JOIN GREEN MOVEMENT

MAKING A HOME SUSTAINABLE IS ABOUT MAKING SMALL CHANGES THAT WILL HELP THE ENVIRONMENT AND YOUR HIP POCKET

What I love about the sustainable house movement is that it doesn’t demand we make radical changes and spend bucket-loads of money to “join the club” – it’s all about integrating sustainability into our current lifestyles to make our homes function better for our future.

Here are ways you can embrace sustainability in your home:

SLOW YOUR FLOW

Replace inefficient showerheads and tapware with low-flow options. The WELS (Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards) rating system provides a comparison of products’ water efficiency and consumption. Choose products that use less than nine litres of water a minute for showers and less than 7.5 litres of water a minute for taps.

ADAPT YOUR TAPS

If you don’t want to go to the expense of completely overhauling your bathroom fittings, find flow restrictors and tap accessories that you can use to adapt your bathroom and kitchen fixtures and fittings to make them more water efficient.

THE THREE RS

Renew, recycle and reuse. There are ways to source reclaimed building materials from bricks and pavers to timber, glass, insulation, cabinetry and concrete. Seek materials online on sites like eBay, Gumtree and Freecycle or visit specialist salvage yards.

BE LED UP THE GARDEN PATH

Opt for LED lighting. An LED lightbulb can last up to 50,000 hours compared to 8000 hours for a traditional florescent or tungsten filament bulb. Directional fittings that use LEDs are for areas that require functional lighting like kitchens, bathrooms and outdoor floodlit areas. Invest in quality LEDs from the outset – the market is flooded with inferior products and your investment will be worth it in the long run.