These top 10 ways to protect the environment at home take very little time to do. It’s just a matter of making a commitment to doing something good for the planet and sticking to that plan. I call this “my environmental to do list.”
Earth Day happens in April and lots of people talk about how to protect our environment for that one day. For me, thinking of ways to help our environment is not something I talk about one day of the year, but something that is on my mind most of the time.
There are so many ways to help the environment at home. From taking the time to turn off lights, or setting the thermostat a few degrees lower to growing your own vegetables, read on to find out how to protect the environment in our daily lives.
These 10 ways to protect our environment at home are simple to do and can make a big difference.
My environmental to do list contains suggestions that are easy to implement, actually save money in most cases, and go a long ways towards protecting our environment.
I’ve also included a free graphic that you can print out and display in an obvious place. I have mine on the back of my medicine cabinet door.
It reminds me of what we can do at home to help the environment. You can print it out here by using your browser print function, or use the print button the in the printable card at the bottom of the post.
Conserve energy and save money
We all love to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer, but adjusting the setting by just a few degrees during the hot time of the year (or turning it off and opening the windows) can make a huge difference.
Doing the same thing in winter helps, too. For the few months in the spring when I don’t use A/C, our electricity bill is $100 a MONTH lower.
That is a huge savings in money and energy. So adjust the temperature. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you get used to a different setting.
Conserve water to protect the environment
There are loads of ways to save on water usage. When you brush your teeth, only turn the water on when you need to rinse.
Are you boiling potatoes for dinner? Don’t throw the water down the drain! Use it to water your plants.
Use rain barrels to catch water from the gutters and downspout. This can save a lot on your water bills and makes watering your vegetable garden a cost saver too.
These are just a few ways to save water that can make a big difference in protecting our environment. Conserving water is one of the most important things you can do make a difference and help our planet at the same time.
Use products that are environmentally favorable.
Products that are free of dyes, flavors, preservatives and fragrances and are never tested on animals will make you feel great about saving the environment.
When you are looking for ways to protect the environment at home, take the time to do some research about environmentally favorable products.
Some brands to consider are:
- Beyond Meat – Their beyond burgers generate 90 percent less greenhouse gas emissions, and require 46 percent less energy than normal beef burgers.
- Clipper Tea – Their teabags are sealed with a non-GM bio-material made from plant cellulose, known as bio-plastic.
- Patagonia – the company belongs to both the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and 1% For The Planet.
- Tom’s of Maine – The company is dedicated to creating a safe, sustainable product on which families can depend.
- Lush Cosmetics – None of their products are tested on animals; all ingredients must be vegetarian and derived from fruits, vegetables or safe synthetics.
Use filtered water.
My daughter bought me a Brita filtered water pitcher for Christmas last year. It is one of the best Christmas presents I have ever gotten.
I keep the pitcher full all the time and it makes the water taste fabulous. This clean water encourages me to drink it often which helps my heath.
Using the water pitcher allows me to really save on the purchase of bottled water, which also saves on plastics use. This makes it a win-win all around!
Recycle food waste with a compost pile.
Food wastes takes up so much space in our landfills, but it can easily be put to wonderful use if you have a garden. I started a compost pile last summer and just kept adding food and yard waste to it.
The soil under the top layer makes a fabulous compost that adds nutrients to your garden. I consider it black gold for my veggie garden.
I add a scoop of compost with every hole that I dig for my plants. No chemical fertilizers for me, and using this compost really adds to the soil and encourages earthworms.
Not only does using the compost help your vegetable garden, it means that you won’t be throwing so much into your garbage bins each week.
Find out about all sorts of things that you can compost that you may not have thought of.
Ways to save the environment – plant vegetables.
Planting your own vegetables is fun to do, and is very satisfying when the garden produces and gives you peace of mind that you are eating things that you have grown.
When I plant vegetables, I try to stay way from GMO seeds. I use heirloom seeds, my own compost and can rest easy, knowing that I am feeding my family the best home grown food.
Organically growing your own food is sustainable and nourishes your soil when you are using safe and natural fertilizers and products.
Recycle and reuse to help save the environment at home.
There are a so many things that you can do with normal household items instead of throwing them into the trash. If you are looking for a fun kids craft project, make some egg carton caterpillars.
Instead of purchasing new pots for your succulents, look around your house to find items that can be used for creative succulent planters. You will end up with a plant pot and de-clutter your closets at the same time – a Marie Kondo win!.
Instead of throwing that old newspaper away, use it to easily make into starting plant pots for vegetables. When they have grown enough, you can plant the whole thing, newspaper and all right into the garden!
How to protect the environment at home – pick up litter.
On your next walk with your kids, set a great example for them. Take along a plastic bag from the grocery store and pick up any litter that you see along your walk.
The kids will grow up learning to think of ways to save the environment, and you will help to keep the environment cleaner too.
While we are on the topic of those plastic grocery bags, find other uses for them! I’ve written a whole post about 48 uses for plastic grocery store bags. Be sure to check it out for ideas.
Make homemade desserts.
Instead of using boxed dessert mixes, make your own. It really does not take that much longer.
You will know that you are saving money and skipping the chemicals that seem to make it into the boxed mixes.
Plus, homemade just tastes better! Look at these chocolate chip cookies! You can’t get these from a box!
Use reusable shopping bags.
We talked about recycling plastic grocery bags as a way to save the environment. Now, let’s consider reusable shopping bags instead.
Some stores now charge a fee if you use plastic bags and some stores give a small discount if you use a reusable bag. Either way, it’s a great product when you are looking for ways to maintain the environment.
I have a set of about 10 reusable cloth shopping bags that I take with me when I go shopping.
They hold a LOT of food and have lasted me for years.
Now it’s your turn. How can we protect the environment?
Can you think of other ways to help protect our environment at home? What do you do to protect our planet all year long, and not JUST when Earth Day rolls around?
Tell us your what is on your environmental to-do list in the comments below.
Admin note: This post first appeared on the blog in April of 2016. I have updated the post to add more ideas, new photos, a printable and a video for you to enjoy.
Pin these tips for ways to protect the environment at home.
Would you like a reminder of this environmental to do list? Just pin this image to one of your household tips boards on Pinterest so that you can easily find it later.
Printable - Top 10 Ways to Protect The Environment at Home
Protecting our environment starts at home. There are so many things we can do that will help to save it for future generations. Print out this environmental to do list and place it in a spot that you will see often. It will be a great reminder for eco-friendly habits!
Materials
- Heavy card stock or glossy photo paper
Tools
- desk jet printer
Instructions
- Load the glossy photo paper or heavy cardstock into your printer.
- Print and display is a visible space to remind you to protect the environment.
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I use filtered water in our house, because our water tastes a bit bleachy. I’d like to start recycling food waste, so I need to look into that. I’m a pretty fanatical recycler and haul a ton of recyclables out the curb each week.
We do most of these things in our home now. I had to smile about not letting the water run when brushing your teeth. I used to play a Barney video in my nursery whichhad a song about ‘never let the water run’ and is molded to my brain forever. I find my self humming it sometimes.
We’ve created some good rich garden dirt by composting!
I agree with you — celebrating Earth Day should be more of a lifestyle and not just a day. We already do many of the things you mentioned and we’re slowly making the change of ridding our home of chemicals and have noticed a positive difference. As a side note — homegrown veggies taste so good!
Thought I’d let all your readers know I found Tom’s Deodorant for women at Big Lots. Good price too!
It is so incredibly important for all of us to care for and protect the Earth through our daily lives. For us, that looks like using canvas bags instead of plastic, growing a garden, utilizing reusable water bottles, and using eco friendly products. We are big fans of Tom’s toothpaste and deoderant in our house, too!
These are great tips for protecting our environment. I know I need to work on turning off the water while I brush my teeth. These are great reminders that the little things we do can make the earth a better place.
I love all your tips – and of course, there’s my fave; plant succulents which don’t require a ton of water in the garden!
In the winter my thermostat is set at 65 and summer 74. Recycling and composting are important parts of our life. great post on awareness and tips for Earth day.
Malls and supermarkets now implement the eco-friendly bag system. To encourage shoppers to use and bring their own bags, these establishments refund a small percentage of purchases as a reward. There are also discounts and freebies given to those who don’t use plastic bags.
These are all really great tips and I absolutely agree with each and everyone of them! Going by how our world is revolving, we really need to mind our environment more. It may seem like little efforts but together, their effects can be huge!
These are terrific tips – and I’m happy to say that we’re doing most of these. Haven’t discovered Tom’s natural products here in Canada (no Target anymore!). But my son and his family use it – I think they buy it online.
I love the Tom’s of Maine brand, perfect that it’s natural and does a great job!! These are great ways to protect the environment with simple changes in our lives at home. What a great promotion at Target on Toms of Maine!
We use both deodorant and toothpaste from Tom’s for our boys. They love Tom’s products and so do we. I will have to look into the wicked cool deodorant for my older son. I bet he would really like it.
My husband and I try to do a lot of these already when we can. For example, we love using reusable grocery bags when we go shopping; unfortunately, not all the stores in our area like us using them. As for conserving energy, we actually had an energy efficient AC unit installed a couple of years ago for that very reason. It keeps us cooler without using near the amount of energy!
Great tips Carol! I want to get a rain barrel or two. I have a garden going but we’ve been getting so much rain (need those rain barrels) that it’s drowning some of my plants and there’s more on its way. I love the idea of the newspaper pots!
Great Tips! I’ve tried several Tom’s products and have always loved knowing that what I was using was taking nothing away from the earth I love. Thanks so much for sharing…
Nice tips! Important for all. I will follow these tips to protect our environment at home.