There are so many ways to get your bedroom looking inviting and baring a thought for the environment. Here are a few ideas to get you started. If you come up with any more ideas, please comment them below to help out the blog community.
Turn lights off
When not in use, a great way to help reduce the demand for energy is to turn your lights off. So if you leave your room, even if you only intend to leave for a moment, make sure you have turned your lights off as you may take a lot longer than you expected, meanwhile the energy keeps being drained unnecessarily.
I have always been the person to turn off lights when not in use, telling my mum to turn lights off when she had forgotten and even being that annoying kid who would turn plugs off when no plug was in it (grrr to those who turned them on straight after).
Go bed when it starts to get dark (and wake when it starts to get light)
Another way to save energy is by making the most of daylight hours which is typically from around 8am-8pm depending on the time of the year. By being awake and productive during times when it is naturally light outside it helps prevent you needing to turn your lights on as there should already be a lot of natural light available from your windows – so don’t block it out.
Also waking up at the crack of dawn or around that time will help your natural body clock get back into sync and also help your body. Another benefit is that you will feel and really be more productive with your day as there is more time to do everything you need to do. By 6pm you will feel accomplished and be almost ready for bed.
I will admit this is one of the things I am working on this year, being a night owl and going bed technically the next day between midnight and 2am (embarrassingly sometimes later than that if I get carried away with something or a boost of inspiration).
Think before you buy a bed
When you move home, money can be tight and it may come as a reflex to buy the cheapest bed available. However I would urge you to resist the urge of buying cheap rubbish essentially as you would likely be better off going for something that is maybe only marginally more expensive, and the Earth will thank you for it too.
What I am talking about is materials that are able to be recycled, reused or repurposed such as metal bed frames or wooden ones. If you opt for a plastic one, it may be cheap at first but you may end up paying more in the long run as you will need to replace it sooner than the alternatives mentioned previously.
The bed I have at the moment is a black metal bed – I think its made from aluminium and cost about £60-80 from Argos. Sure it has a tiny bit of plastic on the ends of certain poles to prevent poking your eye out, but it is still significantly reducing the amount of plastic. Metal is very long lasting and almost damage proof so is a good option. I also find that wooden ones feel very calming somehow and I would recommend them for children as they have a lot more give in them than metal in case they bang their head by accident.
A very good way to help the environment would be to not have a bed at all and have a mattress on the floor. I don’t know why, but I always find these photos of floor beds on instagram and pinterest so aesthetically pleasing and as a child when moving into a new place with no bed frame it felt so cool. It is certainly very accessible. I would love to have your thoughts on this specifically in the comments.
Eco friendly bedding
Did you know that most bedding is made from a mixture of cotton and polyester (which is a type of plastic) or completely polyester (completely plastic). You may be shocked to hear this as polyester feels very similar to cotton. I don’t know about you but knowing I am going to sleep covered with a material that is made of plastic is very unsettling – especially as we don’t fully know the effects of coming into contact with plastic on the body.
The great thing is that there are alternatives out there such as bedding made out of bamboo. Yes bamboo! And you would never know as it feels super soft. Even softer than cotton for sure. I would recommend that you check out the bamboo bedding by Panda, which is a UK store that stocks and sells all the eco friendly bamboo bedding and bedding accessories you could ask for.
The bedding may seem a bit more expensive, but what you are paying for is quality bedding that is suitable for sensitive skin as it is 100% hypoallergenic, toxic free and naturally anti-bacterial thanks to the qualities of bamboo. If you didn’t know already bamboo is not a tree, its actually a grass. But it is so fantastic because it grows like 10 times faster than trees and doesn’t require any fertilisers or pesticides to grow, so this means it helps the local eco system to thrive.
I would argue that since you spend a third of your life sleeping, surely it is worthwhile to treat yourself to bedding that does wonders for your sleep whilst also helping the planet. To make it easier, think of spreading the cost over 2 years and the amount it costs each month is super worth it for all the luxury ultra comfortable sleep you will be getting. I adore my Panda bamboo bedding and wish I had got it years ago.
Think carefully about storage options
Sadly when it comes to bedroom storage for items like clothing and shoes, plastic seems to be a common go to material. Of course if we are trying to be more eco friendly we need to significantly reduce the amount of plastic we are using, especially when there are so many other great alternatives.
One of my favourite and cheap ways to store clothes and items I do not want to be on show (being on display would ruin the low key minimalist vibe I’m going for) is using cardboard boxes. You can get cardboard boxes for free when you order items and they come in a box or if you ask supermarkets if you can have some of their boxes. You have to get the box size just the right to fit under your bed, so may need to take a fun 30 minutes to measuring and cutting to size. When you are done you can cut out handles to help pull them out as draws and viola: you have yourself some eco friendly storage that didn’t cost you a single penny.
Wardrobe alternatives
Most people store their clothes in wardrobes. That’s just facts. It goes without saying that I have a problem with the heavy use of plastic in many wardrobes and have a preference towards real wood wardrobes. However I understand that real wood of that size (most wardrobes are quite big) can feel like they cost a bomb and so if new ones are outside of your current budget you could look into the second hand market where you could pick up a very good condition wardrobe for well under a third to half the price of a new one.
By far though, my favourite way to store clothes that you would usually put in a wardrobe is to use metal clothing rails. Some people may find it makes the room or the clothing feel naked by being exposed. Others like myself very much love the visual aesthetics of being able to quickly see the clothes you have. The best thing is that it makes you feel more minimalist without needing to change a thing (unless all your clothes don’t fit). Also I think that because it is on display it encourages you to keep it tidy instead of stuffing clothing into your wardrobe hoping they wont fall on you the next time you open it (we’ve all been there girl).
I have ordered mine from lights to colours of the rainbow to darks, and it makes me smile every time I get dressed. I tried to order my partners clothing the same way but he didn’t seem to up with the rainbow order (grrrr). Ladies if you have a partner that would do this to you, say a prayer for me tonight (winky face).
Study time anyone?
I’m not sure how many of you have a study or desk in your bedroom so I thought I would make a quick comment on it. As you can gather from the points raised above on furniture, if you are going to get a desk, instead of buying new or buying plastic items, try looking at what’s available in your area second hand wise first as you may be surprised to find some bargain items at very affordable prices.
Some great places to get second hand furniture that I have used myself are: facebook marketplace, shpock and charity shops. I particularly like charity shops as most of them deliver for free or for a low fee and your money goes to help out a charity. It certainly feels a lot netter than buying new.
So there we go, a few tips to give your bedroom an eco friendly face lift. Let me know in the comments what you thought of these ideas and if you have any other ideas as it will help the blogger community.
Peace and Love
Robyn
Originally published on: 29/6/20
Original Comments:
4/7/20 – Gemma
I often think about how I could be more eco-friendly in general, but I haven’t thought about how I could make a specific room more eco-friendly. Your post has inspired me. Thanks for sharing!
Gemma
30/6/20 – Ali
I’ve been looking for organic cotton bedding that isn’t white or “natural” and it’s been a struggle if you know any brands? Also – bought a wardrobe and a bed frame on ebay – both Habitat designs second-hand which I was delighted about! And we’ve painted the walls with NewLife recycled paint too
30/6/20 – craftgreenpoet
This is a really good post, thanks. You specifically asked for comments about having just a mattress on the floor, rather than a bed. One of my student years I had a bed that was just two mattresses on top of each other and it was fine. I think though that the problem with just a mattress on the floor is that it doesn’t air so well, the slats in a bed allow air to circulate underneath the mattress which is important to keeping it fresh, even if you’re turning it regularly.
29/6/20 – Valentina, Italy
Thank you for these great eco tips!
Stay safe and xoxo
