Are you the kind of person who enjoys doing a bit of DIY around the house? If so, have you been inspired by trends? Functionality? How about the environment? If you’re motivated by the latter, bear in mind that going green with your home doesn’t have to mean comprising on style… in fact, ‘eco friendly’ can actually inspire beautiful and useful DIY challenges!
Here are some of the best eco friendly projects you should consider giving a go…
Firstly, why not create a dedicated recycling centre for your home? Unsurprisingly, the kitchen produces the most waste of any room in our houses, and therefore is one worthy of your attention right away. Even if you and your family are already recycling, setting up a dedicated space to sort and contain your recyclable materials will ensure you’re minimising the amount that goes into landfill.
While you’re making eco improvements to the kitchen, why not consider swapping your toxic cleaning products with natural ones, and forgoing carrier bags for reusable shopping bags too? Both will do a great deal to contribute towards the wellbeing of the planet. Moreover, non-toxic cleaners are better for your health, and taking reusable bags to the supermarket will mean you save money every time you shop.
Secondly, if you fancy flooding your home with natural light, consider installing Velux electric windows. Natural light helps us to feel closer to nature and less enclosed by being indoors, making our homes a pleasant and relaxing place to be. The great thing about electric Velux windows in particular is that they’re operated from a control pad, meaning you can open and close the windows without having to tip toe to reach the top. But how do you make this home improvement eco friendlier? Well, we suggest using rechargeable batteries to power the window control pad, or to have a go at creating your own energy using a DC bicycle pedal power generator.
Pedal power generators continue to be developed and improved, which means you can generate your own power for the gadgets you love while working on your fitness too! Many people pedal to charge up their smartphones or even their home office equipment throughout the day.
Thirdly, although it’s not the flashiest or most enticing of DIY projects (you’re not likely to invite your friends round to see this one), why not insulate your pipes? Insulation will help your pipes to carry heat and hot water around your home more efficiently, saving you money on bills and reducing your energy consumption too. All you need to buy are pipe sleeves and tape or wire to secure the material; polyethylene or neoprene foam are most commonly used in insulation and there are many tutorials available online.
A final eco friendly DIY project to consider is the storage of rainwater for use in your home. By catching your own rainwater you’ll have a reserve on your property for flushing your toilets, watering your plants and even doing some laundry – which ultimately saves you money on your water bills and makes you less reliant on conventional water supplies. Check out this rainwater harvesting system: it requires some upfront financial outlay, but could really pay off over time.
Image Credit: Shutterstock.com
If you want to do home improvement in an Eco-friendly way, you should heck out these tips. They will help you in your process of making your home better. There are lot of benefits with an environment-friendly home. Enjoy as much of them as possible.
Great post! I learned a lot, I just hope that you’ve shown us more pictures. However, recycling center sounds really helpful. Will give this one a try. Thanks for sharing!