December 28, 2015

Greening your home doesn’t need to be an onerous task – there are several

simple steps that all of us can take to make our homes happier, healthier spaces for

ourselves and for the environment.

In the kitchen

Kitchens use lots of water and energy. One of the biggest energy suckers in your

home lives here: the refrigerator. Follow the Energy Star rating system and buy a

more energy-efficient model next time you’re ready to upgrade your fridge.

If you can live without it, choose a fridge without an ice-maker or water dispenser.

Thankfully, there are many great, stylish models to choose from these days, from

ultra modern and fully integrated to cool and retro.

Clean, Green Ways to Maintain Your Home

If you're looking for easy ways to make your home a greener, cleaner space, wehave some simple tips for you

Robin Braithwaite More Info�

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Mackenzie Pronk Architects

About 13 per cent of water usage takes place in the kitchen, so make sure you

conserve water and select eco-friendly, low-flow taps if you’re updating or

renovating. Keep an eye out for tapware with a high WELS (Water Efficiency

Labelling and Standards) rating.

Choosing the right kitchen tapware

In the bathroom

Most disinfecting bathroom

cleaners are full of harmful

chemicals. These

chemicals hang around in

the air and water, and in

the short term can irritate

your skin and lungs. Over a

longer period, such

chemicals can potentially

lead to serious health

problems. Then there’s the

effect that they have on the

environment as they’re

flushed away in the toilet

and down the drain.

Instead of resorting to

chemical cleaners, use a

mix of bicarb soda and

natural dish soap to create

a paste to scrub tiles and

glass with. Use this paste

with a toothbrush to clean grout. Vinegar is great for removing mildew and build-up

from the corners of your shower; just spray it on, let it dry, spray again and wipe

clean.

Stephanie Wiley Photography

Alison Designs

Keep the toilet sparkling

clean by mixing together

half a cup of white vinegar

and a tablespoon full of

bicarb, and pour it into the

bowl. Let it soak for half an

hour and then give it a

good scrub. This bleach-

free cleaner detoxes your

toilet and removes calcium

build-up on the bowl.

Designing a self-cleaning

bathroom

In the living room

To help reduce heating and cooling costs, and to keep your home energy-efficient

for the sake of the environment, ensure that your insulation is up to scratch. Good

insulation will keep your home cool in summer and warm in winter, enabling you to

use devices like air-conditioning units and gas heaters less.

A simpler way to stay warm on winter nights, however, is to add throw rugs and

blankets to your living room sofas, and other areas where you spend the most time

when you’re at home.

Aside from being better for the environment and your back pocket, using blankets

Sheila Rich Interiors, LLC

AS you see it!

to keep warm is better for your health, as air conditioners and heaters can dry out

your skin and leave you feeling dehydrated. Again, stick to natural fibres such as

wool and cotton throws.

Adding effective insulation to your living room can be as simple as laying down a

large rug in the winter months. While concrete or timber floors are a great option

for summer, being both hard wearing and good for keeping temperatures down

inside, they can be somewhat cold underfoot in the cooler parts of the year.

A large rug feels warm and cosy underfoot and helps to stop hard floors from

leaching the heat out of the room.

Find the right size rug for a room

In the bedroom

When dressing your bed, choose bedlinen made from natural materials such as

cotton or bamboo. Lighter colours have been through a less chemically-laden

production process, so they’re often a healthier and greener choice than darker or

more heavily saturated sheets. And if you can find organic linens treated with

natural dyes, even better!

If you’re choosing new doonas and pillows for your bed, opt for natural fillings such

as cotton, down and feathers, or wool. Not only are these materials more

adaptable to changes in temperature, keeping you more comfortable when you’re

sleeping, creating them also has less of an impact on the environment than the

production of synthetic fibres does.

Items to toss out and replace

In the laundry

Make the switch from chlorine, bleach, synthetically fragranced and petroleum-

based detergents to plant-based biodegradable laundry products.

Shirley Meisels

Jessica Glynn Photography

If you have to use bleach,

buy non-chlorine based

hydrogen peroxide, which

is better for the

environment. Ensure that

you wash full loads and

teach your kids that not

everything they wear

needs to be washed every

time it’s worn.

Drying your clothes and

linens naturally in the sun

extends their life and

reduces energy use, as

compared to using a dryer.

Dry darker colours in the

shade or indoors to

prevent fading.

Supermarket shelves are

heaving with greener,

cleaner laundry options.

You could make your own

green laundry powder and

many of these ‘recipes’

have been used

successfully for

generations. Search online;

you’ll find plenty of advice.

TIP: Pantry items such

vinegar, lemon juice and

baking soda feature heavily

in homemade laundry products, and general household cleaning products. Why

not give them a try and see if they work for you!

TELL US

Steele Canvas

B. Jane Gardens

How have you made your home a greener place to live? Share your tips in the

Comments section.

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