Doing your bit to help the environment doesn’t require a massive overhaul of your lifestyle. There are tiny swaps you can make and habits you can adopt to make a difference.
Some eco-friendly changes will barely impact your life at all, such as switching off your computer at the wall or changing the brand of toilet paper you buy.
We’ve compiled a few easy ways you can be a bit greener in your home, with minimum effort required.
1. Buy greener products
These days, making greener choices when shopping for groceries doesn’t actually have to cost more. In fact, purchasing recycled toilet paper or glass reusable containers is similar in cost to buying a much less eco-friendly alternative.
Opt for recycled toilet paper or biodegradable bin bags. Picture: Getty
Also consider shopping toxin-free cleaning products. There’s always the option to DIY cleaning products at home (can’t go wrong with bi-carb and vinegar!), otherwise opt for products that are safe to go down your drain and into our waterways.
2. Do a cold wash
When doing your laundry, use cold instead of hot water. It uses less water and also saves the energy it takes to heat the water – which is a lot!
In fact, doing cold instead of hot washes not only reduces your carbon footprint, but it can save you between $80 and $145 a year off your energy bill.*
3. Change your air-con just one degree
Air-con is a household energy glutton. The systems eat up a lot of energy, even in short periods of use.
Air-con is a real energy guzzler. Picture: Getty
Before turning it on, make sure you’ve exhausted your other options like adding or removing items of clothing, or turning on the fan instead. If you simply can’t get by without it, consider these energy saving options:
- On a hot day, making your air-con just one degree warmer can save energy. Origin reports that when cooling, each degree less than 24C uses 5% more energy. Meanwhile, when heating, each degree above 20C uses 10% more energy.
- Clean your filters and have your unit serviced to make sure it’s running smoothly. It may be gobbling up power simply trying to operate effectively.
- Close doors and windows, and keep an eye out for any ways the heat or cool can escape. This will help you use your air-con more sparingly and more efficiently.
4. Reduce single-use plastics
Straws, cling wrap, snap-lock bags, water bottles, plastic Tupperware – are all of these absolutely necessary in your home?
There are so many incredible reusable products on the market now that we can all work towards cutting back on the lazy single-use plastic solutions.
Consider what in your life could be reusable. Picture: Maria Ilves / Unsplash
For instance, instead of cling wrap use beeswax wraps. Instead of plastic snap-lock bags, track down the reusable silicone versions. While more expensive, you can also invest in some metal storage containers and bento boxes. The list goes on!
5. Go paperless
Most banks and internet and energy providers now have the option to choose an e-statement over a paper one. Receiving your bills via email instead of in the mail saves just that extra bit of unnecessary paper and the impacts of its delivery.
6. Save your excess water
Rainwater tanks are great, but there are even easier ways to conserve water.
Shorter showers and a bucket for grey water could save litres. Picture: Getty
Get creative with water-saving solutions by making effective use of the humble bucket. For example, put a bucket in your shower to capture excess water and sprinkle it over the garden later. Even better, try and catch your drained water from your washing machine or even your kitchen sink instead of letting it run right out the drain.
7. Change your bulbs
There are water saving taps, then there are energy efficient bulbs. While it can be a bit trickier to change your shower and tap fixtures, it’s so simple to just pop in a new light bulb.
LED lights, for example, are as effective as regular bulbs but they use 80% less energy**. If you have a business, some states also offer rebate incentives to install LED lighting systems.
Are your lights energy efficient? Picture: Getty
8. Turn off your electronics
If you have electronics that frequently sit on standby, you’re probably sucking up unnecessary energy. If you have a desktop computer, take the extra effort to completely shut it down and turn off the screen.
If you really want to get serious, switch off your TV, cable, DVD player or gaming console at the wall.
9. Add green energy
For just $52 more a year, you could make a greener change to your energy bill.
Origin provides a Green Gas option, where your natural gas greenhouse emissions will be offset via a Carbon Reduction Scheme (CRS) for as little as one extra dollar per week.
The same exists for your electricity bill, where you can chose the amount of electricity to come from accredited government GreenPower sources, ranging from 10% to 100% of usage and also starting from $1 a week. In doing so, you’re increasing the proportion of renewable energy in the grid.
“14% of the energy grid is already green. But when you purchase GreenPower, you increase the proportion of renewable energy in the grid by an equivalent amount,” explains Jon Briskin, Executive General Manager, Origin Retail.
