By Cooper Klein, Author at Smooth Decorator

In this day and age, it’s no longer enough to simply recycle and properly dispose of the things you no longer need or use if you want to be eco-friendly. The green mindset has affected everything, from the way we think to the way we live, so those of us who wish to be perceived as nature’s friends, not foes, will have to fully embrace this new way of life.

As mentioned, this does not only include our behavior, but also our entire lifestyle. So, in order to truly live and breathe green, you’ll first have to make sure that your living environment is not working against you. You can do this by checking whether your home is as eco-friendly as possible, and if you’re not sure how you can achieve that, stick around.

Determine what needs to be done

As with everything else, before you actually start renovating your home, you should first identify what needs to be done. Bearing that in mind, inspect your property thoroughly, and see what can be made better and in what manner. Once you’ve got these things figured out, move on to the next step.

Set a budget

Setting a budget up front will help you immensely. It will allow you to determine how much you can afford to spend on something, and it can even inspire you to look for alternative ways for achieving the same effect. Also, by setting a clear budget, you minimize the likelihood of running out of funds in the middle of the project.

Room-by-room renovations

To truly maximize the efficiency of your renovating efforts, you should try to upgrade every room of your home. However, keep in mind that these projects don’t have to be big, but they should most definitely be smart. So, let’s see what the best ways to upgrade your every room are, without completely redoing your entire house and spending a fortune.

The kitchen

The kitchen is the room that probably wastes the biggest amount of energy due to all the appliances, some of which even work for 24 hours straight. Therefore, if you can afford it, it would be best to replace all of your old appliances with Energy Star rated ones, so as to lower the use of energy as much as possible. Yes, this will initially cost a bit more, but it will definitely pay off in the long run.

The bathroom

The bathroom is another big spender. An average household of three uses as much as 300 gallons of water per day, and the bigger portion of that goes on flushing the toilet and taking a shower. So, what you can do here is install low-flow toilets and add aerators to your shower and faucet. In addition, instead of taking a bath, choose to have a quick shower. However, if you still want to indulge yourself from time to time, you can install small bathtubs as an alternative to your big old one. This way, you can still take a long, relaxing bath when you feel you need it while using far less water to fill the tub.

The living room

To maximize the efficiency of your living room, you should first replace all the light bulbs with energy-efficient LEDs. This may not seem like much at first, but you will definitely see the change in your electricity bill. Since the living room is the busiest room of the house throughout the day, this step makes perfect sense, because ordinary incandescent light bulbs waste as much as 90% of the energy used on generating heat, while only 10% is used on illumination.

Other upgrades

Finally, you can additionally insulate your entire home to lower the amount of energy wasted on keeping the indoor temperature at the optimum level. There are various eco-friendly options to go for – from using recycled materials as insulation to implementing cork wall and floor covers. Next, you can add a rainwater collection system in your yard to make the irrigation eco-friendly as well. As well as that, consider replacing your windows and doors with more energy-efficient options, such as the double glazed one. Eventually, you can install solar panels and batteries, and rely mostly on clean, renewable energy.

As you can see, when you decide to make your home more energy-efficient and green, you don’t have to tear down your house and start rebuilding from scratch. With just a few smart moves and wise investments, you will be able to turn your home into an eco-friendly oasis in no time. So, think everything through before you start renovating, and decide on the best course of action.