We want to talk about the different steps that you can take to perform eco-friendly home remodeling projects and live sustainably in other ways. Keep reading to learn more.

Eco-Friendly Home Remodeling and Green Living Ideas to Lower Your Carbon Footprint

Climate change is at the front of many people’s minds because they are wondering how they can live a more eco-friendly lifestyle, while also enjoying many modern amenities. It all seems daunting, but one person can make a big difference even with small changes over time. Fighting climate change involves being aware of what you buy, where you drive, and even how you pay for your purchases.

Green building practices can do a lot to help lower your carbon footprint. Other changes might not make as much of a difference on their own, but are easy to implement and are worth doing to help the planet.

By making small changes, you have the power to reduce your carbon footprint and fight back against global warming. These eco-friendly remodeling and green living tips will help you fight climate change in your day-to-day life.

Use Recycled Materials for Home Improvement Projects

When you are working on home improvement projects, you need to take the necessary steps to reduce your impact on the planet. One of the best ways to do this is by using recycled materials. Recycled building materials are going to minimize the need to waste scare natural resources. We have a list of great eco-friendly building materials that are worth using.

Use the Right Amount of Insulation

Insulation will also reduce energy loss. You will want to make sure that you use enough when renovating your home.

Use LEDs or Solar Lights to Reduce Energy Needed for Lighting

When you are creating eco-friendly buildings, you also want to pay attention to the lighting. Solar lights can help make your property eco-friendlier. You may also want to invest in LEDs to improve energy efficiency.

Choose a Better Credit Card

Did you know you can choose the right debit and credit cards to help offset your personal carbon footprint? Credit cards are linked to companies that make money each time you use your card.  What if those fees went into projects and causes that helped to improve the environment, instead of harming it? By choosing a more eco-friendly alternative – such as green credit cards – consumers can make a significant difference with their spending. Proceeds can benefit companies that are funding projects that help improve the environment, instead of contributing to more pollution.

Buy Local

Buying local food, goods and products is a great way to combat climate change. It reduces the amount of carbon emissions that would be created by transporting your purchases across long distances. Local businesses also tend to be more environmentally friendly, so you’re doing your part for the environment while supporting other small businesses in your community. Buying local can also help strengthen the economy of your community by supporting local jobs and helping create more opportunities for growth.

Shop in Bulk

You can help reduce your carbon footprint by buying in bulk. By doing so, you’ll be able to save money and have fewer trash bags thrown away. You can also use reusable containers for things like food storage, toilet paper, and paper towels—anything that you might typically buy in a package can be purchased in bulk at places such as Costco or Sam’s Club. Buying bulk saves you trips to the store and also reduces the amount of packaging that you waste.

Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies

Making your own cleaning supplies is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. Natural ingredients are gentler on the environment, and they’re often cheaper than store-bought cleaners. Plus, you can recycle containers that were already being used for something else, instead of buying plastic bottles or jugs.

You can make small batches of cleaning supplies by filling a container with any combination of these ingredients: vinegar, lemons or limes, castile soap, and even hydrogen peroxide and water. These cleaning supplies are not only better for you, but they are better for the environment and contribute to less waste overall. Additionally, these more natural solutions won’t pollute the local water the same way that chemical cleaners do.

Use Cloth Shopping Bags

Reusable shopping bags are a great way to fight climate change. Plastic bags create a lot of pollution; from being produced in factories to getting thrown away, these bags create a lot of waste. Use reusable shopping bags or cloth bags instead. If you don’t already have a set of reusable shopping bags, it’s easy to find them online or at your local grocery store. You can also repurpose old t-shirts into reusable shopping totes by cutting off one sleeve and sewing it together with two other shirts that are similar in size and color.

Turn Off Electronics When Not in Use

Electronics waste a lot of energy when they aren’t in use. From the red light on your television to the computer in sleep mode instead of being turned off, energy waste is a big contributor to climate change. Turn off your computer at night and keep the monitor turned off when you’re not using it. Unplug your cell phone charger from the wall when it’s not charging. Unplug your electronics when they aren’t in use so you don’t lose energy to their vampire-draining tendencies. By turning off these technologies you can help reduce climate change and in the process save money on your electric bill.

Use These Eco-Friendly Home Remodeling and Green Living Tips to Lower Your Carbon Footprint

If you are truly committed to living a sustainable lifestyle, then you need to practice green living in every way. This includes practicing tips that go beyond using the best green building practices. The guidelines listed above can make a huge difference as you strive to lower your carbon footprint.

The post 6 Home Renovation and Lifestyle Ideas To Fight Climate Change appeared first on Green Building Insider.

However, you might not be living as much of an eco-friendly lifestyle at home. You are going to want to take the right steps to lower the carbon footprint in your own life. You will do even more for the planet than you did running an eco-friendly contracting business.

Ways Eco-Friendly Contractors Can Reduce their Environmental Impact at Home

With pollution of our air and land continuing to become a greater problem every day, many people are looking for ways they can help the environment. Sustainable contractors are among those looking to put their money where their mouth is and help the planet when they are off the clock.

Government regulations on factories and automobiles play a big role in cleaning up the Earth, but individuals are not powerless in the fight. Most of the power to help comes from the choices you make in your everyday life.

You could try building a smart home that is eco-friendlier. However, there are simpler changes that you can make to help the planet.

Here are a few ways you could do your part. You can also find more green living tips from this article by Columbia University.

Choose Local

Instead of going to big box stores or running to Amazon with every purchase, consider the mom-and-pop stores in your area. Shopping locally not only helps reduce emissions but supports your community at the same time. If you have the luxury of walking or riding a bike to shop, that will reduce your carbon footprint even more. Studies have shown that shopping local can lower your total carbon footprint by up to 5%.

Green Closet Choices

While sticking close to the area where you live for all possible shopping needs, keep the environment in mind when choosing products to buy. For instance, filling your closet with clothes using natural fibers like cotton, hemp, and linen can go a long way to reducing pesticides and plastics that find their way into the water we drink.

Polyester is simply short for polyethylene terephthalate, which is a synthetic polymer and the same material found in plastic. In order to produce the plastic, companies must use oil, an industry labeled as dirty for its negative impact on the earth in the form of global warming.

Natural fibers are renewable and better for the planet. Consider adding everything from sustainable sneakers to 100% cotton tees to your wardrobe.

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

Reducing what you use, reusing what you have, and recycling what you no longer need is one of the best three-pronged approaches to assist in the fight against climate change and pollution.

The art of reducing refers to the overall trash every human creates simply by living their lives. Instead of throwing things out when you’re done with them, figure out if there is a way to keep that waste out of a landfill. For food and other organic items, that may mean starting a compost pile in your yard.

There are two components to composting: green and brown scraps. Green refers to plant matter, including apple cores, banana peels, coffee grounds, grass clippings, flowers, vegetable scraps, egg shells, and trimmings from house plants. These additions will break down quickly into soil and usually hold an element of moisture.

To even out the process, you also need brown elements like shredded newspaper, fall leaves, pinecones, toilet paper tubes, nut shells, and torn-up brown paper bags. These are necessary to aerate the pile, so it’s not so dense. The ratio of browns to greens you want to shoot for is four to one.

For anything you can’t compost, ask yourself if you can reuse the item. Is it a broken toaster? Try and fix it before throwing it out and buying a new one. Is it a television that works, but you just don’t want it anymore? Consider offering it to a neighbor or a friend to extend its life.

If you must throw away items, at least recycle as much as possible. Add plastics, glass, old tires, electronics, and metal to your list of recyclables. Contact your local center to find out how to complete this important task in your area. Basically, it boils down to separating out your trash into different bins so they can be reused in a different way. Doing so reduces the number of raw materials needed for products, helping preserve the resources the earth has to offer.

Do Your Part to Help the Planet on Your Free Time as an Eco-Friendly Contractor

You might feel like one person can’t make a difference in saving the planet, but everyone has a part to play in the future. As an eco-friendly contractor, you should try lowering your carbon footprint at home as well as at work. Although it might not seem like much, every little bit of effort gets us close to a brighter tomorrow — together.

The post 3 Easy Eco-Friendly Changes Contractors Can Make at Home appeared first on Green Building Insider.