Lots of people now want to take green issues more seriously. They want to be more ethical and sustainable in everything they do in life. That’s certainly a very positive change that we’ve seen in the last few years. But how can you apply those same green principles to when you’re doing DIY work around your home and garden? It’s a good question and we’re going to tackle it today.
It’s actually a lot easier than many people think to make green changes to their DIY work. You need to make a few simple changes. It’s taking on the kinds of DIY tasks that allow you to live in a greener way every day of the week going forward. Read on now to learn about some of the things you can do to get this right and have a more positive impact on the planet.
How to Approach DIY The Green and Sustainable Way
Use Natural Dyes
Natural dyes are so much better for the planet than chemical dyes made from unnatural materials. This is something that you should try to keep in mind when you’re choosing the dye to use for dying materials or staining wood. Unnatural dyes can be pretty damaging. Especially if you’re using them outdoors and are not using or disposing of them in the correct and proper way. By making this simple change, your approach to DIY will be a lot more environmentally-friendly.
Elderberries are used for a deep purple natural dye.
Mend and Upcycle Rather Than Buying New
Next time you think about buying a new piece of furniture for your home, you should stop and think about whether or not that’s really the right way forward for you. By mending and upcycling old items and making them new again, you’ll find a good way to use DIY for the good of the planet. Buying new when you can do something with what you already have is never the way to go green.
Be Careful When Choosing Chemicals
Chemicals of all kinds can be damaging to the environment and not particularly eco-friendly in a whole host of ways. You want to make sure that you’re getting this right and choosing the green option every time. You will simply need to read the small print and do some research on the particular chemicals you’re looking to buy. The great thing about the modern market is that there are so many clean alternatives out there now available for your DIY projects.
Buy Sustainably Sourced Wood
A lot of DIY work involves creating things from raw materials like wood. If you’re about to take on a project like this, you should make sure you use sustainable wood from a reliable source. This makes a big difference because you don’t want to support suppliers who are actively harming the planet with their sourcing methods. Instead, support the right people and use ethical materials. It’s one of the most important things to get right if you want to take a green approach to DIY.
Create a Rain Barrel System for Collecting Water
If you want to take on a DIY project that will help you to save and conserve water, this is the one to go for. It’s especially good for anyone who likes to do a lot of gardening. It’s for those who want to make sure that they always have the water they need to keep their garden lively and healthy. You can create a rain barrel and a rain drainage system that funnels the rain into it. It’s a simple DIY project but it could have a big impact on how green you’re able to be each day.
Make Your Own Green Cleaning Products
If you want to create something that you’re going to use regularly around your home and garden, you could create your own green cleaning products. This is a lot easier than you might think and there is plenty of guidance out there online for you to make use of. You will probably use these a lot during your other DIY projects as well, which will make them greener too.
Improve the Wildlife in Your Garden
There are also things you can do to make your garden more appealing, accommodating and suitable for wildlife. Small animals need places to live and spaces to enjoy. That’s not always made possible by the ways in which modern gardens are kept and laid out. By keeping things a little more wild and making sure there are ways for animals to get in and out of your garden, you will make it more much more friendly towards the local environment.
DIY can be a lot of fun. If you care a lot about the environment as we all should, you can approach it in a green way too. You’ll save some money, hone your own DIY skills and have a positive impact on the environment all at the same time. So what are you waiting for?
I’m nodding away reading this – great tips.
Thanks for taking the time to read it!