5 Ways to Green Your Home This Year

Hey, it’s almost the new year, so why not make a resolution to try some simple ways to green your home—and your life? Here are five ideas to get you started.

1. Make Your Own Natural Cleaners

The list of toxic ingredients hiding in the products under our kitchen sinks is long—and not very friendly to the environment. The good news is that it’s easy to whip up some homemade cleaners using natural, inexpensive ingredients such as baking soda and lemon juice. See Natural and Homemade Cleaners to learn more.

2. Eat Seasonally

Picking up supermarket produce any week of the year has become the norm for many. But all of those food miles add up—and you get something that tastes like cardboard anyway. This year, make it a goal to support local farmers and eat as many in-season foods as you can. For an inspiring and eye-opening perspective on seasonal eating, visit Eat in Sync with the Seasons.

Related: Top 10 Superfoods for Winter

3. Visit a ReStore

Do you have any remodeling projects—big or small—you’ll be tackling this year? Or do you have a few extra building materials lying around from past projects? Whether you’ll be in need of materials of have extras to donate, cut off the waste stream by visiting your local Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

4. Grow Some Food

There’s no better way to cut down on food miles than to grow your own garden. Even if you only have space for a container garden on your balcony or deck (see Container Cultivation for tips), it will be worth it. You’ll love bringing healthy foods to your table and enjoying that magnificent feeling of connecting with the earth. If you do have space for a garden in your yard, check out Easy Garden Anyone Can Make.

Related: Grow Food in a Shoebox

5. Think About What You Drive

I consider one’s driveway and what’s parked in it an aspect of “home,” and there are a lot of ways you can go green in this regard. While I totally understand that a vehicle purchase may not be in the plans or budgets of many, if you do happen to be in the market for a car, the vehicle’s environmental impact over time is certainly something to consider. For a breakdown of the fuel economy of today’s most promising green vehicles, see Best Green Cars. Alternatively, you might be more interested in the benefits of cycling and want to add more pedal power to your life next year. That’s great! Read What the Right Bike Can Do for You to learn more.

Related: What Your Car Says About You

Photo from Fotolia

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Lauren T.

6:08AM PST on Feb 6, 2012

thanks for the tips, going to try a few!

send a green star

Michelle M.

5:36PM PST on Jan 8, 2012

thanks!

june k.

9:09AM PST on Jan 2, 2012

thanks for the tips

Sheri P.

4:29PM PST on Dec 26, 2011

Thanks for the helpful reminders!

Chad A.

11:16PM PST on Dec 25, 2011

Thanks for the thoughtful ideas that are useful and practical.

jennifer c.

8:14PM PST on Dec 25, 2011

great ideas

Alyssa R.

6:02PM PST on Dec 25, 2011

wonderful

Eternal G.

6:00PM PST on Dec 20, 2011

Yes.

Jerika B.

11:24AM PST on Dec 19, 2011

I was really looking forward to reading the Eat in Sync with the Seasons, thinking it would discuss what fruits and vegetables you should eat during the winter months, to only find out about when it's a good time to buy/kill deer and cows. Not very informative...

peggy p.

5:52AM PST on Dec 19, 2011

we do them all and are very happy about each!