[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Would you consider your home environmentally sustainable? This is an increasingly important question for all of us to be asking ? and answering. Our very survival as a species depends on proactively shifting our cultural model from careless to
conscious consumption, on all possible fronts.
What is a sustainable home?
By definition, a sustainable home is one that is designed in a way that conserves resources, optimizes energy and water use, and emphasizes well-maintained, functional systems. A sustainable home could also be described as a house which is safe, energy efficient, environmentally healthy, respectful of the natural environment, and comfortable for family life. Many of these houses are eco-friendly from the ground up, designed and built from “green” or recycled materials and relying primarily on alternative energy resources.
However, the principles of sustainability should apply not only to your “brick and mortar” environment, but to your inner landscape as well, from a health standpoint. For example, reducing
chemical toxins within your home helps to ensure a safer environment for yourself, your family, pets
and the Earth. What is good for the planet is often good for us as well, and vice versa.
Steps toward a sustainable home
Green living is a journey rather than a destination. Beyond the steps we take, it is part of a larger consciousness in which we make space for sustainability in all aspects of daily life. None of us are “eco-perfect,” but if we can each do our part, however small, we have a fighting chance to help reverse decades of damage and safeguard our future on Earth.
Some actions we can take are on a grander scale, some are small and simple, but they can all make a measurable difference over time. Living with
sustainability in mind benefits you personally as well. For example, in cultivating an eco-friendly home and garden, you tend to save money. That’s because it costs less to maintain various systems when you conserve energy, water and other resources. Similarly, when you rid your home of unhealthy chemicals, you create a safer environment, especially for children and pets whose smaller physical size makes them far more vulnerable to dangerous toxins.
The homes in which we dwell are certainly the logical place to initiate our efforts, since according to the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans, on average, spend
90 percent of their time indoors.
So, how do you start the process of making your home more environmentally sustainable? Fortunately, there are powerful steps you can take no matter what kind of budget you’re working with. Consider these ideas for inspiration:
Embrace passive solar
Passive solar design takes advantage of a building’s site, climate and materials to minimize energy use. It works by capturing energy from the sun to help both heat and cool your living spaces without the use of electricity. Instead, this type of solar design utilizes building materials that reflect, absorb or transmit the sun’s radiation.
According to
Energy Saver, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) consumer resource on
saving energy and using renewable energy technologies at home, a well-designed passive solar home reduces heating and cooling loads through energy-efficiency strategies and then meets those reduced loads in whole or part with solar energy. It’s a great investment for those who can swing it.
Replace your windows
Another improvement you can make if your budget allows is to change out old windows for an energy-saving alternative referred to as “high-performance” windows, which are designed to be air-tight. This is an impactful step given that traditional windows account for over 50 percent of wasted energy in the home.
Energy Star, the DOE protection program aimed at improving energy efficiency in a range of products, sets minimum requirements for qualifying windows. Energy Star divides the country into climate zones and assigns minimum performance numbers for each one. So, if you live in Newport Beach, California, an Energy Star qualifying window will look much different than one you buy in Bangor, Maine.
Choose energy-efficient appliances
Traditionally, appliances are top energy consumers in your home, and you never stop paying, because after the initial purchase, they present an ongoing operating expense that can easily exceed their initial price. Choosing energy-efficient options, on the other hand, allows you to dramatically cut usage costs over time. Appliances marked with the Energy Star label have reduced fossil fuels in the U.S. equivalent to taking twenty-five
million cars off the road.
Choosing energy efficient versions of appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, and the overall dependency on fossil fuels and oils. According to the DOE, appliances with an Energy Star certification can potentially cut your electricity bill in half, depending on the size of your home.
Arrange an eco-bathroom
Opting for an energy-efficient,
sustainable bathroom is only partly about building materials, fixtures and appliances. Again, the idea is to cultivate a mindset of sustainability, from interior design to water usage, to cleaning and
personal care products and more. Opting for non-toxic,
eco-friendly cleaning products is a key step, as the level of chemicals in many household products is astonishingly high, making them dangerous to use in small, poorly ventilated spaces.
Many cleaning supplies can irritate the eyes or throat and may cause headaches or other health problems. Some products release dangerous chemicals, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which vaporize at room temperature making them a stealthy foe. Unfortunately for eco/health-minded shoppers, manufacturers are not obligated by U.S. law to fully disclose product ingredients. Nor are items labeled "green" necessarily safer for you and your family, given the corporate propensity for green washing, a term used to describe a false, misleading, or untrue action or set of claims made by an organization about the positive impact that a company, product, or service has on the environment.
To help protect consumers, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) compiled a list of products that meet its
Safer Choice requirements for cleaning and other needs. Also, consider this
Eco-Friendly Cleaning Guide and these
10 Eco-Friendly Cleaners for Your Natural Home. These resources enable you to choose products that exclude hazardous VOCs, fragrances, irritants and flammable ingredients. This article on
5 Non-Toxic Essentials for a Safe Home may also inform and inspire.
How about your
beauty and personal care products? From a standpoint of health sustainability, it’s especially important to avoid dubious chemicals when it comes to what you apply to your face and body. For example, check out
5 Harmful Ingredients Lurking in Your Beauty Products. On a positive note, take a peek at these
5 Sustainable Beauty Strategies for Earth Month (and Forever).
Again, one could easily become overwhelmed by all that we “should” be doing as ethical, responsible humans with a sustainability mindset, but the reality is that whether you are able to take big, medium, or tiny actions, it all counts, especially when we pitch in collectively. In the noble words of Helen Keller,
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