Go Greener Tips

You can furnish and decorate your house the eco-friendly way easier than you think.  You need not remodel your house to achieve the green effect as inexpensive ways are often just lying around the corner, waiting to be discovered.  Here are a few of these eco-friendly ideas.

Choose Recycled and Reused Décor and Furnishings

This is probably the easiest idea of all.  You can visit thrift stores, garage sales and online auction sites for secondhand things that are still in good condition as well as ask family and friends for their junk just sitting in the attic and basement.  You can then turn them into vintage things that will serve your needs for many more years to come and, hence, lessen their impact on the landfills.

Of course, you have to make sure that these secondhand items are good for your health, too.  Keep in mind that furniture can contain harmful varnishes, finishes and components, which you may have to remove first before making them a permanent part of the house.  In some instances, you can always paint over the harmful finishes with white paint.

Did you know that by using recycled and reused home décor, you are also lessening your consumption of the Earth’s resources?  This is because you will be buying less of new products, thus, adhering to the “reduce” principle of eco-friendliness.

Patronize Green Stores

Now, if you really must have new things in your house for whatever reason, you can always patronize eco-friendly stores like Branch Home and VivaTerra.  You should call your local U.S. Green Building Council for information on green stores in your area.  Why the emphasis on local?  Well, because you can lessen transportation costs and, hence, carbon emissions when you can have your new décor and furniture delivered by a store nearest your place of residence.  There are also stores that specialize in making something new out of something old, say, an old door into a dining table.  Think of places like the Design on a Dime.

Use Inexpensive but Creative Ways

Often, it just takes a little imagination to turn an ordinary object into a tool for eco-friendly decorating efforts.  Take the average Mason bottle, for example.  You can fill them with water and place them on a window receiving plenty of sunlight.  You then have a natural way of providing warmth at night and coolness during the day, which should significantly lessen your heater and air-con use and, hence, your dependence on main grid electricity.

You can install a solar water heater and solar garden lights.  This way, you can harness the power of the sun, lessen your electricity bills and reduce your carbon footprint.  Or better yet, install solar panels or wind turbines, if you have the money for it. Installing such eco friendly systems also mean possible tax breaks for your efforts in going green.

Going green in your home is a very easy thing to do indeed.  Just remember that what you do in your house will be a reflection of what you do to the environment.