Compared to constructing a new house from scratch, remodeling a home creates significantly more waste. This waste is destined for landfills, where it will contribute to pollution. Additionally, the cost of destruction, replacement supplies, and the eventual disposal of discarded construction materials all add up. You can cut down on the amount of waste generated during your home remodeling by planning ahead and following a few basic principles. Read on to find out more. 

Design Well

Waste is often viewed as unavoidable, built into a construction budget with no meaningful effort made to decrease it. Raising the problem with your architect, designer, or builder early on allows them to make design changes that save waste later on.

Designing with material proportions in mind is a simple early choice that drastically lowers waste. If your ceiling height does not match the height of the plasterboard sheet, you will wind up with a small little strip that must be cut out of a whole sheet. Obviously, not all materials will complement one another at their regular sizes (and you need to fit your renovation to the existing house). However, clever trade-offs may be made via attentive design, decreasing total waste. One way this could work would be to use square floor tiles rather than a large carpet – even if you do need to cut them to size, there will be far less waste. 

Use Second Hand 

Although there is no such thing as second-hand paint, for example, there might be the chance to find some other pre-loved items that you would otherwise have bought new. For the most part, this will mean furniture and other décor, so while you are thinking of what you might need, take a look at second-hand websites and stores nearby. You might even see something that helps you finalize your design plan. 

If you can buy used items where possible, then even if you do need to buy some brand new things, the waste still won’t be as high as it otherwise would be. 

Choose Materials Carefully 

High-quality materials last longer, requiring less maintenance in the future. Choosing manufacturers that utilize minimal packing lowers waste (be careful to distinguish between minimal and inadequate packaging since the latter might result in your item breaking).

In other words, even if it costs you more initially, buying better quality items (ideally from eco-friendly sources) means you’ll save money in the long term because you won’t have to keep replacing elements of your renovation, and you’ll produce less waste as you won’t be throwing so much out. 

Sell What You Don’t Use

As we mentioned above, sometimes it’s inevitable that you’ll have some waste when carrying out renovations. Whether that’s leftover board, some paint, or even some tools you’re not going to need anymore, why not sell them to someone else or give them away if you prefer? 

When you do this, someone else can make use of them and not have to buy anything brand new, and your waste won’t go to the landfill. 

Drought is a problem for any avid gardener as it means your precious plants are missing one key component to help them stay healthy. When no rain is falling, and the sun is beating down, it is hard to give your plants the moisture they need to grow. 

Consequently, you end up with a brown and dry garden that’s basically had all the moisture sucked out of it. 

While you can’t control the weather, there are things you can do to deal with drought in your garden?

1. Water your garden regularly

Clearly, you need to water your garden as regularly as possible during the warmer months. Some plants need to be watered every couple of days, while other areas – like your lawn – only need watering once or twice a week. 

It is a good idea to try and conserve rainwater throughout the year, so you have a supply of water when you need it. Rain barrels work perfectly here, so you aren’t using your home water supply all the time. As a benefit, you’re cutting down on water usage, helping the planet at the same time. 

2. Help your garden retain moisture

The issue many people have is they water their garden during a drought, and then see all the moisture evaporate within a few hours. This happens when your garden isn’t retaining the moisture as effectively as it could. 

Two things can be done to correct this. Firstly, you can use organic matter as mulch to trap the moisture in the soil for longer. Secondly, you can use humus compost to do the same thing. Humus is a spongy substance that means it soaks up and retains a lot of moisture, which is perfect for keeping a garden healthy and well soaked during periods of drought. 

3. De-weed your garden

Nobody likes seeing weeds in their garden, but they do more damage than you think. As unsightly as they are, the biggest problem is that you have other plants competing for water and nutrients with your existing ones. In essence, they are draining your soil of all the water you put down. 

So, when periods of hot weather and no rain come around, your garden dries out thanks to the weeds. Keep up with regular weeding to remove these pests from your garden. Remember, a weed is basically a plant that’s grown without your permission. Sometimes, you like the natural things that grow in your garden. But, if they’re getting in your way and depriving the rest of your plants of being healthy, you need to get rid of them. The video above will give you some great tips to help you out!

Typically, droughts happen during the hottest months of the year. So, if you’re not currently at that stage yet, you can still prepare your garden for periods of dry weather. Collect and store as much rainwater as possible, and ensure that your garden consistently gets a good dose of water and nutrients. Focus on weeding your garden space and using mulch or compost to trap moisture in the soil as well. 

Moving house takes a lot of consideration and planning. The process can be arduous and it can be one of the more stressful times in your life. As a result, the environmental impact of your move may have slipped your mind. In a time where the world is more environmentally conscious than ever, even traditionally stressful times can be adapted or changed to better serve the environment and lower the carbon footprint. Whether you need an international moving company for an international move or are relocating to the next street, here are some ways in which you can make your move more eco-friendly, without contributing to your stress levels.

Start decluttering early on

Decluttering when moving has many benefits. It gives you the opportunity to get rid of things taking up unnecessary space, remove items you no longer need and make the move that little bit easier as you are moving less stuff. Moving less stuff will also have a knock-on effect on your CO emissions. The less stuff you have to move the fewer trips you will need to make, the less packaging you will need, and the smaller transportation units you will use. This will also have the added benefit of reducing the cost of your move. When decluttering be mindful not to use landfills unnecessarily, where you can donate, recycle or sell. A word of warning, do not declutter for the sake of it. A new home does not need new furniture. If you have perfectly good working furniture then take it with you.

Limit your use of packing boxes

Traditionally house moves have involved filling cardboard boxes that typically get damaged in the move and are seldom reused. To avoid this and limit the environmental consequence of this, consider using alternatives to cardboard boxes. If you are using a removal firm they may send you strong plastic containers. Although made of plastic they are great as they can be used multiple times. 

If you are undertaking the move yourself, look into renting plastic containers for your move as opposed to buying them. Alternatively, a great cost-saving trick is to utilize items you already have such as suitcases, holdalls, and even furniture items. You can still load up draws to transport items, just be sure to remove the draws from the unit first. 

Another great tip when packing to keep your disposable waste down is to wrap precious items in tea towels, blankets, or even clothes. This will prevent you from using traditional plastic packaging such as bubble wrap and help to keep the move costs down. 

Don’t waste your food

You will know your move date in advance and as such you will have time to empty your freezer and fridge in advance. By emptying it is not meant discarding, rather planning your meals to use up all of the items in your fridge or freezer that will not survive the move. If there are items you cannot use then why not donate them to a local charity or food bank.