Making eco-friendly home improvements does not have to mean large upfitting costs. In fact, many environmentally responsible actions that can be taken surrounding your home involve behavior modification or simple tasks with a modest investment.

When in doubt, follow the old adage of reduce, reuse and recycle - in that order specifically, to have the most impact on your wallet and our world!  The more steps that you can take at the top of the model to reduce your consumption, the greater financial and environmental difference you will make.  Check out these actions you can take to have a greener home:

REDUCE to Go Green at Home

Reduce water consumption by taking shorter showers, using one drinking cup throughout the day, collecting rainwater for watering gardens and washing cars, and installing low-flow shower heads.

Reduce electricity consumption by replacing appliances with Energy Star rated ones only when they absolutely need replacing, by using CFL or LED light bulbs, and using task lighting rather than lighting a whole room.

Reduce heat loss by installing weather stripping and insulation and lowering your thermostat at night and when you are away from home.

Have an energy audit performed to assess other ways that you may  improve your energy loss.

REUSE to Go Green at Home

Purchase reusable containers for food storage and beverage consumption.

Don’t throw out that leftover rice from burrito night; toss it with olive oil and soy sauce and have fried rice tonight!  The concept of reuse applies to food consumption and has the added benefit of working towards reducing food transportation costs and eliminating waste that goes toward the landfill.

For the food you cannot bear to consume as leftovers again, throw it in a compost pile where you will be able to reuse it as compost in a few months.

Pass on clothing and household items that you are done with to a charitable organization so that those items may be reused in our community by people who need them.

Store wood from home maintenance projects in a dry shed or garage for future projects (you know you will have them) rather than tossing out significant scraps.

RECYCLE to Go Green at Home

Recycle yard waste right into your garden. Blow leaves into garden beds for the winter rather than raking them and placing them on the side of the road. With a few good turns into the bed in the spring, you will have added some nice organic matter to the beds. Similarly, collect fallen sticks in your yard to burn in a bonfire rather than purchase bundles of wood.

Consult your local recycling experts for how to clear your house of unwanted items in an environmentally responsible way. Our local experts in Asheville are found at Asheville Greenworks.

For information on green living and real estate in Asheville, please contact Mike Figura at Mike@MyMosaicRealty.com  or call him anytime at (828) 337-8190.

Search: View all homes for sale in Asheville

Search: View all JAG Construction green homes for sale in Asheville