The quickest way to make a home more environmentally friendly is to start with the few things that use the most energy, water and food, rather than trying fifty small tricks at once. For most households that means heating and cooling, hot water, lighting, appliances left running, and food that ends up in the bin. Get those right and the smaller habits on any list become easy extras.
This page began with a popular illustrated guide, 50 Ways Your Home Could Save the Earth, published in 2014 by the UK home-improvement company Anglian Home. Below you will find the infographic itself, followed by a practical way to sort its kind of advice into what makes a real difference and what is mostly symbolic.
The illustrated guide
As its title promises, the infographic lays out fifty simple actions a household can take at home. Its strength is that ideas like these can mostly be tried without building work or special equipment. Its weakness is shared by every list of this kind: it presents all fifty ideas as equal, when in practice a handful of them account for most of the benefit.
Start with heating, cooling and hot water
In cold and temperate climates, keeping rooms warm and heating water usually make up the largest part of a household's energy use. That is why the most effective changes tend to be unglamorous ones:
- Turn the thermostat down by a degree and heat the rooms you actually use. Close doors to unused rooms and use radiator valves or zones if you have them.
- Stop draughts. Brush strips on doors, sealing gaps around windows and a chimney balloon in an unused fireplace are cheap and quick.
- Shorten showers and lower the hot-water temperature to a safe setting recommended for your system. Hot water is energy you pay for twice: once to heat it, once to treat it.
- Wash clothes at lower temperatures and dry them on a line or rack when the weather allows. Modern detergents are designed to work in cooler washes.
Bigger projects, such as loft or wall insulation, better glazing or a heat pump, deliver the largest savings over time but cost money upfront. If you own your home, check what grants or schemes your local authority or national government currently offers before you buy anything.
Lighting and appliances: small, steady savings
Swapping old bulbs for LEDs is one of the easiest upgrades on any list. The US Department of Energy says residential LEDs use at least 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs and can last many times longer. Once that change is made, switching lights off in empty rooms is still worth doing, but the saving per bulb becomes small.
Appliances matter more. A fridge or freezer runs all day, every day, so keep the seals clean, avoid placing it next to an oven or radiator, and defrost it if ice builds up. When an old appliance finally fails, compare energy labels before replacing it. Chargers, games consoles and televisions left on standby draw a little power around the clock; a switched power strip makes it easy to cut them off at night.
Food waste is the hidden big one
Many green-living guides treat food as a side issue, but it deserves a high place. The United Nations Environment Programme's Food Waste Index Report 2024 estimated that about 1.05 billion tonnes of food were wasted in 2022, and that households were responsible for roughly 60% of it. Every wasted meal also wastes the land, water, fuel and packaging that went into producing it.
Useful habits include checking the fridge before shopping, writing a short list, keeping leftovers on one visible shelf, freezing bread and portions you will not eat in time, and learning the difference between "use by" dates (about safety) and "best before" dates (about quality). Composting peelings and scraps is good, but avoiding waste in the first place is better.
Water, buying less and the garden
A dripping tap or a running toilet can waste a surprising amount of water. The US Environmental Protection Agency's WaterSense programme estimates that household leaks can waste nearly 10,000 gallons a year in an average home, and many are easy to fix with a new washer or flapper. Aerators on taps and an efficient showerhead reduce flow without much noticeable difference.
Beyond energy and water, the greenest product is often the one you do not buy. Repairing, borrowing, buying second-hand and choosing durable items cut waste further up the chain. In the garden, collecting rainwater, planting for pollinators and leaving a corner a little wild help local wildlife more than decorative "eco" gadgets do.
Common myths worth dropping
- "Washing dishes by hand always saves water." Not necessarily. A full load in a modern efficient dishwasher, run on an eco programme without pre-rinsing, often uses less water and energy than washing the same items under a running tap.
- "Everything with a recycling symbol can go in the recycling bin." Local rules differ. Putting the wrong items in (so-called wishcycling) can contaminate a whole batch. Check your council or city guidance.
- "Small actions don't count." Individually they are modest, but habits spread to friends, children and neighbours, and they build the confidence to tackle the bigger changes.
- "Green products are always better." A new bamboo gadget that replaces a perfectly good old one rarely helps. Use what you have until it wears out.
A simple plan for your first month
Pick three changes: one about heating or hot water, one about food, and one about buying less. Try them for four weeks and note what fitted your household and what was hard to keep up. Renters and people in shared housing can focus on what they control, such as habits, draught strips and bulbs, and raise bigger building issues with the landlord. Then return to the infographic and choose the next three. The United Nations' ActNow campaign suggests a similar step-by-step approach to everyday climate action.
Sources: Infographic by Anglian Home (2014), shared via Mercyworld and Amazyble; US Department of Energy: LED lighting; UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024; US EPA WaterSense: Fix a Leak Week; United Nations ActNow: ten actions.
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