Many people all over the world are becoming a lot more environmentally conscious, looking to change the habits and create a greener lifestyle of themselves, as well as their family. There are lots of ways that we can create our own environmentally friendly homes, and recycling shipping containers and building your new home is a great way to start. As well as recycling shipping containers, there are lots of other things that you can do to create a greener environment for both you and your family.
- Alternative Power Supply
- Using Recycled Materials to Build and Decorate
- Collect Rainwater for Use on Garden
- Grow your Own Food
- Use your Garden to Save on Power Costs
There are many different things that the average person can do to create a more sustainable living environment, and help to reduce the amount of waste we produce, helping to create a healthier environment for all of us. Shipping container engineering can produce you a low-cost home, in a short amount of time, and the end results may just surprise you!
Designing your Dream Home
Shipping containers can be joined together very easily, and you can also stack them on top of each other, creating a multi-storey building, which means you can design a shipping container home in a wide variety of different ways. You can create alluring shapes from your recycled shipping containers, and it can be built in a shorter amount of time, than when using traditional building methods and materials. The location of your home will play a large part in the positioning, and orientation of your design, and it is also a good idea to take into account the local landscape when planning your new home. A good way to maximise the space of your property is to choose a subterranean design, which still allows you to use all of the land for other purposes, or you could choose for a more traditional above ground home, covering one or more storey’s. When you are finishing off the outside of your building, then you should try to use reclaimed building materials where possible, such as wood or bricks, to finish off the external look of your new home. There are lots of different options open to you when you recycle shipping containers to build a structure. One thing bearing in mind though is that in Australia, shipping container homes are classed the same as a garden shed, which is a temporary structure, and you will still need to get planning permission before you start your project.
Alternative Power for your New Home
To really make an effort to change our reliance on fossil fuels, you should also try to look at alternative power sources, which can save you money over time. We are not all lucky enough to live over a geothermal feature, so we will most likely have to choose either solar power or wind power. A wind turbine can be great for harnessing power, but they are also enormous and can also create a lot of noise with the blades rotating. With the Australian climate, solar power is a good alternative to power your home from a free, sustainable power source, and with the right system you may even be able to remove yourself from the power grid entirely, as well as sell on any surplus energy that you may make, back to the utilities company.
A Good Supply of Water for your Shipping Container Home
If it is at all possible, you may wish to have a well dug so that you can reduce the amount of water that you use from the utilities company. As well as drilling a well, you can also look to collect rainwater, and use this for things such as cleaning the car, or watering the garden. If you are digging a well, then you can also dig your own septic pit so that you can remove your reliance on the utilities company and become more self-sufficient. You could even decide to use a composting toilet, and collect the waste matter to use as natural compost on your garden!
Growing your Own Food at Home
Another way to help reduce your carbon footprint, and be a little more self-reliant, is to grow your own fruit and vegetables. You can use the compost from your toilet, or start your own compost heap in your garden, placing discarded food and organic matter in it, to decompose and to be used as fertiliser in your garden. This will mean you do not have to use any chemicals to fertilise your garden, and is also kinder to the environment. You will also be able to make sure that you know exactly what you and your family are eating and you will be able to taste the difference. You could also try getting a few chickens to lay you some fresh eggs each day! Controlling what we put in our bodies is becoming increasingly important to a growing number of people, all over the world.
Landscaping your New Shipping Container Home
If you plan your garden correctly, you can also use this to help save on your electricity requirements, by strategically placing bushes, shrubs and trees, to provide your shipping container home with shade, which will help to keep things cooler during the warmer months. Your home will need to be insulated in order to keep both the warm air, and the cold air, inside when it is needed. Make sure that you set aside an area that you can use to grow your own food, and if you are after plants which smell amazing, you could think of planting your own herb garden. Fresh and natural herbs can be used not only in cooking, but there are lots of home remedies that you can use them for, which are useful and easy to make. A quick search of the internet will show you plenty of different recipes, as well as ideas of the herbs that you can put in your own garden. Ultimately though, make sure that you make your garden comfortable, as well as being practical. Being more environmentally friendly does not have to be hard and by getting the entire family involved you can make the process fun as well.
