From Guest Blogger Mark Hutchison: Green Living – How to Transform Your Home
From financial savings to setting a good example for our children, battling health issues and better lifestyles green living has never been so popular. The need for consumers to plant their footprint into an improved and sustainable future has turned into a growing trend, with advancements in technology closely behind what we call, the green movement.
Transforming your home into a more efficient one has never been more manageable with changes being made by ordinary people every day. And these changes don’t compromise on quality, budget, looks or beliefs. Whether you’re building a home from scratch or simply converting, green living isn’t as complicated as you think. With a little solid planning and a few alterations you can be one step closer – we look at few tips to get you started.
Home Grown Vegie Garden
You can’t get much greener than getting your hands dirty with nature itself and finding the roots to where it all began. Growing your own vegie garden doesn’t just save you money on the grocery shopping, but it’s fun, encourages a healthy diet and leaves a positive mark on the environment. Consider how much you and your family will eat and start with vegetables that provide throughout the whole year like tomatoes and peppers. You won’t need a large space, or even a yard – just direct sunlight, plenty of water and good soil.
If you want to take your garden’s green footprint one step further, consider planting native trees and plants. They don’t require fertilisers, easy to grow and maintain, and look fantastic.
A Change in Flooring
The type of flooring in your home can make a world of difference when it comes to allergies and eco-friendly solutions from the installation process right through to the materials used and how it’s maintained. Carpet is renowned for trapping dust so for allergy-prone people it’s not always ideal – consider hardwoods or cork for an alternative.
Renewable resources like bamboo make for a very environmentally friendly flooring type because it’s a fast-growing plant and super tough. Other hardwoods like timber flooring add that natural warmth to your home and because it encourages future tree growth, an eco-friendly flooring solution. For added strength and resilience, timber can be engineered to bring it up another level by increasing its stability. There are several advantages of engineered timber flooring , in addition to its durable and high quality materials – it’s easy to clean without having to use harsh chemicals and it’s installed in an environmentally friendly way. Asthma or allergy-prone suffers can also breathe a sigh of relief with hardwoods like timber and bamboo flooring.
Grey Water
When making the switch to the other side, it’s a good time to stop thinking in terms of black and white. White (or black) is the new grey and with the colour change, comes a great opportunity to save water.
Grey water is the excess water from your home appliances, shower, bath and hand basin water. This “waste” is now viewed as unrestricted water that can be used in the garden, for washing your clothes or toilet flushing. With many of us faced with constant water restrictions, it’s become the perfect alternative for performing day-to-day duties without having to watch the water usage.
Although you can use as much grey water, whenever you like it’s a good idea to check the local council for any regulations surrounding its use. In some states it’s illegal to use the pipe grey water directly onto your lawn and garden so be sure to check if this applies to you.
Because water is so important to our planet, and we’re always going to need it, consider looking for more than one way to save water.
Greener (and more stylish) Furniture
A change of furniture around your home can not only be refreshing, but it can also help with health issues and environmental considerations. If it’s time for an upgrade, look for quality products over cheaper options. If you’re after furniture made from plastic or metal, opt for the recycled varieties that are on the market and be sure to protect your metal parts from rust (they should be powder-coated or rust resistant).
If budget is tight but your furniture is looking dull keep an eye out for second-hand bargains. Buying used furniture can be remodelled to serve you for the next few years or try transforming old indoor furniture into outdoor furniture, finished with stain resistant fabrics and re-covered cushions. For the creative minds, up-cycling inspiration can help turn old objects into something more colourful and useful.
For those prone to back pain or diabetes suffers investing in some wicker furniture can improve health conditions – just be sure it’s made from FSC Certified Timber as this is much better for the environment.
Mark Hutchison is the Managing Director of Lifewood timber flooring in Perth. Please feel free to ask Mark any questions about this piece on Google+!
