Tips to a healthier, greener home

Living

4 min read

We all try to be healthy in many aspects of our life but often we tend to focus on nutrition, exercise, and aim for a healthy set of finances, but have you thought about making your home healthier?

Our homes are where we retreat to after a long busy day, but many people don’t realise the potentially harmful elements our house can contain. Paying attention to our living environment and making a few easy tweaks can ultimately improve the health of your home and make it a cleaner, greener environment.

Use glass containers to store food

Most of us use some form of plastic container to store our food in but glass is a much safer option. Plastic containers, if it is not BPA approved, can be dangerous to our health as it can release small chemicals into stored food and liquids. Glass can also be used for hot and cold foods without causing any harm to our health.

Learn to love leftovers

Cutting food waste has never been so important so we need to be aware of how much we’re throwing out and learn how to avoid it. Using leftovers can be beneficial to our pockets and very convenient if you have little ones running around demanding to be fed.

For many meals, you can add fresh ingredients to leftovers and make them seem like something new. However, you should never leave leftovers on your countertop for too long. Cooked food left at room temperature for more than an hour or two, will quickly grow bacteria.

Breathe better

Reap the benefits of clean air at home and eliminate indoor air pollution. Most of us would never really think about the serious effects of breathing in the same air that circulates our homes – the dust, the dirt and the gases in the air? 

But you could be suffering from headaches, dry eyes and tiredness and all of it could be a result of poor air and you don’t even know it. To improve your home’s air quality, we gathered some fool proof ways to boost that oxygen flow – open windows, invest in an air purifier, install a humidifier and even pop a few plants around the house. Yes plants!

A 1989 NASA experiment found that certain indoor plants can improve the air quality in a home by absorbing chemicals.

A word to the washing

You want fresh-smelling, dirt-free clothes but you also want to use non-toxic products, reduce your energy and make clothing last as long as possible? Yes, it can all be done in a healthier, greener way.

Most washing powders contain a lot of chemicals to make clothes seem brighter, but they can irritate the skin and also have terrible consequences for waterways and sea life. There are lots of brands that are much more eco-friendly and easier on the skin. There is also a natural alternative to fabric softener…Vinegar! Like washing powder, some fabric softeners contain many chemicals and fragrances that can really irritate skin conditions such as eczema. Using a half cup of white vinegar can get rid of pungent smells and act as a natural fabric softener.

Want extra sustainability points? Wash clothes in cold water. It reduces your energy footprint significantly, it saves money and it lengthens the life of your clothes by preventing fading and shrinking.

Decluttering to de-stress

Clutter can stress us out, distract us, weigh us down and in general likes to invite chaos into our lives. And when we don’t sort it out, we think about it which can be exhausting and all-round depressing.

The only way to combat it, is by focusing on one room at a time and throw out or donate clothes, toys, books that are left unused and organise everything else into drawers and cabinets.

If you are worrying about room, sometimes you can find it in the most unlikely of places – like using storage boxes and putting them under your bed.

Get damp to disappear

Damp is caused by condensation which can be triggered by poor ventilation throughout your home – bathrooms being the most common area.

Exposure to damp and mould can really affect your health and trigger asthma, allergy attacks and coughing.

To remove damp without using harsh chemicals, hydrogen peroxide, vinegar and baking soda can be used but large areas must be treated by professionals.

Homemade cleaning products

With cleaning gurus becoming a real trend on social media, we are paying more attention to the products we use around our home as they stress the importance of “safe cleaning”. Conventional household cleaners consist of highly hazardous chemicals that we are ultimately exposing ourselves to and can cause potential harm to our health.

By using natural ingredients, you are preventing the further flow of toxic chemicals into our homes and oceans! You can successfully use baking soda, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and lemon juice to keep your home in mint condition.

Natural combinations of these ingredients can remove grease, make windows sparkle and floors gleam – you will effectively become a dirt-busting domestic God or Goddess.