, and shower heads, you can conserve water while saving money, too. 

Most conventional cleaning products are full of toxic chemicals. As an alternative, you can make cleaning products from scratch using ingredients such as baking soda or buy sustainable brands like Ecover. 

Change starts in the kitchen! We're all now well aware that cutting down on animal products is one of the most straightforward and effective ways of reducing our impact on the planet. Plant-based foods use up much fewer natural resources than meat, dairy, and eggs, so we could make amazing environmental progress if everyone made an effort to swap out animal products for vegan alternatives.

Save water by collecting rainwater (plants love rainwater best)! You can also use the water from your dryer or leftover water in bottles.

Organic cotton is more sustainable than standard cotton as it uses less water to grow and zero chemicals. Switching to organic could potentially be kinder to your skin, too, making them a good choice for those with sensitive skin.