This guest article has been produced by Pamela from Worsley Creative, an online visibility specialist that supports small businesses across the UK and internationally with building their brands online. Pamela is passionate about sustainability and supporting ethical businesses with authentic marketing that is consciously conscious.
A beginners guide to making your home more sustainable
We all want to be more conscious nowadays, whether through our own needs to reduce costs, or a growing sense of responsibility for the planet. In this beginners guide to making your home more sustainable we will explore the considerations that you can explore for you and your family. We will explore:
- Energy
- Waste
- Water
- Travel
- Services
These 5 areas will allow us to explore how as a beginner you can look at making your home more sustainable and will showcase some fantastic brands that can support you and give expert opinion – from how to reduce your waste by ethical event planner Michelle Miles, through to how to utilise upcycled furniture from your very own Liz Clarkson Interiors
1: Energy - An essential consideration for sustainability
No beginners guide to making your home more sustainable would be complete if it did not talk about energy. With the cost-of-living crises on the front page of every newspaper this Autumn, and worrying headlines about insufficient stocks of energy supplies, we all have a responsibility to think about our approach to energy consumption.
For a comprehensive guide to being more energy efficient in your home this article from Best Heating has some great advice, but for starters here are 5 things you can implement that will have a significant impact.
- Turn items off that are sitting on standby. You’ll be amazed at the energy being consumed this way.
- Turn the thermostat down by a small amount – in this case a little goes a long way.
- Utilise timers where possible. Timers for lights, heating and other appliances can save you wasting energy on items not in use.
- Ensure your roof is well maintained and you have insulation. Expert Manchester Roofers Evolution Roofing say that you can retain up to 20% more heat in the home with good roofing solutions so this one is well worth the call out!
- Do draft proofing. Drafts are a huge waste of heat and energy, so ensuring you have protection will help you to become more sustainable in the home.
2. Waste - A big consideration for people looking to make their home more sustainable
The average home produces nearly 400kg’s of waste a year! That is an astonishing statistic! As a society we have become much more throwaway, and with social media always extolling the latest find or “new trend” our approach to waste is far from sustainable.
We can make a change with this – from simple swaps like reusing a bottle / cup for drinks through to repurposing furniture for your home, there are ways to reduce waste without compromising on your lifestyle. At Liz Clarkson Interiors our speciality is restyling vintage furniture to give it a new lease of life for the modern world, which will help you to be more sustainable – but also stylish!
A perfect example of conscious without compromise can be found in Liz’s work. Her upcycling projects completely reinvent mid century and older pieces of furniture, transforming them to contemporary statements for your home. At the recent Grand Designs Live show Liz was proud to represent The House of Upcycling, the UK’s leading authority on professional upcycling for interiors, where she showcased her cutting edge design on the classic Nathan Mid-century Bureau. She also offered advice on how to incorporate upcycled furniture into your interiors scheme on the Ask an Expert stand.
Liz helps to reduce waste through her bespoke commissioning service that repurposes furniture – and if you are a beginner looking to become more sustainable in your home this can be a great opportunity to incorporate sustainable furniture into your home.
Other ways to reduce waste include your approach to food and grocery shopping, and to your overall consumption Ethical event planner Michelle Miles makes a great point that we can all look to consume a little less and be more conscious in our decisions about how much we actually need.
3 - Water Consumption!
Are you prone to being wasteful with water in your home? It’s a common theme for most busy households the shower is always in use, the dishwasher, the washing machine… Our approach to water and utilisation of water is an important factor when looking to make our homes more sustainable. There is even an argument for us to go back to the 50’s – when a bath was once a week and the kids had to share the water! In all seriousness, our approach to water is that it is infinitely abundant, when in fact it is not – and being more conscious can set you on the right path for being more sustainable in your home.
4. How travel is an important consideration in your sustainable household.
Although travel is not directly linked to your home – how you get to and from your home is still a very important consideration if you are looking to become more sustainable. Areas to consider:
- Volume of travel – how often are you travelling?
- Mode of travel – how are you getting about?
- Efficiency of travel – are you taking the best routes?
These factors are a good starter for ten when it comes to reviewing your families travel habits with a view to becoming more sustainable.
5. Services - What does this have to do with sustainability?
The services you use in your home are actually an important point to consider when starting on your sustainability journey. Examples to explore:
- Courier Services – are they ethical? Do they use green travel methods?
- Energy provider – are they ethical? What is their sustainability policy?
- Broadband / Internet Provider – What is their sustainability policy?
- Maintenance / Cleaning Services – What active policies do they have in place?
Summary - A beginners guide to making your home more sustainable...
We all have a responsibility to be making better choices when it comes to our homes – whether it’s to save the planet for future generations or to protect our own family bubble in the uncertain economic climate. By exploring the energy, waste, water, travel and services being utilised by your family each day you can become aware of small changes which you can make – and small changes made by everyone can have a big impact.