Every day you hear about new dangers lurking in your home, whether it’s from toxins used for cleaning or problems with gas or electric lines. If you haven’t already focused on those environmental threats, it’s time to start. While you’re at it, you can improve the positive vibe in your home that will make its inhabitants glad to be there at the end of the day. It’s time to make your home a positive healthy environment by starting with more obvious problems.
Check for damage that can lead to danger.
A leak in the roof can cause damage to your home, but that’s not all. It can also cause mold to grow. The same is true for a leaky basement. Black mold is a danger that can cause respiratory problems plus chronic headaches. Even your air conditioning unit is a breeding ground for mold. If your home and all its contents are new, you’re not out of danger either. New carpeting, varnish, paint and furniture can release volatile organic compounds—VOCs. These toxic gasses can cause respiratory problems and even nerve damage. Airing out the house frequently can help with both problems. To remove the danger from new carpeting, get green carpet made from other materials without VOCs, such as bamboo.
How many bottles of cleaning products do you own?
Everyone wants a clean house, so there’ a whole grocery aisle filled with cleaners. Some are toxic, others aren’t. Try to use a natural green cleaner. Of course, the latest ones can be quite costly, so if you want to save money, go natural and simple. Distilled white vinegar cuts soap scum with ease. It disinfects as it cleans. Put it in a spray bottle and spray it onto the tub or sink and wait for a while then scrub off the soap scum. Use baking soda for a mild scrubbing action. Spray it in the toilet and let it alone for an hour, then brush away the rust and calcium and flush.
Making sure your home is a positive environment is up to you.
You’ll be amazed at how much smoother things can be when you have a schedule. It sounds really boring compared to flying by the seat of your pants, but it’s not. If everyone has daily chores, meals are preplanned and there’s a set bedtime, even for Mom and Dad, it can keep the house a happier place to be. Just like working out regularly and planning meals ahead can take the stress out of healthy eating and exercising, the same is true for planning the tasks around the house.
- Limiting electronics can make your environment better and according to some of the latest studies, reduce the risk of depression in growing children. Make sure all computers are shut off and phones and laptops are checked at the door.
- Keep your yard safe while controlling pests. There are a lot of natural ways to eliminate pests, from adding predator bugs to kill garden pests to using things like diatomaceous earth to control pests. It even kills fleas and bedbugs.
- Save money on laundry while cutting back on toxic chemicals. Wool dryer balls could be the non-toxic alternative to dryer sheets you’ve been hoping to find. They don’t have toxic chemicals that are linked to damage to the endocrine and nervous system. Adding white vinegar to the final rinse also works.
- Keep your cutting board fresh and free of germs by rubbing it with a half of lemon and letting it sit. Kosher salt can be sprinkled on first before you use the lemon scrub.