Passive attack
Banish the air-conditioner.
Fresh air and natural light are essential for your health.
Invite them into your home, permanently, with passive design solutions and by reducing your reliance on electricity for heating and cooling.
Create natural breezeways with the placement of doors and windows.
Install skylights and enjoy free natural light for up to 14 hours a day.
Venting skylights will improve airflow and air quality and prevent mould in bathrooms or laundries.
Clear the air
We all see our homes as a refuge from the pollution and smog of the city, but the air within our homes can be more polluted than outdoor air.
Synthetic building materials, finishes and furnishings releasing pollutants can harm your living areas.
That lounge sofa you sit on every night might be more detrimental to your health than running along your city's largest street in peak-hour traffic.
So do some homework on the materials you plan to use in your build or renovation and on those that are present in furnishings such as your carpets, couches, benches and wardrobes.
Beat the draughts
Your home may have survived its share of renovations and design fads but they do leave their scars.
Beware of pulling up old carpet only to reveal large gaps between the floor and the bottoms of doors where doors were ordered specifically or shortened to allow for carpet.
Revive the humble door snake and use rugs on gappy floorboards.
Draught-audit your home.
Find green solutions to deal with other culprits such as gaps in walls and skirting boards.
Ensure skylights, exhaust fans, downlights and chimneys are fitted professionally to minimise DIY-related draughts.
Seal your windows and doors properly to prevent as much as 25% of heat losses and gains.
Ye olde fridge
Old-model fridges are up to 50% less efficient than new ones.
But if you're stuck with an older model for a little longer, first congratulate yourself for not contributing to whitegood waste; then there are a few simple things you can do to reduce your running costs and make it more efficient.
Keep the thermostat at a suitable level so you're not wasting energy on freezing temperatures.
If the fridge is near a window, draw the curtains to keep the sun off it.
Clean the condenser coil (usually at the back of the machine) and make sure the seals on the doors are maintained.
When you go on holiday, empty it and turn it off, leaving the door slightly ajar.
Eco-accessorise
Make your washing area an eco-friendly haven with a few small changes to your bathroom basics.
Toss out that PVC plastic shower curtain in favour of a natural alternative, such as a 100% organic hemp or a heavy cotton one, that doesn't cost the earth (literally) in its production and is more naturally resistant to mould.
Update your bathroom linen with organic cotton towels.
Choose earth-friendly soaps and cosmetic products.
The plastic bathmat can go too, in favour of a washable cotton alternative.
And don't forget to recycle bathroom containers for shampoo, conditioner, bubble bath, mouthwash and so on.
A natural mattress
Synthetic materials used to make mattresses are not only energy-intensive to create, but they are also not biodegradable and add to problem waste.
They can contain harmful glues, foams, pesticides and flame retardants.
Natural fibres, however, have built-in protective properties, and readily absorb and release the moisture we emit while we sleep, so they're less likely to attract dust mites and bacteria.
Look for products made from wool, organic cotton, latex and sustainably harvested wood.
Air out natural-fibre mattresses in the sun - this will kill dust mites and other organisms.
Non-stationary stationery
Everyone uses pens, pencils, pins and packaging at some time, and you can make the most out of these products by thinking about them as permanent, not disposable, items.
"Disposable" pens are not disposable - more than 10 billion plastic pens end up in landfill around the world every year.
Bring some style back into your note-writing by investing in a good-quality reusable pen (for which you only need to buy ink).
Reuse envelopes and packaging and choose reusable items whenever you can, including tape dispensers and pencils.
When buying stationery, think recycled: you can purchase pencil cases made from car tyres, rulers and personal organisers made from old juice cartons, pencils made from plastic cups, and mouse mats made from recycled circuit boards.
Pressing issues
If you feel that ironing is a waste of time and energy, try avoiding it altogether with some simple tricks.
Use the cold water cycle on your washing machine (it's heat that causes the wrinkles in the first place); wash light clothing in one cycle, heavy in another (so the weight doesn't squash your delicates); bring laundry in from the line while it's still damp, so the sun doesn't "dry" wrinkles into the clothes; and hang clothes on hangers so they retain their shape while drying.
When you do iron, it makes better energy sense to do it in lots rather than piece by piece, and avoid wasted energy by not overheating the iron.
Chicken little
If you have the space, keeping a couple of chooks in your backyard not only provides a great source of fresh, free-range eggs, but letting them out to roam and forage for a few hours a day will help keep the pests in your garden at bay.
Each chicken also generates superb organic fertiliser.
Grab some four-by-twos and a roll of - you guessed it - chicken wire, and spend a weekend with the kids building the family a little chook run.
There are plenty of plans on the web, but you should check with your council for regulations and advice about keeping chickens.
Pave the way
Why not turn that high-maintenance lawn into a low-maintenance paved area? Did you know that using a powerful mower to cut the grass for an hour causes the same amount of pollution as driving your car for over 500km? Rethink the expanse of your lawn.
There are heaps of paving options available, including recycled products, and paving means less watering, less mowing and less general maintenance.
Scatter a few potted plants around your paved area to keep the garden spirit alive.
