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From products to practices, here are 5 Ways to Create a More Sustainable Household. By making just a few simple changes, you can protect the environment and your own health from quick but toxic solutions to everyday needs.
Sustainable Households
Sustainability is important. Not just for the environment, but for ourselves too. We want our audience to be informed and able to make the best possible decisions regarding their health and the health of our planet. We found the 5 most important elements to integrate wellness and sustainability into your home. By eliminating the use of oil based plastic and energy or chemically toxic cleaners and fertilizers, you can create a home environment that is healthy, safe, and sustainable.
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Chemical Free Cleaning Agents
Most modern cleaners are full of complex chemical compounds. For example, try and pronounce these common cleaning agents: alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium saccharinate, p-chloro-o-benzylphenol, o-phenylphenol, ammonium hydroxide. These compounds are not naturally occurring. Their effectiveness in cleaning is derived from their extremely caustic nature.
Health Concerns
For people who work with these cleaners daily, they've certainly noticed some of the negative affects of working with these cleaners. Skin contact without the use of gloves can remove fingerprints, cause rashes or irritation, inflammatory reactions, and even chemical burns. Additionally, when using them within the kitchen, they inevitably make their way into food (dish detergents).
Chemical Runoff
These chemicals, can end up in natural bodies of water during production or after use in households. They are toxic for the wildlife and have been shown to have negative effects on growth and vitality. Specifically, yard products, from fertilizer to pesticides, create chemical imbalances in the water leading to the destruction of the local ecology.
Alternatives
It is becoming easier to avoid toxic and caustic cleaning agents. From homemade solutions to chemical free products, people are becoming more conscious of the negative effects of caustic agents and forever chemicals. For example, baking soda and vinegar can both act as cleaning and antibacterial agents.
A quick google search will turn up a DIY, chemical-free solution for any cleaning project. Products can be found through research. Ideally, products with certifications from third-parties and recognizable ingredients. By making this simple change, you can begin to push your household towards a more sustainable status.
Reusable Products
The average American household produces 18 pounds of trash every day. That is 6570 pounds annually or a little over 3 tons. A majority of this waste comes from single use plastic or paper products. By switching from single-use to reusable products, you could significantly reduce the waste you contribute to landfills each day. If you cannot get reusable products, always try to recycle or repurpose.
Replacements for Plastic Water Bottles
One of the most avoidable and damaging pollutants is plastic water bottles. While there are cases they are necessary, using metal cups/bottles can drastically reduce the amount of plastic waste an individual produces. Consider brands like Owala, Yeti, Hydroflask, and Camelbak. These can all be washed and reused.
Paper Towel Substitutes
Consider swapping paper towels for cleaning rags and microfiber cloths. These work well for cleaning the house and the kitchen. They can be machine-washed and less of a mess than paper towels. While paper is not a typical long-term pollutant, it is a limited resource made from trees. Using microfiber towels is a great way to make your cleaning more sustainable and effective.
Swap Your Grocery Bags
Leave behind the plastic grocery bags and upgrade to canvas or tarp bags. They reduce plastic waste and can be much more unique in design. They are more comfortable to carry and some areas require you to pay for plastic bags making it more expensive in the long run.
Restructured Bathrooms
Upgrading your toilet with a bidet is an excellent option for reducing toilet paper use. Most of the world uses bidets; however, western countries have largely avoided them due to unfamiliarity. They are a great way to reduce waste in the bathroom and increase overall hygienics.
Biodegradable Products
If you still prefer the convenience of single-use products, consider a biodegradable alternative. Some of the most durable and pollutive products are made of plastic and used in our households daily. By replacing this plastic with biodegradable alternatives, we can reduce the total waste being dumped into landfills. These alternatives to plastic have become increasingly more reliable and cheap. Additionally, if there is no biodegradable alternative to a product you are going to buy, consider if there is an option with biodegradable packaging. Check out our recommendations here.
Composting
When properly disposed of, their components will return to the natural cycles within only a few years. Composting involves any process that breaks down waste into natural soil. Biodegradable products are made with a plant fiber designed to act and feel like plastic, but can decompose back into the soil. This ensures that plastic waste is reduced and any pollution will be ultimately break down into soil.
Examples
Biodegradable products are meant to serve as replacements to items that are typically bought in bulk as plastic or styrofoam: plates, cups, utensils, bags, and more. By moving to biodegradable alternatives, you can reduce the amount of waste produced and show support for greener initiatives. For product recommendations, review our article, 'Top 7 Biodegradable Products for Everyday Household Use'.
Vegetable Gardening
Starting a vegetable garden in your backyard can be more than just relaxing and therapeutic. By growing your own food, you save money and get the freshest organic and pesticide-free food. A garden can reduce your ecological footprint and protect you against potential toxins in mass produced foods. If you do not want to start a garden, consider getting fresh food from local farmer's markets. This can at times be cheaper than buying from a grocery store, and the produce is usually more fresh.
More than Food
In addition to fruits and vegetables, you can grow things like herbs, spices, and teas. Fresh spices and teas can be a great way to get started with gardening. Depending on your 'Hardiness Growing Zone', you can find plants that will grow and produce a fresh supply of produce. With research, you can find symbiotic pairs of plants the support each other by attracting pollinators, repelling pests, or increasing soil quality.
At-Home Composting
Speaking of soil quality, one of the easiest and most impactful steps to creating a more sustainable household is starting to compost. Composting takes organic material (kitchen scraps) and dry matter (paper, cardboard, dead leaves), and turns them into high quality soil/fertilizer. No need for chemical fertilizer when you can make your own! Read our article 'Complete Composting Guide for Home Gardens' to learn how about how to get started with the process. If you want to start composting, but don't know what tools to get, check out 'Best Starting Compost Tools on Amazon'.
Conducting an Energy Review
A more expensive yet impactful way to make your home more ecologically friendly is to conduct an energy review. Energy reviews are a way to identify and eliminate energy leakage.
Energy Leakage
Energy leakage is when your household is drawing in more power for no effective reason. This energy is often sourced from fossil fuels, so reducing the leakage can be an impactful step in becoming more sustainable. For example, 'Vampire Electronics' are items we leave constantly plugged in. Even though they aren't actively being used, a lot of these items still draw a small amount of power through the outlet. When compounded at 24hrs a day and across several different home devices, the energy drain adds up. Consider getting a 'smart outlet' that can be turned on and off at the press of a button.
Lights
In order to make your home's lighting more ecologically friendly, there are three key principles you can implement at almost no cost. First, turn lights off when leaving a room. It seems silly, but especially when leaving your house/apartment, it is important to turn off lights to reduce energy consumption. Second, upgrading to LED lights will use less energy and last longer. The energy saving can be as high as 75%.
Finally, making better use of natural lighting. In some cases we have no control over how much light reaches our living space, but just opening blinds and using the natural light as opposed to light bulbs. This saves energy and has been shown to have significant mental health benefits as well. If you can afford it, consider adding skylights to otherwise dark rooms.
Temperature
One of the most energetically expensive parts of a household is around temperature control. It takes a lot of energy to keep your living space at a comfortable temperature. There are two primary ways to make this process less energy intensive. First, check for holes or gaps in insulation. Insulation is used in the walls and ceilings to help keep heat from diffusing into/out of the home.
Second, upgrading to a programmable thermostat can lead to huge savings. Programmable thermostats allow you to automatically fluctuate the temperature at a given time. For example, setting an automation to keep the AC running on low while you are out at work, then automatically kicking back on at 4:30 so the house is cool by the time you get home. This can lead to massive energy savings and longer lasting systems.
Renewable Energy
Finally, converting to renewable energy is by far the best way to make your home's energy consumption greener. If your house runs on renewable energy, the carbon footprint of the energy usage is zero! At the household level, the best way to do this is solar panel installations. The technology is continuously becoming cheaper and more efficient. If your panels produce an excess of energy, power companies will pay you for the electricity. Additionally, many states have laws that provide tax stipends and incentives for households that make the switch.
Conclusion
There are too many things in modern households that are more toxic or wasteful than they need to be. New developments in technology and greater awareness of the harmful effects on the environment should make several of these practices an easy change. It just starts with individuals making an active choice to live better.
Find chemical free alternatives to cleaning and fertilizing agents. Purchase reusable products instead of constantly refilling the same cheap, one-and-done solutions. Show support for more biodegradable products and packaging. Start a garden and create access to the freshest vegetables, fruits, herbs, and teas. Compost the food scraps from your kitchen instead of throwing them away. Make an effort to reduce the amount of energy your space uses by building small eco-friendly habits. By implementing some of the many practices we explain in this article, you will make your home a healthier, safer, and more sustainable place to live.
Let us know which of these you have found to be most impactful in your home and reach out if you have a personal practice you'd like to see featured in an article!
Sources
“21 Eco-Friendly Ideas For A Sustainable Home.” Rocket Homes,
www.rockethomes.com/blog/homeowner-tips/eco-friendly-changes-to-make-at-home. Accessed 14 July 2024.
“How Much Trash Does the U.S. Really Produce?” Dumpsters.com,
www.dumpsters.com/blog/us-trash-production. Accessed 14 July 2024.
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