{"id":13718,"date":"2020-07-14T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2020-07-14T12:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/news\/?p=13718"},"modified":"2022-01-07T19:30:21","modified_gmt":"2022-01-08T00:30:21","slug":"optimize-sustainable-living","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/optimize-sustainable-living","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways to Optimize Sustainable Living Ideas at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the most significant consumers of resources and energy is your home. Whether it\u2019s high utility bills, bags of garbage, or even just the renovation waste from your latest kitchen update, your house makes up a considerable part of your carbon footprint<\/a>. Fortunately, creating sustainable living ideas at home can be boiled down to the three basic tenets of sustainability: Reduce, reuse, recycle. These three areas of sustainability that we learned in grade school cover everything you need to address when optimizing your home\u2019s sustainability.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Reduce Waste and Consumption to Optimize Sustainability<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The easiest way to improve your home\u2019s sustainability<\/a> is to avoid consumption in the first place. Reducing your home\u2019s consumption also has the benefit of saving you money since waste usually comes at a cost. Reducing your household waste can be accomplished in a vast variety of ways, a few of which we\u2019ve outlined below.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reduce Energy Consumption<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Lowering your home\u2019s room temperature in the winter and raising it in the summer will reduce the energy consumed to keep your home comfortable. If you have a programmable thermostat, you can adjust the settings to drop the temperature even lower or higher when you are at work or sleeping, for further savings. Upgrading your home\u2019s light fixtures to LED lighting will also help reduce the energy consumed in your home. Finally, lowering the temperature of your hot water tank will also reduce the energy used to keep your showers hot (make sure to keep it warm enough to remain hostile to bacteria).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reduce Your Household Waste<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

How many bags of garbage does your household produce in one week? Odds are, you can reduce that amount by a significant percentage if you modify your behaviour to include purchasing products that are low on the packaging, minimize kitchen waste as much as possible, and switch biodegradable and compostable products when possible. Unfortunately, we can\u2019t reduce our household waste down to zero, but to further improve your home\u2019s sustainability, you can reuse it whenever possible.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Composting Kitchen Scraps<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Purchasing an under-cabinet kitchen compost bin is an inexpensive way to remove a large amount of compostable material from your home\u2019s garbage bin. Some cities offer city-run composting programs and will provide you with a large green outdoor bin. If this isn\u2019t possible in your area, you can purchase an outdoor composting bin \u2013be sure to avoid composting meat or bones as these items will attract rodents.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Reuse or Donate Renovation Waste<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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All homes need minor renovations<\/a> from time to time, but you can minimize the cost and environmental impact of your restoration by reusing materials. Here are some of the ways to reuse materials and create <\/span>sustainable living ideas at home.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n