Consumption at Home

This post is part of the Blog Action Day.

Here are suggestions for more sustainable consumption at home:

* make sure your home is properly insulated to avoid unnecessary heating (and expences), room temperature should be between 18 and 20 Celsius

* pay attention to your water consumption (taking a shower, washing the laundry, washing the dishes): could you manage with lower water consumption?

* turn the lights and electrical appliances off when they are not used/needed

* prefer basic foodstuff and cooking (less processed food is often also healthier and cheaper)

* prefer locally produced food (avoid unnecessary transportation of foodstuff)

* if you have children prefer washable cloth diapers, in Finland it is estimated that 7% of all household waste consists of diapers (more information in Finnish from www.kestovaippainfo.fi)

* for women there are ecological products (menstrual cups, for example) for sanitary protection

Read about them from these links:

http://kuukuppikunta.net/

http://mooncup.co.uk/

http://www.kuukuppi.fi/

* avoid animal tested cosmetics

http://www.bodyshop.fi/

* pay attention how much detergent is necessary for cleaning (often a mild solution is enough and using more detergent does not have any better outcome)

* energy and water consumption with laundry: do not use laundry machine half empty, use proper temperatures

* laundry: bleach only when necessary

* cleaning: avoid disposable cleaning utensils

* summer cottages: do not discharge waste water in water bodies

Clothing

* prefer ecologically produced textiles

http://www.globehope.com/

* buy less clothes, prefer quality and clothes that don’t ware out easily, reduce waste

* trends come and go, be faithful to your style, but consider also the environment

Household Appliances


* pay attention to guarantee, it gives you an idea of the life cycle planned for the product


* repair rather than buy new


* keep appliances clean, avoid unnecessary repairs


* compare the consumption of water and energy – the cheapest alternative might not always be the most cost-effective in use


* pay attention to recycling and waste management issues (electronic waste is considered as hazardous waste )


* use appliances with suitable sizes, small household requires smaller laundry machines and refrigerators than a large one


* if power of the appliance can be adjusted, use only the power that is needed (for example vacuum cleaners)

Furniture


* prefer biodegradable, natural materials


* prefer quality and pay attention to the life cycle of furniture, expensive furniture may be affordable in the long run