Your home is where you have the most control over your sustainable habits. Small changes add up over time, leading to massive wins for the planet. Reducing single-use plastics, recycling and composting are some of the most common tips and tricks. But what other minor tweaks could you incorporate today to change your household’s carbon footprint?

Optimize Your Refrigerator Temperature

Refrigerators are among the most energy-intensive devices in your home, but most people only adjust the temperature with the thermostat. However, you can also change the temperature of your fridge and freezer. These appliances don’t have to be as cold as the default setting, especially if you notice frost on your food. 

The customization depends on the fridge’s model, but there should be an easy-to-manage dial. Even a couple of degrees over a year yields huge savings for the planet and your wallet.

Embrace Mindful Dishwashing

Dishwashers are another deceptively intensive appliance. Mindful dishwashing can take several forms because common mistakes make it less efficient. First is improper loading. Ideally, the load should be as large as the machine can handle. You should handwash smaller loads, ensuring you don’t leave the water running.

Many washers also have resource-heavy heating and drying cycles. Turning these off or reducing temperatures and letting dishes air-dry is another surefire way to make the building more eco-friendly. 

You should also be careful what you put in the dishwasher and sink. Letting substances, like grease, go down the drain can harm infrastructure and leave a mark on the planet. Wastewater treatment facilities have difficulty eliminating it from sources, including groundwater and street sewage overflows.

Dry Clothes Strategically

You may feel the urge to default to using your dryer because it is convenient, but protecting your clothes for the long term and saving power is possible with hang-drying. The rough tumbling breaks clothes down faster, encouraging overconsumption of clothes. You could also experiment with gentler cycles on lower heat settings.

Repurpose Graywater

Underground water stores have little time to recharge because of the high demand. Even in the most developed cities, scarcity is an issue. Recycling and repurposing assets, like graywater from rinsing vegetables or similar activities, can water plants in the garden or even flush your toilet.

To make your home more eco-friendly, you should reduce your reliance on bottled water. Each container has 100,000 nanoplastics in it, demanding more advanced sink and fridge filters to keep your household safer. These filters also catch small pollutants before they enter water systems and eventually the soil.

Audit Your Cleaning Products

Cleaning products contain countless unnecessary chemicals, when most household products, such as lemon and baking soda, would do the trick. Do-it-yourself alternatives are just as effective for disinfecting and cleansing surfaces, so long as you know the chemistry of what works and doesn’t. You can swap these out to stop numerous toxins from entering the water from your sinks and washing machines. 

Natural-based cleaners also protect pets and other wildlife from exposure to caustic and harsh substances that could upset their skin, nose and eyes. Even the smallest contaminants can have a deceptively permeating impact, but you can help stop it by avoiding the cleaning aisle at the grocery store.

Unsubscribe From Junk Mail

It may seem second nature to throw away most of the letters from your mailbox. Instead of practicing this daily ritual, collect a stack of mailings you don’t want and actively unsubscribe. Most companies have online forms, which make it simple, but some may require a phone call to ensure success. This cuts down on paper and plastic waste, while saving you money from questionable credit card offers or sales promotions.

Vampire-Proof Your Electronics

Most electronics sap energy from simply being plugged in, even if they’re off. While the problem is slowly being phased out by modern tech, it’s still a concern. The vampire phenomenon is preventable in a few ways. Smart power strips can shut down multiple devices simultaneously, such as a complex entertainment center setup with a TV and multiple gaming consoles. You can turn this off completely at night without having to redo cable management every day. 

You should also get into the habit of unplugging energy-intensive electronics when you leave home for long periods. If you’re on vacation for a week, your computer tower, countertop kitchen appliances and phone chargers throughout the house don’t need to stay in outlets. Make it part of your packing checklist to go around and remove as many cords as possible to salvage some energy and money.

Tiny, But Mighty, Home Improvements

You can do more than install solar panels and grow your food to make a mark on the planet. Sometimes, the green differences are more minor than you think, and benefits can compound in the long term. While it may be less satisfying than immediately cutting your gas use by purchasing an electric vehicle, households must make these shifts for the planet’s future health.