Make your home more eco-friendly

With climate change and its effects hitting the headlines almost daily, more and more of us are inspired to make changes to the way we live to reduce our carbon footprint. We can all take steps to reduce our impact on the planet, but it can be hard to know where to start. Here are some effective ideas on how to make your home more environmentally friendly, from simple eco swaps to longer-term investments around the home.

Choose eco-friendly paints

Adding colour to your walls doesn’t mean adding to the planet’s problems. Nowadays there is a wide range of eco-friendly paints on the market to help you decorate with a clean conscience, from milk paint to chalk paint, mineral paint to clay paint.

But what makes a paint eco-friendly? As a rule, eco-paint contains sustainable, non-toxic ingredients and/or is manufactured in ways that are kinder to the environment. Eco-paints have few volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in them, which are the bad fumes that come out of paint when it’s used. If you’re looking for a good eco-paint, always check the label. Some paints contain seemingly great things like natural oils, but you might then need chemicals like white spirit, rather than water, to clean your paintbrushes. The most sustainable option is to reduce the amount of times you repaint your walls, so keep in mind quality, durability and longevity too.

Upcycle old furniture

Upcycling is a sustainable and fun way to kickstart an eco-friendly lifestyle. It breathes new life into