Eco-Friendly Home Projects For Families

Contributed post.

Are you looking for ways to make your home a little bit greener while also spending quality time with your family? One good way to do it is to tackle some eco-friendly projects as a family, and then you really can do both - not only can you make your home more sustainable, but you’ll also be able to teach your kids some useful and valuable lessons for life as well, so it’s definitely worth trying. Plus working on projects together is a fun way to bond and get everyone involved. So with that in mind, keep reading to find out about some eco-friendly home projects for families - there are probably more than you think.

Build A Rainwater Collection System

Rainwater is free, there’s plenty of it (sometimes too much, or at least that’s how it feels!), and it’s perfect for watering your garden or perhaps even washing outdoor equipment, furniture, or maybe cars. That’s why building a rainwater collection system is such a good idea because you’ll always have water when you need it, plus it can be a great project to get involved with as a family. 

All you need to do to start is have a rain barrel connected to your home’s guttering, and that’s it - the rain will run into the barrel and you’ll have a constant supply. To make it more of a fun project, let the kids decorate the barrel with some eco-friendly paint to make it feel more like their things, and every time it rains, they can measure how much water they’ve saved, showing them it’s working and teaching them about conservation. 

Install Permeable Pavers

If you’re planning a new driveway or patio, or maybe a lovely new path in your backyard, it’s a good idea to think about using permeable pavers to do it. If you use them instead of traditional concrete or asphalt, the water can just drain through naturally which means less chance of flooding and less waste because it goes back into the ground rather than anywhere else. 

What makes this a great family project? The fact is that installing permeable pavers can be a totally hands-on project where everyone pitches in and does jobs like leveling the ground and laying out the pattern in advance so you know where to put the pavers. Plus, you can talk about why sustainability is important as you work, helping your kids understand more. 

Build A Birdhouse Or Bug Hotel

Encouraging wildlife to visit your garden is another great way to make your home just that little bit more eco-friendly, and building a birdhouse or bug hotel is a fantastic project you and your family can do over a weekend, so why not give it a go? 

You can use scrap wood for the birdhouse or gather natural materials like twigs, pinecones, bamboo, or whatever else you happen to find for the bug hotel, so there’s no need to spend a fortune making any of these things. You just need to find somewhere peaceful and quiet to put the structure once it’s done, and ideally it should be somewhere you can see it from the house so you can enjoy watching the birds and bugs use what you’ve made for them.