Environmentally friendly practices get a bad rap for being too difficult to perform or too complex to manage. Fortunately, greener endeavors aren’t all they’re made out to be, and it can be surprisingly simple to live a more eco-conscious lifestyle without any major overhauls to your routine. 

Green living starts at home, and it doesn’t take a lot of time, energy or resources to adopt eco-friendly habits. Read on for some helpful tips that will guide your efforts in a greener direction. 

Switch to Efficient Appliances

Electricity is very taxing to the natural world, as many power generation plants generate a significant portion of greenhouse gases and utilize unrenewable resources. When it’s time to upgrade your appliances, whether it’s an upgraded refrigerator or new beverage air coolers, look for energy-efficient ratings before making the purchase. 

Use Non-Toxic Solutions

Harsh chemicals in traditional cleaners end up polluting the environment, and can even result in a few unpleasant health issues. In the past, the choice between green products and traditional ones was often a choice between efficacy and subpar cleaning. Fortunately, thanks to innovations in the industry, there are several non-toxic solutions available on the shelves at your local grocery store that perform just as well, and sometimes better. 

Swap Your Lightbulbs

You should try your best to keep your lights turned off whenever you can, but when they are switched on, your home should be lit by compact, fluorescent bulbs that use only a fraction of the amount of electricity as incandescent varieties. 

Ditch Plastic

Nearly every piece of plastic you have ever used in your life will outlive you without degrading. Even when plastic does break down, the small pieces live on to enter local ecosystems and harm wildlife. Choose glass, metal, cardboard or wooden materials whenever possible, as these components are far more recyclable. 

Unplug

Chances are, you have several electronic devices plugged in right now around your home that aren’t currently in use. These devices still utilize some power, even when they’re not switched on. Though it may be negligible, every watt adds up. In addition to unplugging, opt for electricity-free ways to spend your time to reduce your home’s carbon footprint overall. 

Grow Plants

Indoor plants are not only decorative mood boosters, but they also serve other purposes. Houseplants serve as nature’s air filters, and can even absorb some airborne pathogens that get kicked up from furniture, carpeting or the bottoms of your shoes. Many foods and herbs can even be grown indoors, which can save you a few trips to the grocery store and cut down on transportation emissions. 

Start a Compost

Organic matter that ends up in your garbage can, and then subsequently in landfills, becomes covered by inorganic matter that traps harmful gases and slows down the decomposition process. A home compost addresses this issue practically and gives your kitchen scraps and yard trimmings a chance at a second life, and can be used to enrich the soil in your garden during the growing season. 

Buy Second Hand

A startling number of used items are discarded in favor of the latest and greatest, but many times a gently used item would do. When you scour local resale marketplaces, consignment shops and ask friends and family for gently used goods, you decrease the demand for the manufacture of new products, the transportation emissions that generate during their trip from factories to stores and keep used goods from clogging up already crowded landfills. 

Reuse

Consumerism is a way of life for many in this country, and advertisers know how to convince customers that they need to buy more to be fulfilled and happy. While money can’t buy happiness, it can often buy convenience. The temptation of ease is appealing, but to live a greener lifestyle, it’s best to pass on new things and try to make the most of what you already have. 

Sometimes, this requires a little creativity, like using an old sauce jar to store leftovers or cutting up an old shirt to use as cleaning rags, but the positive impact on the planet far outweighs the extra brainpower it takes to make a more eco-friendly choice.