Top ten eco-friendly home décor tips

Decorating our homes in a manner which is both eco-friendly as well as aesthetically pleasing seems like a herculean task to some. People say that going green means spending green and that there simply aren't enough ideas around to plan and decorate homes with eco-friendly materials without it looking nothing like a home.

In direct contradiction to such a perspective, here are a few ideas to help you decorate your home in an eco-friendly and pleasing manner:

1. If you're looking to paint a small area of your house again, don't buy new paint. Various recycling depots allow for paint exchange programs. Take whatever leftover paint you've got and head to the depot to get a new color for free.

2. Naturally found items such as pine cones, sea shells and even driftwood can make for great decorative pieces. Keep your eyes open when you're out for a casual walk. A curiously shaped rock can work as well. These pieces can be kept on bookshelves and coffee tables and they provide a unique attraction with an earthy and organic feel.

3. Try to bring new life into your old wooden furniture. Don't take the easy way out and discard them. You can refinish them to give a fresh look or modify them to serve a different purpose. Wooden stands for televisions or bookcases can be repurposed for the laundry room or the mud room.

4. When choosing what to use for your floor, consider the eco-friendly options that are available. Reclaimed and certified sustainable wood, cork, bamboo and linoleum are all eco-friendly options. What's more, these look great and your home will not look like every other home on the block.

5. Commercial cleaning products and chemicals are polluters. You may have guessed from the heady fumes that they give off. These products are not only pollutants, they are also quite expensive. The internet has plenty of home-made formulas using readily available items such as vinegar, lemons and water which work just as well for cleaning purposes. Consider the home-made option. It's cheaper and healthier, for you and the planet.

6. Try not to use disposable razors and batteries. All of these have rechargeable or reusable alternatives. When you use disposable items, you constantly add to the amount of material that gets sent to the landfill.

7. There are now various forms of lamps and lighting which are made out of recycled paper and reclaimed wood. These are better alternatives to traditional lamps as they do not use any fresh natural resources. Some of the styles they come in are true works of art and cannot be replicated by traditional forms of lighting. They give a funky edge while being easy on the environment.

8. Cut down your paper usage. Print on both sides of the page, do not use paper towels. Use sponges or cloth. Microfiber cleaning cloths can be reused for a long period of time. Change your toilet habits by switching to post-consumer toilet paper which is bleach free.

9. Sign up on websites such as freecycle.org. These websites allow you to exchange items with other members. People exchange all sorts of things, pianos, typewriters, shoe-racks, etc. You never know what you may find there.

10. If you're looking to buy a new piece of furniture, think about it carefully. Sure, you will want to save money by not going in for the better, bigger purchase which is of a higher quality, but there are consequences to such a decision. A cheaper product, especially sofas, have compromises made on quality. Thus, they may need to be replaced in a few short years. A more expensive product may put a larger dent in your wallet at the moment but you will not have to buy another sofa in three years time and you will not be adding another sofa to your local landfill.