10 Simple Ways to Go Green at Home (That Will Also Save You Money!)

We spend most of our life at home, so this is one of the best places to look for ways to go green. Adopting these ways to go green at home is not only good for the environment, it has the added benefit of saving money too!


Related post: How to Live Green on a Budget: Eco-Friendly Ways to Save Money


This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.


Tips to Go Green At Home

We spend a lot of time at home – around 62% of our waking hours. Since our homes are a huge part of our lives, using strategies to go green at home can make a big impact to helping the environment.


Most of these tips to go green at home will also automatically save you money, with no extra budgeting on your part.


Related post: How to Start Saving Money (So You Can Afford the Life You Want).


Ways to Go Green at Home


Let’s jump right in with simple ways to be more green at home:


1. Get a Free Energy Audit

In many cities, you can request that your local utility company provide an energy audit for your home. This is a really helpful resource if you want specific tips for green practices at home.


The energy audits are often free, or sometimes you pay upfront and get a rebate on your next energy bill.


Energy audits are an excellent way to cut back on your utility bills and energy usage. The energy audit will give you lots of specific ways to go green at home. They will give you tips on things like insulation, windows, light bulbs, your furnace, etc.


2. Replace Light Bulbs

Replace your old incandescent light bulbs with LED bulbs.


A friend of mine had an energy audit done recently on his home. The energy auditor came out to the property and replaced for free 21 old light bulbs with the new energy-efficient light bulbs in the home.


As a monthly average the prior electric bill was around $130 per month. After the audit the monthly electric bill went down to $69 per month. That is a savings of $61. Not to mention the actual electric usage also went down as well. Over the year that’s a savings of close to $800!


Related post: Can a Minimalist Lifestyle Actually Save You Money?


3. Replace Faucets to Low Flow

Replace your bathroom, kitchen sinks and shower heads with energy-efficient faucets and low flow shower heads that will decrease the amount of water usage in your home. This will in turn decrease your water bill.


4. Use Cold Water for Laundry

To save on both water and electrical use, wash your clothes in a cold-water wash cycle and rinse cycle. You can also check out these 10 creative ways to save electricity and money at home.


5. Ways to Go Green at Home That Will Make You Healthier: Swap the Pop

Switch your pop/soda or juice for water. And not bottled water, this is all about ways to go green at home. If you just don’t like your tap water, install a Brita type water filtration system (or get a Brita water jug).


By drinking water instead of daily juice or soda, you could see a lot of health benefits. You will certainly see a reduction in monthly expenses on sodas, juices, and other purchased drinks.


Also by not buying bottled and canned drinks, you’re helping the environment. Sure they can be recycled, but they aren’t always. For the environment, it’s better to Refuse (don’t buy it in the first place) than Recycle.


Let’s math this up to see how much money you could save by switching from pop or juice (or even kombucha – yes I know, don’t hate me) to water.


A typical can of soda costs $1 per can. If you drink just a can of soda per day, that is a monthly expense of $31. The annual expense would be $372 per year. If you eat two snacks a day, you could be spending about $40 per month. The annual expense would be $480 per year.


Related post: Meals for Large Families: Tips to Save Time, Save Money, and Dirt Cheap Meal Ideas


6. Use Window Energy Film

According to US Department of Energy statistics most American buildings experience an energy loss of some 25% through the windows in the buildings.

To save money on energy use, purchase window energy film products.


Those energy film products are clear, light and very easy to install. Most of those products can be purchased at stores such as Home Depot, Lowe’s, or Target.


By installing window energy film in your home, you will see a decrease of your thermal solar energy use during the summer. You will also experience decrease of heat loss during the wintertime. The energy film will also block the majority of harmful UV lights that stream into your home.


Related post: Minimalist Gifts That Are Good For the Environment


7. Easy (But Neglected) Way to Go Green at Home: Close Windows

Here is another simple way to go green at home (and save money). I cannot tell you how many times during the dead of winter that I drove by a home to see the windows wide open. This is a major waster of energy in our country.

Take the time to close the windows, exterior doors, and basement bulkheads. This simple task will cut back on energy waste.


Related post: Minimalist Homes For Sale – People Are Buying Homes off of Amazon?


Final Word on Ways to Be More Green at Home

None of these ways to go green at home are rocket science. But our lives are busy and complex and it is so easy to dismiss these eco-friendly tips as not amounting to much.


But they do.


The little actions we take each day and each week add up over the year, and over our lifetimes. Steps we take to be greener at home make a difference, just as saving and investing what we can each month grows with compounding over the years.


Unless you drive an electric vehicle, you’ll appreciate these 7 tips for saving money on gas.


Pin this post on ways to go green at home to save it:

Share your ideas of ways to go green at home

Suchot - The Curious Frugal
Want more details about this and other budgeting & minimalist living ideas? Check out more here!
Go
Comments
Join the conversation
Next