If you’re planning a home remodel, there are plenty of renovation styles that you could go for, such as modern, traditional, or minimalist, but the logical step for many is to make it as environmentally friendly as possible. Greener homes should always be strived for and the perfect time to make this a reality is during a home renovation project.
Here are 7 tips if you’re looking to make you remodel as green (and successful) as possible.
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Make Your Plan and Budget
A successful home renovation project will always need a detailed plan and budget beforehand, and this is especially important if you’re planning an eco-friendly remodel and need to think more carefully about your plans and materials.
Be sure to understand how much your renovation is going to cost by planning a budget and consider how it will allow for environmentally friendly materials (which should even come out cheaper compared to buying brand new items).
Plan out every stage of your renovation process and make sure you’re happy with the eco-friendly steps. Should you choose not to plan every stage, you could find it much harder to complete the renovation within budget and within a preferable timescale.
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Remember to Take Regular Breaks and Find Time to Relax
Home projects can be very stressful, especially large projects such as home renovation. To get the best out of your remodel, you want to maintain your passion and patience for it and this is easily lost if you risk burning yourself out on your renovation project — or if you spend every second of the day working to transform your home.
It’s okay to take a break during the remodeling and have pauses throughout the day to relax your mind, whether that’s reading a book, cooking a healthy lunch, playing a game on your phone or visiting an online casino; click on Unibet to give it a go. Anything which allows your mind to be distracted before you return to the task at hand is beneficial.
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Source Supplies from One Place
A home renovation is going to see you need a high amount of supplies and materials, which means a large amount of shipping if you’re having items shipped from various places. To reduce your carbon footprint as much as you can and to decrease the amount of deliveries, try to source as many supplies as you can from one place and as close to where you live as possible. You might be surprised at how many great suppliers are just around the corner from you. Their tools and materials could be just as great, if not better, and what better way to support your local community than helping out small businesses by purchasing their supplies?
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Buy in Bulk
Reducing your carbon footprint is also applicable to buying in bulk. Make sure you understand the number of supplies and materials you need ahead of time so that you can order in bulk and limit the number of deliveries needed.
Proper planning is essential for this so that you eliminate the possibility of starting work on a project and realizing you need extra materials because you miscounted or failed to measure properly. Ordering in bulk will also help budget-wise if you can get a cheaper deal and save money on delivery costs, too.
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Use Reclaimed Materials
For a lot of homeowners, a remodel means the newest and best of everything, including the materials you source. However, using reclaimed materials is the greener choice. Reclaimed wood especially is a very dependable material choice, with the flexibility to match any room or home renovation, especially the kitchen for work surfaces and tables. Think about whether you really need new materials to be produced for you when reclaimed materials can work just as well and be a unique design choice.
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Decorate Your House with Pre-Owned or Upcycled Items
Pre-owned items for your new home may be found with certain charities and organizations which send their proceeds to help environmental causes. Furthermore, finding preowned items or choosing to upcycle items you already have can avoid the production and shipping costs of gaining brand new items and allow you to make a greener decision.
This also gives you the chance to work on your DIY skills and have a bit of fun! If this wasn’t all, the extra bonus you get from upcycling items is that it will be unique to your home. No one else will have anything quite like it. If you have never upcycled items before, then don’t worry. Thanks to online resources, you can find a video or tutorial on just about anything, from upcycling a coffee table to making chairs feel like brand new.
Ensure that the materials and tools you use to upcycle to your items are sourced responsibly, and you have the means for an eco-friendly house filled with environmentally friendly home essentials.
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Use Your Remodel to Think About Utilities
You want everything you install in your new home to be energy-efficient if it can be. This means energy-efficient lighting to not only save you money on your electricity bill, but to help the environment, too. Or, if your budget and planning allow, you could even aim for solar panels to fuel your home.
Solar power can also help you to fuel certain items, such as lights in your outside space. You should also think about how any new windows, such as skylights, can allow more natural light in your home and help to keep it warm.
Furthermore, you should fit your remodel with proper insulation to help your new home retain its heat and reduce high heating bills. Think about how you can make your home as efficient as possible with its running costs. You could also consider more energy-efficient appliances — especially in the kitchen — when kitting out your new rooms with new items.
If you follow the above 7 steps, your house will soon be an eco-friendly paradise that is completely unique to you. Not only will you benefit from such a beautiful house, but you will also be playing your part in building a better, brighter, more eco-friendly environment.
