In the 21st century, many people are starting to fully realize the extent to which mankind damaged the planet in the 20th century. To help start healing the planet, many homeowners are looking for ways to make their homes sustainable. It isn’t as hard to do as you might think.
If you want to make your house semi-self-sustainable, then follow these five suggestions to get started:
Install solar panels
One of the most powerful ways to go green is to install solar panels on your roof. The price for solar panels has dropped substantially over the last decade, and they are now within reach of most homeowners. Not only will this cut your energy bills, but many electric companies will actually allow you to sell them the surplus energy that you collect with your solar panels.
Plant a garden
Instead of wasting all that green space around your home with a lawn that is an environmental nightmare, you should plant a vegetable garden instead. You will be amazed at how much vegetable produce you can grow just in your yard. The taste of fresh vegetable and herbs cannot be beat.
Save your rainwater
When you have planted a vegetable garden, you will need a lot of water for the plants in it. However, you don’t need to waste money paying for water. You can make use of Mother Nature. Simply funnel the water that runs through your home’s gutters into a rain barrel. You can use this rain barrel for all your plant watering needs.
Recycle
If you are not recycling already, then you need to start immediately. You will greatly reduce the amount of trash that you send to the landfill when you begin recycling. As well as sorting out plastic, metal and glass items to send to the recycling center, don’t forget to recycle all of your organic waste like newspaper, food scraps and cardboard. This organic material should be placed in a compost pile that you use to fertilize your garden.
Reduce your use
You can save a lot of energy and water usage by making simple changes. Install LED light bulbs to save on energy usage. Unplug all electronics devices when you are not using them to avoid bleeding energy. Install appliances with high Energy Star ratings. Fix all the leaky pipes and faucets in your home. Install low-flow showers and toilets. These little moves will add up to big reductions that will get you on the path to sustainability.
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About the Author:
Meghan is a freelance writer from Oklahoma. She enjoys being in the outdoors and exploring new opportunities whenever they arise as well as researching new topics to expand her horizons. You can often find her buried in a good book or out looking for an adventure. Meghan love renovating and making updates to her house and finds that getting gutters in Indianapolis is the best rout to get superior curb appeal.
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I wonder whether there are any solar-powered homes in the Philippines. In our home, my father has a garden consisting of kamote, kamoteng-kahoy (balinghoy), sitaw, ampalya, and a lot more. However, our lazy neighbors are usually the ones benefiting from it. Haha.
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Yes, Mon, I think there are. I remember a Facebook friend mentioning about solar-powered houses back in his province.
Bad neighbors, tsk. But yes, if you have the space, growing your own vegetables is healthy, both for the body and the pockets. Just remember to keep those neighbors at bay.
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