Easy Tips to Save the Planet Whilst Doing Up The House

Here are some easy tips that you can use in your every day life, including when you are doing up the house. Not only is it environmentally friendly, but ways to save money as well. We all need money when we're renovating, so why spend it needlessly?

• Change your light bulbs! Have you considered changing your light bulbs to energy saving lights? Not only is this good for the hip pocket as it reduces your electricity bills, it is great for the environment as well.
  

• Turn off all your appliances or electrical hardware at the power point. Did you know that if you switch the tool/appliance off, but don't switch the power off at the power point, electrical currents are still supposedly running
  
•  Are the clothes that you're renovating in all splotchy from the paint or really dusty? If you don't feel like wearing them any more, turn them into rags you can use to clean the house or the car, or clean your hands after working on something greasy.
  
  
• New furniture versus vintage furniture. Did you know it takes 10 times more energy to produce fabric than to produce glass? Vintage furniture doesn't necessarily mean furniture from your grandparents time. It can just mean second hand - which you can buy from either an op shop or in the classifieds of a newspaper. Sometimes there are great pieces of second hand furniture for sale. Pick up a bargain today!
  
  You can also join Freecycle. Some of the items that you can find in your local Freecycle group are great. I've only picked up one item from Freecycle though, which was a really nice wine rack.
  
  Or, if you're a bit more adventurous, wait for the council curb rubbish days. It's amazing what 'junk' people get rid of because they've got new furniture or they are downsizing. My friend who moved out of home has picked up a really cool shoe rack and outdoor chairs from the curb. The owners of the house my brother bought were moving into an old folks home/'lifestyle' village and the old man was really sick so they couldn't be bothered trying to sell their old furniture. The stuff they left on the curb was actually really, really nice.
  
  
• Use or re-use items. You'd be surprised at how many people store away old items ranging from fabric to old pieces of wood they've never used or they didn't need. Why not use it in your home project - you could transform an old wooden door as a table or another funky project. I saw on TV once that a family had an old wooden gate from their yard they had replaced and had just left the wooden gate in the shed. The TV Host/Renovator person turned that wooden gate into a table. It actually looked like a picnic table you can find at parks which is just perfect for an outdoor table.
  
  
• Have you run out of household cleaners and need to clean something quickly? Look in your kitchen for some good ol' vinegar. You can use vinegar to wipe away mildew and other damp spots.

If you have any more quick and easy tips on how to save the environment whilst renovating, let us know!