Creating a healthy home does not have to be an exhausting endeavor. In fact, it can be more of an adventure even fun! You do not have to give up your lifestyle or make extreme changes to improve your home. You just need to open your eyes, and put your nose into action!
Today, many non-toxic and organic products are available at your local supermarket; making it easy for you to integrate these healthier options into your home cleaning regime slowly. We even have some products that are up there in the ‘easier, safer, and healthier class‘ it’s just a matter of reaching for one brand over another that leaves no toxic residue and smells pleasant and natural. Visit Healthy Home Solutions and you will see what I mean.
Know that with every significant change that you make, you are reducing your exposure to health hazards, you are making a better world. Get excited about making your home a better place to live, because your healthy home contributes to a healthy planet, and that’s a win-win.
"I want you to look around your home, starting with the room you spend a fair amount of time in"
The title of this article is ‘Your Healthy Home, One Room At A Time‘. With that in mind, I want you to look around your home, starting with the room you spend a fair amount of time in. Remove furniture and note the condition of the floor, what’s on the floor, and the walls, if you observe any mould or dampness, this must be attended to, in fact, this is a priority! See Healthy Home Solutions for tools you can use, i.e. Foggers and diffusers.
How does it smell? How does it make you feel to be in this room?
Let’s say your chosen room is your home office, when you look around this room, what disturbs your eyes, is there what I refer to as *’Creativity Blockers‘? How does it smell? How does it make you feel to be in this room? Does the room make you feel unwell, tired, lethargic, or possibly depressed? Yes, a room can make you feel that way, and for artists and creatives, a room that has bad vibes, means their creativity is blocked, more on this to come. For now, make a clear undertaking to observe your first room of concern and be aware of the effect that chosen items you have in this room have on you.
When it comes to Indoor Air Quality there are a few things to note:
Quite often the air inside your home can be more hazardous to your health than the air outside. Some of the offenders are:
- Mould
- Formaldehyde
- VOC’s
- Carbon monoxide
- Lead
- Volatile chemicals from fragrances used in air fresheners
Opening your doors and windows can help improve your air quality. Fresh air from outside will force out air pollution removing allergens, chemicals, and mould from your home. Diffusing specific scents using essential oils change the environment effectively, but remember to clean the area first.
- Separate, materials that are known to be a problem by using mould catchers and sealants.
- Absorb, using indoor plants to improve air quality and add a touch of freshness to your home - real plants, not plastic!
- Ventilate, your home as much as possible to remove air pollutants except when it’s raining ***
- Eliminate, the source of air problems, especially through better product selection and design - have an expert give you advice about your interior design.
- Secure, your environment with the right tools, like Foggers, diffusers and purifiers.
Using a vacuum with a HEPA Filter, (we use the Nilfisk VP300 small and powerful HEPA Vacuum) you can eliminate allergens like dust mites, pet dander, and pollen from your carpet, sheets, and curtains. A note on carpet, it may be part of your end game to remove the carpet all together, I know I know I said I would make this fun, but do one room at a time, and if carpet is the issue, pull it up and replace with safe and natural flooring.
Eliminate Toxic Odours:
- Avoid artificial air fresheners
- Substitute natural air fresheners which are made with essential oils
- Open a box of baking soda which will absorb odors
- Open windows to let fresh air flow
- Run a fan to create a breeze
- Identify and clean up the source of unhealthy smells
- Run a diffuser with scents like Orange and anti-bacterial blends like On Guard
Some Easy Healthy-Home Basics…
- Having a smoke-free home can also prevent inhaling unwanted toxic chemicals
- Ask people to remove their shoes when entering your home. Note some relatives get their noses out of joint with this one, but it’s your home!
- Have house slippers, shoes, and socks available near the door to wear inside
Preventing Mould
The simple solution to preventing mould is to reduce dampness and moisture in the home. *** Please note when it’s raining, that’s the one time to close windows, and put fans on, so that you are not letting more moisture in.
Follow up on these actions:
- Avoid wet towels on the bathroom floor
- Fix leaky pipes around the house
- Dry out leaks, spills, and other moisture issues as soon as possible
- Fix plumbing and toilet leaks
- Remove exposed surfaces of water such as drip trays under the air conditioner or refrigerator to reduce humidity and potential growth of mould
- Wipe down condensation that might have developed after your shower
- Invest in a small room dehumidifier
- Remove clutter so you can see where the problem areas are in the first place
Take before and after photos, this can really make a difference to your self-esteem too, the feeling of a well-organised, clean and healthy room is unbeatable.
Carrying out a ‘one room at a time exercise‘ is rewarding in so many ways and as my friend, Bill found out. Bill shared with me that his recent clean and sort exercise helped him financially, as he found a $100 note (which had gone missing) under the couch when he moved it! great result!
You never know what you’ll find when you go down this path, but it’s going to be a positive path that I can assure you.
A big thankyou to my caring wife for assisting me with this informative 1st Healthy Home Solutions Blog Please visit our new site www.HealthyHomeSolutions.com.au also feel free to contact Annie at email anne@anneclark.com.au for help with decluttering advice. Thank you for reading :)