Making your home and office place greener is a task that everyone might be interested doing. Nowadays a pleasant atmosphere in these places might lead to better work and way more better rest for everyone. Life in the 21st century is filled with hi-tech items that make life a lot easier as it was before few decades but in the same time make it harder to be kept clean and natural. In order to make a green home and office for you with pleasant atmosphere and in the same time to keep a definite balance with the planet it is necessary for one to build up a home and office atmosphere in this tendency.
Start with some of these tips for a greener home and office and you will be able to achieve all those goals:
- Heating and cooling the place. These are the places where we spend most of our personal and free time, so there is no need or persuasion that making it a bit more comfortable through basic “green” practices is necessary. When being a home-based worker or a freelancer you consume energy as well. This energy is mainly used for heating or cooling the rooms you inhabit.
Instead of being in an office with other people you basically stay at home consuming energy for these purposes. Modern heating and cooling systems are definitely more efficient and energy saving than the ones few decades back, but still – they consume big amount of energy.
Simple ways to minimize this is to close windows when you are trying to warm up or cool down the place. The same can be used if you are staying in just one room and the doors to the other should be closed for that energy-saving purpose.
If you stay at home and it’s winter outside consider wearing more warm clothes in order not to use the heating system too much instead. It may sound a bit Spartan principle but still – this way you save precious energy.
If you are trying to cool down the place in summer put down all the shades because they allow sunlight in the dwelling which makes it harder for the air condition to create a suitable cool room temperature.
-
Reducing the use of energy
Lights – You should be sure that lights are being used only if they are needed. Don’t let light bulbs on when you simply do not need them to be. You can also replace any standard light bulbs with energy-saving ones. LED ones are simply perfect for this occasion. If it is possible you can also use natural light by putting your working desk and chair near the window.
- Shut down any office equipment and devices if they are not necessary during the evening while nobody’s in the office. Computers, printers and other similar devices might need energy if not being turned off. This way you not just saving energy but also money.
- Better products can make a green home and office even better by better energy efficient plan and in the same time use less power. Yes, better products are sometimes more expensive but they happen to be more than a good investment in time.
- Avoiding all kinds of plastic items in the everyday life is a good start as well for creating a green home and office. Try to use metal or wood organizers for your working place, because they are logically more durable and can serve you longer than the plastic boxes which we tend to buy more.
- When you equip your office with different electrical devices go for the ones that have good energy star rating and consume much less electrical power for that matter.
- Using recycled paper and not so many chemical cleaning products is also a good addition in building a better and greener office place.
Clothes
They are a very big part of our yearly consumption of goods and items and also consume enough space in our homes. In order to keep the balance you can sometimes buy second hand clothes and other garment which are suitable for you. And it’s not only clothes. Some electrical devices, furniture and supplies could be more affordable and absolutely high quality even being second hand items.
This way you will be able to make a good and affordable deal and in the same time reach the goals you are aiming.
Also do not rush to throw out some old shelves just because you think they don’t look as good as they did before. A simple coat of paint may transform their look into good. For another example even old furniture could be upholstered and achieve a great new look.
Paper
It is not that hard to reduce the usage of paper in the 21st century is it? Going paperless is an easy one especially when we have the services of electronic devices and computers alongside. Fax machines for example are being used more rarely than ever just because of the purpose of computers. Another one: instead of printing your files on paper you can always scan them and have them in your personal mobile device.
If you still have to make paper copies of something you could at least try to make them on both sides of the paper sheet in order to save a bit more paper.Â
In order to make the green home and office space even greener and eco-friendly you should always think of the second purpose of the items you already do not need. If you still don’t need them anymore you can always donate them to someone who will appreciate them. This way you will be able to improve these everyday spaces and in the same time give some of your belongings second life.
