So, you’ve realized that your home needs a makeover. Maybe you’re tired of staring at the same white kitchen cabinets for years. Or perhaps you’re looking to expand your living space to accommodate your growing family. In either case, a home remodel is underway.
The outcome of a home remodeling project is that you get to experience the joy of upgraded living space. But the journey to your revamped home isn’t easy. It’s filled with numerous challenges, such as making alternate living arrangements, finalizing your budget, and negotiating with different contractors.
Amidst the rigmarole, the environment won’t be high on your list of priorities. But if you dig deeper, you’ll find that your home remodeling project takes a huge toll on the environment. Think about the endless piles of trash you generate when you discard old cabinet doors, kitchen faucets, lighting fixtures, and other items.
The good news is that making your home remodel eco-friendly isn’t rocket science. It involves a few simple steps, such as using pre-owned objects and repurposing materials. Similarly, you can use roll-off dumpster rentals to dispose of the trash you generate while remodeling your home.
In the following sections, we’ll outline a few useful tips to minimize the environmental impact of your home remodeling project. Let’s dive right in.
1. Take Care of the Trash
Whether you’re adding a few extra rooms to your home or adding more storage space, a remodeling project will generate tons of trash. Besides building materials, you’ll also end up with plenty of discarded items, including wall accents, door handles, bathroom fixtures, etc.
Unless you find a way to dispose of the trash safely, it’ll accumulate in your front yard. Worse still, it could end up in landfills, contributing to global warming and climate change. An easy way of avoiding such scenarios is to consider roll-off dumpster rentals.
A roll-off dumpster rental service will provide a portable dumpster right at your doorstep. You can use it to collect all the trash and ask the service provider to haul away the dumpster when you’re done with the remodel.
Make sure you have a clear idea of how the dumpster rental service discards waste materials. Find a company specializing in recycling, reusing, or repurposing items from your dumpster. The key is to minimize the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.
2. Donate Unwanted Items
One of the biggest benefits of a home remodel is that you get to clear a majority of the clutter you’ve accumulated in your living space. But you don’t have to throw every unwanted item away simply because you’ve rented a roll-off dumpster. Nor should you hold on to items you longer need.
A simple alternative is to find a charity or non-profit organization that accepts old items as donations. From old clothes and books to curtains and wall hanging – you’d be surprised to find everything you can donate to these organizations. While these objects may no longer be useful to you, they could mean the world to others.
Besides non-profit organizations, you could also find companies that recycle junk and discarded items. It’s an excellent way to get rid of old cabinet doors, kitchen drawers, door handles, bathroom fixtures, flooring materials, and other bulky items.
3. Use Low VOC Paint
Have you ever gotten a terrible headache from the smell of a freshly painted door or wall? It’s because of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in traditional paint.
Besides being harmful to your health, VOCs also take a toll on the environment. They react with the atmosphere’s ozone layer, thus depleting it and contributing to global warming.
A simple way of minimizing the environmental impact of your home remodeling project is to use low VOC alternatives to traditional paint. Such paints release negligible amounts of VOCs into the environment as they dry. However, they provide the same finish and durability as regular paint.
4. Consider Local
An easy way to minimize the environmental impact of your home remodel is to hire local contractors and purchase building materials from local markets. It’ll go a long way to reduce the carbon footprint involved in the transportation of resources. Also, it’ll help you contribute to the development of the local economy.
In Conclusion
An eco-friendly home remodeling project requires a significant shift in mindset. Simple changes, such as renting a roll-off dumpster and using low VOC paint, go a long way to reducing your carbon footprint. Besides being good for the environment, it also becomes easy on your wallet.
