The effects of being energy efficient are two-fold. A home that takes a sustainable approach to life helps the environment and the wallet. Besides doing away with single-use plastic, changing practices at home can improve your global footprint and cut expenses.

A news article from the Independent points out that "British homes are responsible for around 25 per cent of UK carbon dioxide emissions, making them one of the biggest contributors to the country's greenhouse gas emissions."

A simple act like turning appliances off instead of leaving them on standby can significantly cut costs for a single household.

The same article states:

"But up to 10 million British households – a third of the population – have yet to take steps to change their home energy usage. The vast majority of households think small changes will make little or no difference to their finances. A third of those surveyed by the Energy Saving Trust don't consider managing their energy use as a priority. But they're wrong."

There are simple ways one household can take to save energy. Change one small thing and make it a habit.

1.  Turn the light off - You've done this at one point or another. You turn the lights on when you're in a room but when you leave, you still keep it on. You forget to turn the lights outside at night and you forget to turn it off during the day. Lights make up about 7% of the electricity consumed in households. A simple act as switching them off can already help your bills.

2. Change the lights - Halogen and LED bulbs do not use up as much power compared to traditional light bulbs. Changing the bulbs you use around your house may not seem like a good way to cut expenses. But energy-efficient bulbs have a longer life span which means you won't have to replace them as often.

3. Don't leave electronics on standby - take advantage of timer plugs that turn off when appliances are no longer needed. Leaving electronics on and on standby is definitely eating up your electricity consumption. Pull the plug when an appliance is not in use. One big energy consumer is the phone charger. Often, they're left plugged on sockets even when they're not charging anything.

4. Change your laundry habits - When doing your load of laundry, opt for the cold or lukewarm wash. Heating uses a lot of washing machine power, turning it down saves a lot of energy. Most powders and detergents are effective whatever the temperature of the water is. As much as possible, use the hot water option only for cleaning the machine. if the weather outside is good, skip the dryer and use a clothesline instead.

5. Don't fill the kettle - when making tea or coffee, a single person heats water with the kettle filled right up. It means that it'll take a longer time for water to heat, thus using up more energy. Fill your kettle just to the level you need.

6. Turn the tap off - if you keep the water running while brushing your teeth or while washing the dishes, now is the time to stop. You're pouring money down the drain! Find ways to keep your dishes squeaky clean without wasting clean water. Use a basin to wash off dirt from dishes.

7. Get a smart meter - when the household sees how much power something uses up in real-time, they start adopting better habits to save energy. Track the changes you've made this month and announce to the family the savings made. This is a simple but effective way to teach everyone to think and act sustainably.