Today’s Chubbuck renters are often searching for approaches to make their homes more environmentally conscious. And the great news for landlords is that going “green” in your rental home is easy and makes a good selling point. Actually, by making a couple of simple changes, landlords and rental property owners can positively affect the environment and attract renters who want to live in an environmentally friendly situation.
1. Recycling & Composting
One of the primary and simplest things you can do to make your rental home more environmentally conscious is to encourage your tenant to recycle and compost their food waste. If your city or county offers a recycling program, it may be as easy as requesting a recycling bin and then showing your tenant which items go in it. Likewise, think about providing a composting bin on the property that your tenants can utilize to make clean fertilizer for the landscaping. You will not only save on landscaping costs, but your tenant may appreciate having an option to throwing excess food away.
2. Upcycling
Together with recycling, upcycling is an excellent method to reduce waste and protect the environment, too. Upcycling is basically using items, such as empty glass jars from jelly or pickles, for another purpose. For instance, glass jars make good food storage containers, flower vases, light fixtures, or pen holders. As the property owner, you can do many things to reuse items instead of buying new or tossing things away. To get your tenants on board, offer them some fun upcycling ideas and even an incentive to join.
3. Install Smart Air Conditioning
One more incredible method to make your rental property helpful to the environment (and your utility bills) is to change how much and how often your tenant runs the air conditioning. For instance, simply encouraging your tenant to increase their thermostat by one or two degrees can save energy. Otherwise, for a more significant effect, think about installing a smart thermostat. Programmable thermostats are great energy savers since they can guarantee that the air conditioning is only running when people are home. Think about offering your tenant some pointers to make the air conditioning operate more efficiently, like closing doors and windows while running and changing the filters often.
4. Use LED Light Bulbs
To save even more energy (and the environment), switch your rental’s light bulbs to efficient LED bulbs. LED bulbs are long-lasting and energy-efficient, meaning that they will reduce energy use in the home and need to be changed much less often compared to traditional light bulbs. Also, don’t forget to place LED light bulbs in areas where lights are used over long periods of time, including porch lights or other frequently used lights.
5. Water Your Lawn at Night
Ultimately, using less water is the best approach to impact the environment and your utility bills positively. For maximum efficiency and absorption, water your rental property’s lawn in the evening. When you water during the day, a large portion of that water is lost to evaporation. But at night, a lot of water reaches the roots of the plants and makes watering much more effective. If you have an automatic sprinkler system, this is as easy as adjusting the watering times. Or else, encourage your tenant to be environmentally friendly by watering the lawn after sunset or before sunrise.
If you enjoy reading our articles with helpful rental management tips, imagine how much you’ll like working with the Chubbuck property managers at Real Property Management Pocatello! Contact us online or call 208-234-1000 to get started.
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