Practical Eco-Friendly Ideas

Organising your home is one thing, but keeping it eco-friendly can seem more challenging. In reality, it’s not as daunting a task as you may think. There are lots of ways you can reuse and recycle items around the home, or buy eco-friendly materials to help you organise what’s lying around. So many emerging trends are about “going green,” so take time to consider how you can make your home, big or small, a more eco-friendly, organised and stored space.

Read on for some tips:

Know Your Perishables

How many times have you tried to use an ingredient only to find out that it has dried out or been spoiled by moisture? It’s important to know the ideal conditions for making your perishables last longer. With a little big of care, your food will not expire as quickly. For instance, do not keep perishables outside of the refrigerator for more than 2 hours! Keep in mind that certain types of food like potatoes, garlic, onions, and bread don’t need to be stored in the fridge. Furthermore, freezing food is a popular and useful technique that extends the shelf life of perishable foods much longer than their expiration date. Remember, the less you waste, the less you’ll have to send to landfills.

Reuse It, Don’t Lose It,

Storage units come in all shapes and sizes. Aside from the typical big brown box, there are most likely storage options you have lying around the house that can be reused and repurposed. For instance, you can use old shoeboxes to store art supplies or repurpose old tea tins into pencil holders, planters, recipe card holders and more. As for buying storage units, it isn’t necessary to purchase something brand new, but if that’s what your after, consider eco-friendly options that are less harsh on the environment.

Embrace Your Inner Handyman

Doing some minor repairs may be what’s necessary for something to become reusable. For instance, an old table with chipped paint just needs to be sanded and repainted to bring back its original charm. An old oven may need a few replacement parts to start working again. Look around and see if there are any items in your home that would work more efficiently or be more presentable with some repairs. Sometimes, the best way to ensure that you don’t end up with a faulty appliance or furniture issue is to address the problem right at the start, to save you time and money from having to hire a professional.

Become a DIY Expert

You may have seen many DIY projects on Pinterest and Facebook, so why not try a few? If you’re unsure of your skill level, start with simple projects. Installing hanging shelves, painting an old table or creating “wicker” baskets from pieces of rolled paper would be a good start. When you’ve mastered these tasks, you can move on to slightly tougher DIY projects. With the Internet on your side, there are many resources available that explain how you can transform what many consider trash into a useful storage solution. It saves you money, it helps the environment, and it’s a great bonding experience if you get a loved one involved.

Check Out Eco Friendly Shops

There are a lot of sellers who specialize in using sustainable materials to create furniture, shelves and storage boxes. Don’t worry, many of them showcase professional and polished pieces that don’t have an obvious “recycled” look to them. In fact, it’s getting harder to tell which pieces of furniture are made from sustainable materials as opposed to genuine wood or even leather.

If you have the resources, time and money to make eco-friendly choices, do it! The eco-friendly trend is hopefully one that sticks and doesn’t fade away. For further advice on storage solutions and eco-friendly options for your home, contact Wardrobe World and talk to a consultant!