In recent years, the concept of green living as rapidly become a topic for household discussion. Electric cars are being brought to the forefront and architecture has evolved to include sustainability in its process. Homes are being built with sustainable materials and using efficient lighting while homeowners are looking for ways to reduce their energy usage around the home. In Toronto, more companies are jumping on the bandwagon and offering eco-friendly products to the market and alongside government incentives and aid aimed at sustainable living. However, a common misconception about living eco-friendly is that it is a lifestyle aimed at higher income households. There are a host of budget-friendly simple ideas to that you can implement today to get you started on the environmentally friendly path.
Ditch the paper
Infinitely simple yet it is one of the most overlooked things you can do to be kind to the environment. Every month, you receive bank and credit statements and some of us still receive our daily newspapers. By switching to online versions you can be saving paper and trees. What’s more is that due to the eco-friendly living trend, many firms are offering incentives for customers to switch to online banking or electronic versions of their magazine subscriptions, saving you money. Many news outlets have online versions of their newspapers/magazines with the same content or even bonus features such as videos of the interviews in pieces.
Opt out of the phone book and catalogs. You can look up phone numbers online and you can see the same catalogs on the internet as well. Better still, online catalogs have special offers, coupons and they make shopping easy by allowing you to order immediately.
Be Mindful
Water is one of those resources that is often wasted through idle use. A simple cost-effective project such as installing a rain barrel or irrigation system reusing your used shower water to water your garden shrinks your water bill and helps the planet. By diverting the water that runs off from your drains to your gardens instead of to the sewage take very little money and time to set up but its benefits far outweigh the effort. If you do need a short loan to finance your DIY green living projects, there are multiple home energy loan programs across Canada, that offer homeowners the chance to upgrade their homes. To get started on raising the needed finance, get a hold of your past financial rating. This will be an important element for lenders when assessing your suitability.
Recycle and Upcycle
Changing your habits and reusing items in your home for alternate purposes is a cheap and simple way to reduce your use of plastic, water, and even food waste. Every year, Canadians waste over 873 pounds of food per person. The country remains one of the worst countries for food waste globally. Compost fruit and veggies that are past their prime. With a composter, you can recycle the nutrients from the tossed items into nutrients for your soil or even start your own kitchen garden. Implementing it doesn’t have to be expensive either. Start by building a compost bin – you can find easy DIY composter plans made from upcycled materials here.
These hacks are simple and budget-friendly ways to encourage people to embrace the green living lifestyle in and around their homes. With the abundance of resources and ideas, you can limit your impact on the planet and upgrade your home to be more efficient. So why not get started today?