Easy Green: Weekend Detox for Your House

Seeking to green your home but not certain where to start? Try out this very simple strategy for a weekend home detox. Covering Friday to Sunday, it’s packed with easy pointers to help the planet, save money and have more fun.

ZeroEnergy Design

Friday after work: Unplug. Save energy and recharge your batteries by spending Friday evening without your usual tech apparatus. Take advantage of the longer times by taking a small snack, a book along with a refreshing beverage outdoors to savor the last few moments of light. No yard? Hit up the neighborhood park.

Later, dust off decks of cards, board games and failed craft projects for a day of old-school fun.

Jeanette Lunde

Saturday morning: Clean the air. Open those windows up and let the fresh air in. This simple step can make a big difference in indoor air quality, which is normally worse than outside, even in towns. Attempt to crack a few windows for at least 15 minutes each day to keep your house’s air clean.

Next, grab your jacket and your coffee because I am sending you on a little errand. Go to a local nursery (or perhaps your grocery store) and treat yourself to a flowering plant. This small act will undoubtedly lift your spirits, and it’ll help detox the air to boot.

Artistic Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs

Reduce and recycle. Take a walk throughout your home, scooping up surplus clutter in addition to those pesky electronics you have been meaning to take to the recycling center. Your home will feel lighter, and you’ll be doing the earth a favor when you contribute and recycle unwanted items rather than throwing them in the trash.

Nicole Lanteri Design

Now let us take a look in your pantry. This is a good opportunity to throw unhealthy packed foods, also anything that is expired. Consider keeping healthy staples in clean glass containers where you are very likely to reach for them.

When it is time to hit the shop again, consider using the bulk bins for some of your purchases to reduce packaging waste and save cash.

Karen Viscito Interiors

Getting hungry? It’s time to plan some home-cooked meals for the next few days. Cooking at home means you don’t have to dispose of most of those takeout containers, also it is usually healthier and cheaper.

As you are at the market, also scoop up a couple of natural cleaning products. Most available on the market now work just in addition to traditional cleaners and smell better. Want to actually pinch pennies? Some people swear that baking soda and vinegar can clean just about anything. For bonus points, pick up a water filter and ditch your plastic water bottle habit.

Michael Robert Construction

Saturday evening: Go paperless. Prior to going out, take a half-hour roughly to register for online statements to your household accounts and cancel any subscriptions you are no more enjoying. A brief time spent setting up things now will stop a mountain of paperwork by entering your home in the future.

Get tips and Internet tools for carrying the paperless plunge

Amy Lau Design

Bedtime: Make your bedroom a tech-free zone. Remove as many electronics as possible from your bedroom and see what a difference it makes in the way you feel. To have a more restful sleep, consider turning off the TV and Web at least a half-hour until you flip in.

8 Decorating Ideas for a Good Night’s Sleep

Banyon Tree Design Studio

Sunday: Plant something. Plants help clean the air and keep our world cool. Do your part and take advantage of whatever area you need to grow something. Don’t have a huge yard? No Problem. Get creative with container planting, a vertical garden or even a pot of herbs on your windowsill.

Go a step further and bring home a tree for indoors or out. Indoor trees make for dramatic decor and do a wonderful job of cleansing the air. Bamboo, philodendron and rubber plants are great choices.

Yvonne McFadden LLC

Sunday evening: Have a dinner. Finish the weekend by starting a new dinner tradition. Whether you keep it modest or invite a lot of family and friends is up to you; the point is to slow down and connect. In case your unplugged evening went well on Friday, consider going unplugged again this evening. You might even shut off the lights and have a candlelit dinner.

More:
10 Ways to Go Greener Through Design

Reclaim Room to Breathe

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