Every year, when Earth Day approaches, it makes us wonder if we are doing the right things to save our planet. Doing the simplest things can significantly change the impact on our environment. So, in spirit of making small changes, here are our top 5 recommendations for how to be more sustainable at home on Earth Day and beyond. By taking a look, you will can help the planet one step at a time.
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Be more sustainable at home with 5 easy changes:
1. Composting
Backyard composting is an easy way to help the earth and eliminate all your food scraps. Instead of just throwing them in the trash, think about what could naturally compost and save the earth from built-up garbage. It can be an intimidating subject for people who have never tried it before, so check out this quick information we’ve gathered on composting:
| Everything you can compost | Everything you can not compost |
| organic matter eggs shells nut shells coffee grounds tea nonplastic tea bags fruit and veggie peels kitchen scraps stalks cobs toilet paper cores leaves unbleached paper towels, napkins, and tampons flowers egg cartons pizza boxes paper bags vacuum dust | bleached or laminated paper products coal ash coffee cups cat litter meat fish bones dairy grease and oil large pieces of wood |
You will want to balance what you are composting between carbon and nitrogen. Carbon is heavy items like shredded paper, dried leaves, and cardboard. Nitrogen-heavy items are food scraps like kale stems, apple cores, egg shells, etc.
Now, if it sounds like a lot for one person to handle, you can hire someone to handle the compost for you. You will want an enclosed bin that will sit on the ground and has a lid. At the bottom, you will want a small door that can open to remove the organic compost while you still add scraps on top. This Goplus Compost Bin from Amazon is great for small backyards and balconies.
2. Replace your bulbs
You can replace all your light bulbs at home with LED bulbs because they use 80% less energy and last 25 times longer than traditional bulbs. A great example of how long they last is if you use one LED bulb every day for eight hours; that one bulb can last for about 17 years. One LED bulb in your house can truly make you be more sustainable at home. Imagine if you changed all your lights to LED; you wouldn’t have to throw out light bulbs nearly as often as you do with traditional bulbs. Here is a list of the best LED bulbs on Amazon:
If you order now, they will be at your house with prime shipping just in time for you to change all your bulbs for Earth Day.
3. Reduce paper waste and junk mail
All that junk mail piles up. Instead of ripping up everything and throwing it in the trash, spend the day removing yourself from unwanted mail lists. That way, you will be helping the earth and it’s not hard to go paperless on bills and ensure you don’t get more junk mail. Check out the Federal Trade Commission site for more information. It will give you everything you need to stop the junk mail you get, from insurance and credit card offers to magazine offers.
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4. Turn the lights off
Turn off the lights when you are not in the room. When you are home, you can open the shades and let the sun’s natural light in. When the sun starts to go down, you can turn on the lights back on. You’d be surprised how much energy this can save. While you conserve energy, you will feel like you did something to help the earth. Even if this is a small change around your house, it matters. Building up the habit of turning off lights when not truly needed will save your electric bill and help you be more sustainable at home.
5. Have a no-television day
Turn the electronics off, open the shades, and enjoy a day without being in front of the TV or computer. You can spend it outside hiking, cycling, or even taking a road trip to the lake, ocean, or mountains. If the weather isn’t quite warm enough, try cleaning out your house and donate items that you aren’t using. If you have kids, you can spend the day playing board games or drawing if the weather outside isn’t great. If it is, go in the backyard and play outside games. The best way to celebrate Earth Day is to spend it outside without screens.
Is it expensive to be more sustainable?
It can be expensive to be more sustainable because environmentally-conscious products are often higher in price than the conventional products. This is due to sourcing raw materials, which is necessary to produce a product that has a lower impact on the environment. However, making small changes to be more sustainable at home doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, some of our ideas will cut back on your monthly electric bill.
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Why be more sustainable at home?
It is essential to be more sustainable at home because it uses less energy from utilities to heat to lighting your home. It can help save more money since you don’t need to use much power. The more people who live a sustainable life, the better it will be for the environment. Small changes can truly make a big difference and reduce our overall carbon or waste footprints.
How else can you celebrate earth day?
Another way you can celebrate earth day is by cleaning up the trash from neighborhood streets and common areas. It gets the trash off the ground, and you can divide the stuff into bags for stuff that can be recycled separately. That way, you’re helping the earth in two ways instead of one.