I’ve been working hard to create a greener home for my children during the last few months. I sat down with my partner and made a big list before we started. The ideas mentioned in this post come from that piece of paper we still have displayed on our fridge. Thankfully, most of the work has been completed already. So, we only have a few things to tick off before we are done. Those of you who want to make your home more valuable this year should go green quickly. People want to know they are buying a property that isn’t going to create huge utility bills. So, you must put these ideas into practice before you list your home on the market.
We didn’t go green because we wanted to sell. Far from it. We just wanted to provide our kids with the right attitudes towards eco-friendly alternatives. In just a moment, I’ll go through some of the changes we made. Hopefully, reading about them will help to give you some inspiration. We invested quite a lot of cash to get things sorted. However, there are always ways in which you can make savings. Also, you need to understand the investment will pay for itself in only a few short years. With that in mind, it’s now time to get down to business.
Use recycled materials in your garden
We saved a fortune by using recycled materials in our garden. My flower planters are made from old truck tires. I use railway sleepers for benches, and oil drums to collect rain water. I managed to get all those items cheap by searching online. Indeed, the railway sleepers didn’t cost me a penny. I managed to find someone who needed to get rid of some quickly. He allowed me to get them for free so long as I picked them up within a couple of hours. You should follow suit. Just use your head, and you are guaranteed to locate some excellent products.
Install solar panels
Adding a solar panel or two to your home is a wise move. You should all understand how they work by now. However, I’ll offer a simple explanation for anyone who doesn’t. The panels you fit will harness sunlight and turn it into energy. That means you could power your entire home without having to spend anything on electric. There are two options open to you. You can either live off the grid and power your home directly or feed into the main system. With the latter option, you still use electricity made from burning oil. Even so, you replace it will clean and renewable power. In most instances, people that use solar panels will never have to pay an electricity bill again. Some will even receive cheques from the power companies because they made more energy than they used.
Add lots of extra insulation
Homes with lots of extra insulation tend to sell quickly. That is because it doesn’t take as much energy to keep them warm. You might have to spend a few thousand dollars to get good results. However, that could add far more value onto the price of your property. We paid around $5,000 to have some more insulation added to our walls and attic. It made an instant difference. Indeed, we even had to open some of our windows during the Autumn last year because it was too stuffy. The temperature outside was around five degrees. That should give you an idea of how much difference extra insulation can make.
Switch to energy-saving light bulbs
Energy saving light bulbs have been on the market for more than twenty years. However, most people still don’t use them in their home. On average they can decrease energy usage by around 50%. So, it simply doesn’t make sense to avoid them any longer. Sure, they can take a while to warm up and reach optimum brightness. That doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Just make sure you turn them on a couple of minutes before you plan to use the room. We can up with a fantastic solution to the issue that you might want to consider. My husband used a smartphone application to link all the lights in our house to my phone. I can now turn them on and off without having to get up from my chair.
Replace those single-glazed windows
Single-glazed windows might have been fine in the 1970s, but there are better alternatives around today. You should get in touch with a specialist provider. Ask them for a quote on how much it would cost to add double-glazing to your home. In fact, you can even get triple-glazing solutions these days. Just find out how much you will need to invest before moving forward. We made the change a few years ago now, and so we probably paid a little less. If my memory serves me correctly, the windows on our property came to around $4,000. However, you can get some great deals if you get them all at the same time. Some companies even provide discounts for cash. Bear that in mind when you perform more research.
Now you know how to make your home greener and more valuable. There are lots of other ideas you could try. The ones listed on this page are simply those my family have tried. We will continue to make improvements moving forward. We think it is important that all families try to do their best to save the planet. There is one world for all of us, and we have damaged it greatly. I want my kids to grow up in a healthy environment with all the same pleasantries I experienced.
Anyone who wants more tips and advice should take a look at my blog. I publish a couple of posts every day, and many of them are related to my home. I don’t claim to have all the answers. I’m just trying to offer some tips and make the world a better place.
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