Your home is your castle and a place where you want to live a healthy lifestyle. You go there to live your life, relax, enjoy entertainment, and put your feet up after a long day. But are you and your home really getting along? It might be that you’ve inadvertently created an environment that’s unhealthy in several ways. Many items you bring into the home, cleaning agents you use regularly, and a lack of open windows now and again all contribute to making the home an uncomfortable place to be. Following are 6 health tips that will help you maintain a cleaner and better organized home and contribute to you being able to live a healthier lifestyle.
1. De-Clutter Your Home
You may not think you’re a hoarder, but neither do you feel like you need to go to the extreme of living your life according to Marie Kondo’s methods. (The KonMari, or Marie Kondo method, is a system of simplifying and organizing your home by getting rid of physical items that do not bring joy into your life. It was created by organizing consultant Marie Kondo and described in detail in her best-selling book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.) It’s difficult to admit you’re messier than you’d like to be or, that you’re holding on to too much stuff, but that’s not a reason not to clean.
Marie Kondo organizing can eliminate problems before they happen. The more items you have in your home, the more dust collects. Some objects even emit gas as they decay. You’re breathing all of that in, and you’re going to find yourself sick more often than not. A clean home following a Marie Kondo organizing method equals a healthy you, and you’ll feel better because you’re not surrounded by chaos and stress.
If you can’t let go, consider storing things in your garage, basement, or in a storage facility. Work on getting extra stuff out of the way, at the very least, so you can clean more easily and efficiently.
Related: 10 Five-Minute Decluttering Tips to Start Conquering Your Mess
2. Breathe Cleaner Air
HVAC is a wonderful and efficient way to keep your home comfortable, but it’s also a source of poor air quality if it’s not maintained or if there’s mold growing somewhere in your home. All the components in the HVAC system use a system of ductwork and fans to circulate air around your home. If you don’t clean your home regularly or, if you keep the windows and doors shut for most of the year, you’re not getting fresh air into your home.
If there’s a leak under the house or in the basement, you have the perfect environment for mold. This contaminated air circulates into your home and can make you ill. Among your home cleaning tips and good health tips be sure to add having your air quality checked and your HVAC system maintained to prevent this from occurring. Adding an air purifier to your home can improve your health. An expert from Smart Vacuums advises that even adding a small portable air purifier can significantly improve air quality and improve health by removing germs, pollutants, mold, and other allergens
3. Clean with Fewer Chemicals
The simple act of keeping your home clean can introduce contaminants into the air. While doing an excellent job of cleaning the home, cleaning agents contain chemicals that can also make you unwell over time. Products like chlorine bleach can irritate sensitive skin. Fumes from other cleaners can cause headaches, nausea, and vomiting. Scents can set off an allergic reaction. Enough irritation from a chemical cleaner can put an asthmatic at risk of having an attack.
Your best line of defense in your health tips is to reduce the amount of chemicals you clean with and use products that are natural instead. Items like vinegar, baking soda, liquid castile soap, hydrogen peroxide, and salt can clean your home just as well as chemicals can. The combination of vinegar and newspaper is an effective way to get your windows sparkling clean, and there’s no chemical scent or residue left behind. Salt has a scrubbing action that’s perfect for removing stains without harming surfaces. The end result is that your home stays clean and your body won’t be subjected to harsh ingredients.
Related: 7 Great Indoor Plants to Improve your Home’s Environment
4. Watch for Mold Growth
Mold is a problem in almost all climates and it forms easily. All that’s required is an area with little to no light, consistent moisture, and a medium for growing in. Homes typically have all three elements in place in the form of a leaking pipe, drywall or paneling, and a basement or space underneath a sink that’s not checked often.
Mold spores can unintentionally get brought into your home from outside. They find their way into these places and propagate. Unfortunately, your home then becomes toxic to your health. In our home cleaning tips make sure to add the prevention of mold from getting a hold in your home by checking pipes regularly and looking for damp spots around drains.
5. Heathier Alternatives to Cook and Store Food
Items you use daily in your kitchen can make you sick if you’re not careful. Many plastic storage containers contain BPA, a harmful chemical that can seep into your food when reheating food. Even if your containers are labeled “BPA-free,” they may still contain harmful chemicals since some manufacturers simply replace BPA with a similar chemical. Try to avoid plastic when possible and replace plastic storage items with glass or stainless steel containers.
Non-stick cookware is another potential hazard found in many kitchens. The synthetic chemicals used to prevent food from sticking to the cookware may be released during high-heat cooking. More research is needed, but some people believe these chemicals can contribute to adverse health conditions. If you’re concerned, replace your nonstick cookware with cast iron or stainless steel.
6. Go with Hardwood Floors
Carpeting and rugs can become problematic if they’re not properly cared for. They trap dust, pet dander, and a host of other common allergens, potentially causing a variety of health issues. To make matters worse, if you keep your shoes on inside the house, you can bring in all sorts of contaminants, such as pesticides, dirt, mud, and heavy metals, that may also contribute to illness.
If you suspect your carpeting or rugs are making you sick, the best solution is to have professional carpet cleaning services to clean it up or replace them with hard floorings, such as tile or laminate. If you’re not ready to invest in new flooring, vacuuming and steam cleaning can get rid of many of the contaminants that could make you sick. While regular cleaning isn’t quite as effective as replacing your floors, it’s much more affordable and a valuable addition to your home cleaning tips.
Related: How to Install Durable and Inexpensive Laminated Flooring
Your home is supposed to be a place of comfort where you can live a healthy lifestyle, not a place of stress, and not a place to cause discomfort. Therefore, pay attention to clutter, air quality, and what you clean with. With these tips, your home will be your safe haven.
