Sustainable – Eco Karen

The Advantages of an Eco-Friendly Home

With eco-living trends on the rise, it’s important to know what benefits making your home environmentally friendly can offer.

I’ve seen a major increase in eco-living trends within the past decade. More and more people are making their homes more sustainable, effectively reducing their carbon footprints. What benefits does making your home green actually offer, though?

We all know it makes an impact on our lives and the environment, but what is the full extent of that impact? Can changes in just one home make a difference? After a little research, I found out exactly what benefits making your home into a green one offers.

Economic Benefits

Many view eco-living as an expensive commodity, but even home builders know that isn’t true. The cost of building an environmentally friendly home is not much higher than building a traditional one and builders are even receiving mark downs by meeting green design standards, effectively making the price about the same.

The materials to build these homes cost less, while they require less maintenance and have a higher property value. Couple all of that with tax benefits and energy efficiency, and you’ll see that eco-homes are boosting the economy.

Social Benefits

We as people are profoundly affected by the spaces we live in. Amenities like natural lighting, improved air quality, and chemical-free building materials all contribute to our overall well-being. So, a healthier home means a healthier you!

Those living in green homes experience a better sense of well-being, happier moods, and healthier vital signs just from the conditions that surround them.

Environmental Benefits

This is the more obvious category, but green homes might have more of an impact than you think. Cool roofing methods help to eliminate dangerous environmental changes from increased heat and promote water conservation, while reduced chemical emissions aid local wildlife. Significant waste reduction works to conserve resources while eliminating a portion of landfill mass.

Temperature moderation also aids in eliminating the need for excess energy with the implementation of smart thermostats. Also, probably the most obvious, these homes aid in combating climate change by reducing carbon footprints.

It’s amazing what choosing to implement eco-living practices can do to the environment, the economy, and our own health. While some us (and by that I mean me) cannot afford to move into one of these gorgeous homes, we can still do our part by making minor changes around our own homes to help them become more eco-friendly.

What ways do you make your home more green? Were you surprised by the health benefits these homes offer in the link like I was?

A Guide to Eco-Living in the City

It seems as though the two couldn’t possibly mix. A city and honest to goodness eco-living? Well, it turns out that you can make the impossible a possibility.

I spent a lot of time living in the city during and after my college years. With millions of residents, thousands of cars, and a constant array of lights, it can seem impossible to live an eco-friendly lifestyle when living in a metropolis. In reality, America’s major cities are leading the battle against climate change through eco-living practices.

While city-wide efforts have helped to implement better mass transit and solar energy and support local farming in nearby communities, that doesn’t mean city dwellers get a free pass on implementing eco-living practices. Here are some of the ways I was able to reduce my carbon footprint during those years.

Being a Minimalist

Sometimes it can be better to live with only what you need, and sometimes a small studio apartment forces you to do so. Instead of cramming things into the tiny home I lived in, I chose to let the city take care of my needs.

Within just a few blocks I could pick up fresh produce, take a walk in the park, or find live entertainment. I used public WiFi instead of wasting on resources on a personal internet connection, and even ditched my television in lieu of the various attractions around the area. I also saved on energy by unplugging anything that wasn’t in use, reducing the already minimal amount of electricity my apartment used.

Who Need a Car?

I will never understand why so many who live in cities choose to own a car. Maybe other cities do not have the same reliable public transportation mine did, but I was able to take the bus to and from work everyday. Aside from saving on vehicle costs, I did my part to reduce nearly 20 pounds of CO2 emissions by walking anywhere I needed to go besides work.

As an added bonus, the city I lived in had a bikeshare program that helped me travel to different areas when I needed to.

Sustainable Shopping

Every city has the grocery conglomerates, but they also have a wide variety of privately-owned local business to buy produce from as well. Choosing to buy local helps reduce the reliance on overseas shipping and using trucks to haul frozen food across the country. Plus, it is ten times healthier!

These are just some of the ways I was able to practice eco-living while residing within a city. For all of you other city dwellers out there, what ways do you help out the environment? Does your city make strides to fight climate change, too?

Easy Eco-Friendly Home Hacks That Save Money

While many view eco-living home renovations as drains on a bank account, there are a number of ways that going green can actually save you money.

I see a lot of articles online talking (or rather complaining) about how expensive it is to live an eco-friendly life. Sure, installing state of the art solar panels is going to run you an easy $20,000 but no one said you have to go that far just to reduce your carbon footprint.

In reality, choosing to make your home more environmentally friendly can actually save you money every month. Don’t believe me? Well, I have proof!

Cook From Scratch

Its no secret that cooking at home with fresh ingredients saves an incredible amount of money, but have you ever considered it’s eco-friendly benefits? I hadn’t either, but it makes sense when you think about it.

When you use fresh ingredients from the farmer’s market or your garden, you eliminate much of the energy used in processed foods. Processing in an industrial kitchen that certainly eats up energy; then food is wrapped up in plastic and hauled on a truck all the way to the constantly-running freezers at the supermarket. Cooking with local produce is a simple way to save money and do your part to conserve energy.

Use a Pressure Cooker

This was another one that I found surprising. Using a pressure cooker to make meals saves an astounding amount of energy when compared to other cooking methods. It also happens to be much faster way to get the job done.

That means less time waiting for a hot meal, less energy wasted, and less money spent on your electric bill.

Start a Garden and Go Vegetarian

This is a two-for-one win in my book. Growing green beans, salad greens, and cherry tomatoes instead of buying veggies at the store can save you a ton of money in a year’s time. Even growing herbs in your windowsill can save hundreds over time.

Aside from zero-energy consumption, growing your own garden also allows you to make more veggie dishes than meaty ones. Not only is this cheaper, but greenhouse gas emissions have gone up in the past decade from an increase in livestock raised for slaughter. Saving animals, reducing causes of climate change, eating healthier, and saving money all at the same time is about as green as you can get.

My runners up for this list were:

Line dry clothes
Take shorter showers
and switch to organic cleaning products

What eco-lifestyle choices have helped you to reduce your carbon footprint while saving money each month?