We’ve come a long way in recent years when it comes to learning about many ways we are living unhealthily and many people have made lifestyle changes to reflect the new knowledge. Making little changes to our lifestyle have helped increase the health of our bodies, but how can we make changes in our home to help our health, too?
Time and again, studies are showing that indoor air contains a great amount of toxic chemicals. Why is this? Partly, it is due to an over-zealous use of cleaning products. At one time, I thought “clean” meant scouring and bleaching until I had to leave the room because I couldn’t breathe! To me, that meant “Wow, I REALLY CLEANED”, when, in fact, I was making the air more toxic than before I cleaned!
There a few simple “beginner” ways to help transition your home to a more-eco-friendly one. Once you start with these 5 simple tips, you may find that not only are you saving more money, but you’ll want to re-invest that money back into greening your home.
Tips to Go Green at Home
Filtering the water – Water is good for your body, and we tend to think of it as just plain old good stuff. Actually, there are some things in water you might not really want coming out of your faucet or in your drinking water. You may want to filter your water to remove pollutants such as chlorine, and also use an aerator that will lessen the amount of water going through without affecting the pressure. You won’t feel the difference, but will see the saving difference in your bill.
Change your cleaning products – Store bought detergents contain synthetic perfumes and ingredients that can be unsafe. We tend to take for granted that while these ingredients might be in such small quantities, prolonged exposure and repeated use cannot be good for home’s air quality and your family’s health. Make your own if you can, or if you must buy from the store (who ISN’T busy?), then look for as few ingredients as possible, and stay away from those that have ingredients you can’t even pronounce.
After you update your kitchen and bathroom products, head straight to your bedroom! Yep, you heard me right. Do you have ANY IDEA how unnatural all of those pretty lotion bottles and powders are sitting on your dressing room table? If you use a lot of cosmetics to cover up skin irritations like rosacea, acne, or eczema, it just might be the cosmetics themselves that are prolonging the condition.
In order to fight these toxins and have clearer skin, it’s important to replace your store-bought cosmetics with the best safe skin care products. I’m happy with those I’ve found online. When I breathe in fresh air, I want my skin to be able to have that same opportunity. By masking it with artificial perfumes and potentially hazardous materials in my makeup, I am robbing it of the chance.
Stop polluting your indoor air – Most air fresheners contain something called phthalates. Phthalates are substances added to plastics when manufactured and can leach from the plastic onto skin and through the ground when disposed of. Phthalates are thought to contribute to hormonal imbalances. Many companies, while aware of this, are trying to cut down on the use of phthalates, but in the meantime, it may simply be best to try to avoid using store-bought air fresheners, a big culprit when it comes to this substance. Try making a simple home freshener by boiling a small pot of water with cinnamon, or lavender, and letting the natural fragrance permeate through the air.
Removing your shoes – Removing your shoes is not just to keep your carpets clean of dirt and debris, though it certainly helps. We take for granted all of the places we travel to and from in our days, and the germs and bacteria that we actually carry on the bottom of our shoes. Some of these germs can lead to skin irritations because we walk around our house freely and often play on the carpets, or just lie around and relax between vacuuming. Vacuuming doesn’t pick up the toxins…only the dirt. Many allergies might be stemming from the allergens carried into your home. How to fix the problem? Besides investigating the true cause of your allergies, try get your carpets steam-cleaned by a professional and then remove your shoes upon entering. Believe it or not, your indoor air will get a bit better with time, and you might find certain skin conditions remedied as well.
Unplug it – Don’t just turn off your cell phones, computers, televisions at night. They are still draining electricity by being plugged in. Buy a power saver strip that cuts the electricity off, or do it manually by unplugging the cord.
Joanna Green is a freelance writer and blogger who found that when she eliminated many of the store bought cleaners and cosmetics from her home, her skin appeared to be healthier and she was comforted in knowing that her home was free from a lot of toxins that contribute to poor health. She searches the web for eco-friendly topics and advice to make everyone’s life a little better. She shops locally for organic foods, buys only the best organic skin care that she can find at www.mysensitiveskincare.com, and takes her shoes off every night before entering her home.