Interior: Eco-Friendly Checklist

Great air purifying plants like ivy, peace lilies, or snake plants can be great to have around your home. They can detoxify your living space, ridding your home of airborne toxins and pumping out fresh clean air. Not to mention they look wonderful.

Disposable batteries take a very long time to break down and can be the cause of toxic chemicals like mercury, cadmium, lithium, and lead (1) making their way into our water supply and land. While they don't fully prevent this risk, switching to reusable and chargeable batteries can significantly increase the lifespan and prevent massive volumes of batteries from making their way into landfills.

It's recommended to change thin filters (1 - 2 inch) at least every 3 months thicker filters (4 - 5 inch) every 6 months

Doing routine checks for leaking or running faucets, spigots, or other water sources around your house is a great habit to get into. Especially for lesser-used water sources, a constant running or leaking faucet that goes unnoticed for an extended period of time can waste fully use a significant amount of water.

Using power strips that give easier control of turning power on or off with a switch can make controlling your electricity usage much more convenient.

Many people let appliances run 24/7. Turning off appliances can save energy and money.

We all know one of those habitual 'leave every light on' people. Don't be that person! Turning off lights when you aren't using them saves energy and money.

VOCs (volatile organic compounds) are found in some paints and are harmful to breathe in. Some VOCs are potentially deadly carcinogens. This has a higher impact in a micro scale in your home than it does for the larger planet, but every bit helps!

Putting insulation on your water pipes can reduce the loss of heat, allowing you to use less energy in heating water and less water waiting for it to get warm. It can also help manage condensation that can cause corrosion or drips into your basement.

Most thermostats nowadays are programmable to some extent, but upgrading to an easy-to use and customizable one can allow you to have more control over your energy use at home.

You can find LED replacements to your standard bulb fixtures for just about any light and they save huge amounts of energy - at least 75% less energy and last up to 25 times longer (2)

This is a total mindset shift. Once you get into this headspace, you'll find yourself thinking of everything - how can something be reused or made to be multi-purpose? This can have a huge impact. You'll find yourself buying less, creating less waste, and increasing your creative thinking skills!

Greywater systems are designed to reuse water after running through a washing machine, shower, or sinks. This is often used for irrigation in gardens and lawns. It is essential to use all natural and plant-friendly cleaners for any water that is used in a greywater system.

Many homes are under-insulated, which allows heat to escape easily in the cold months and heat to move in during the warm months. Proper insulation can keep your home more regulated and reduce the need for heating and cooling use.

Where we can't reuse or compost, we recycle. Getting into the habit of this order of operations can maximize the usefulness of the things we buy, reduce our individual carbon footprint, and combat the demand for single-use and first-time materials.

In recent years, HVAC systems have improved a lot with a focus on energy efficiency. Upgrading your home's HVAC system can make improvements to cost and energy usage.