Why Excess Clutter Could Be Increasing Your Home’s Energy Usage – Feed Leader

With global warming now being considered a critical issue, it’s more important than ever before to cut down on our energy usage. Most people have done so by adopting a more sustainable lifestyle – eating locally, installing solar panels, ectara. However, what you might not know is that the excess clutter in your home could actually be increasing your energy consumption. For this reason, it might be in everyone’s best interests to cut down on the mess. For those who are wondering how clutter and energy consumption could be linked, we’ve written this article. Keep reading to find out more.

Home Size

People with a tendency to hoard items often have larger homes than they need, so they can make room for all their clutter. The problem with having a big house is that more energy is required to power it. For example, when heating your house in the winter, you could end up heating a spare room filled with clutter that nobody actually uses, thereby using a lot more energy every month. Instead of falling into this trap, we think it’s worth ditching the clutter and downsizing into a property which is more suited to your family. Not only will this mean you spend much less money on rent and heating but also that you can live a more organised life.

Cleaning

One of the biggest problems with having a lot of clutter is that you spend all of your time cleaning. Dust and dirt are bound to accumulate in areas where items are piled on top of one another. Resultantly, people with excess clutter are always hoovering, increasing their household’s energy consumption significantly. To save yourself time and energy, you need to organise this clutter and throw away what isn’t necessary. For those who are attached to certain belongings, there is also the option of storage units. This means you can keep your possessions, just in a separate area to your home. Have a look at the cost of self storage and see what would work best for you.

Gadget Clutter

There is such a thing as ‘gadget clutter’, which is where people inadvertently hoard loads of old devices and appliances. There are multiple problems with this. For starters, having more devices plugged in means you’re using a lot more energy in your household. This includes ‘idle’ gadgets which you don’t even realise are using electricity whilst on standby. Secondly, old appliances are usually not the most energy-efficient. If you aren’t aware, energy efficiency is how successful a device/appliance is at transforming electricity into the desired form of energy. For instance, an efficient washing machine will be able to clean more clothes with the same amount of electricity. By keeping around your old appliances, you will therefore be consuming more energy in your home.

Finally, cable clutter is another problem when it comes to energy saving. The more cables wrapped around each other, the less efficient the devices, thus impacting how much electricity is required for them to function fully. As such, we recommend finding more energy-efficient appliances and throwing away any unnecessary devices.

Mental Exhaustion

Finally, excess clutter is notoriously bad for people’s mental health. Though this doesn’t directly affect your home’s electricity usage, it certainly does have an impact on your energy levels. Being surrounded by clutter can leave people feeling overwhelmed, stressed and fatigued. If not for all the reasons above regarding energy usage, you should declutter your home for your own sake.

These are the main ways that excess clutter could be increasing energy usage in your home. Now you know how negatively it can impact your life, take the first step towards a clean and tidy home today.

Original Source: https://feedleader.com/why-excess-clutter-could-be-increasing-your-homes-energy-usage/