All Wood in the Hood: Incorporating Sustainable Materials Into Your Home

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We live in a wonderful world, filled with stunning landscapes, astounding sights and some wildlife that is beauteous beyond belief. Most of us realise this. Which makes it that little more tragic that we continue to destroy it. We are damaging the world at a dramatic rate. We’re already seeing the effects of global warming, yet we continue living in a completely unsustainable way. Now, you may think that to help the Earth you have to join Greenpeace, grow dreadlocks, and live in a commune surviving on a few scraps that you’ve managed to grow yourself out back. But you’d be wrong. You don’t have to do things in extremes. There are plenty of small changes that you can make to your daily life that will (excuse the pun) make the world of difference. Let’s start with sustainable materials.

Opt for Wood

There are certain aspects of your property that could have a wooden alternative available. Wood is much more sustainable than many materials that we use and is often more durable too. So, as things wear down, ensure to replace them with wooden alternatives. A wood greenhouse could become a new focal point in your garden, adding a certain rustic charm to the space. Wooden garden furniture is also preferable to cheap, plastic seating which tends to snap after a winter in the cold. Reclaimed wood can also give an astounding look to your interiors at the same time of reusing something natural that is now defunct.

Ditch Plastic

Now let’s face one of the biggest and most pronounced problems to the environment: plastic. Plastic is such a casual part of our everyday lives that most of us don’t realise just how much we use on a regular basis. The worst part? Most of the plastic that we use is flung aside after one or two uses. Think about drinking straws, food packaging, Tupperware, disposable cutlery, Q tips, water bottles, postal packaging… But have you ever stopped to wonder about where these things go when you toss them in the trash? Well, plastic isn’t biodegradable. So it ends up littering our planet for many years to come, whether in the sea, lakes and rivers, landfill or scattered elsewhere. So, it’s time to ditch plastic around your home in favour of more sustainable and biodegradable materials. Invest in reusable, stainless steel drinks bottles. Remember that bamboo is one of the best options when it comes to sustainability, so use bamboo toothbrushes, soap dishes, lunchboxes… whatever you can find.

Give Unused Belongings a New Lease of Life

We all have some sort of item lingering around that we make absolutely no use of. Take a wooden palette in the back garden for example. A couple of these could make a decent coffee table. Some lay side by side could make a bed base for your mattress to pop on top of. Not only does this give a new lease of life to unused belongings (thus reducing waste), but it will give your home an individual, quirky edge too!

These are just a few areas to focus on. Get researching and you’ll soon realise that there are plenty of other things that you can do to make the planet that little bit better.