10 Tips for Having a Healthier Home
A good home is one that supports the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of all people who live there.
And that’s something that’s unlikely to happen all on its own. Taking a proactive approach to your home’s health credentials is, therefore, essential for pushing it in the right direction. Happily, none of the strategies that homeowners can deploy to create a healthier and happier home are particularly complicated. In fact, the vast majority of tips are either exceptionally budget-friendly or even free. Let’s take a look.
Take Off Your Shoes
Even though the debate between the ‘shoes off at the door’ and ‘shoes on,’ from a health perspective, there’s no debate. Your home may be spotless, but the outside world sure isn’t, especially if you live in a busy urban area. Any bacteria that is on the floors of the places you visit — and there’ll be a lot of bacteria — will easily find itself inside your home if you walk them in there. The chances of you or your family falling ill from a single outside excursion are slim, but it’s not worth the risk. The bottom line is that your shoes will contribute towards creating an unclean home — take them off.
Regular Cleaning
The dirtier your home is, the less healthy it is. It’s a simple equation, sure, but it’s tried and tested. There are reasons why hospitals and other need-to-be sanitary spaces invest so heavily in their cleaning: it makes a difference!
Ultimately, you can’t have a healthy home if it’s not clean. If you have to prioritize one aspect of keeping your home orderly, make it keeping it genuinely clean (rather than tidy). A disorganized space will also impact your wellbeing (your mental wellbeing), but it’s better than having bacteria and other germs all around your home.
Declutter
If you routinely read home advice blogs, then you’re probably a little bored of having everyone recommend that you declutter your property.
However, there’s a reason why everyone keeps going on about it: it really can have a massive impact on your property, especially when it comes to your physical and mental health. Too much clutter becomes a safe space for dust and mold to accumulate, and it can also have a subtly corrosive impact on your mental health, too. Decluttering won’t take long — an afternoon is likely all you’ll need — but it can have significant, long-lasting benefits. Try it, and see for yourself why every home expert keeps talking about it.
Go Natural
Looking to keep your home clean and make it better for your health all at the same time? Then take a look at investing in natural cleaning products. These products, which are better for the environment, use naturally occurring ingredients and don’t possess the same level of toxicity as chemical-based cleaners. While there are some cleaning products where you won’t have the option to go natural, routine cleaning — say, wiping down kitchen surfaces — can be completed with natural products. It’s especially recommended to use natural cleaning products for surfaces if you have children, since products that contain bleach, ammonia, and other toxic ingredients can impact a child’s respiratory system.
Add an Air Purifier
Even with all the will in the world, it’s inevitable that your home’s air might become at least a little unhealthy, especially during the colder periods of the year when we virtually always have our doors and windows shut. After all, even things like cooking and pets can impact the quality of a property’s air.
One way to ensure that you and your loved ones breathe in good-for-you air is to add an air purifier. They’ll help to quickly remove potentially damaging airborne particles from the air, and the best ones can even remove odors, too.
Keep Your Washing Machine Clean
Your washing machine is there to clean your dirty clothes, but remember, the machine isn’t quite as adept at cleaning itself as it is at cleaning your underwear. Over time, your washing machine can become a haven for grime, mildew growth, bacteria, and fungi, all of which can impact your home’s health credentials — and, as should go without saying, all of those things will impact your washing machine’s capacity to clean your clothes, too. Since washing machines can be difficult to clean using standard cleaning products, it’s best to invest in washer cleaner tablets, which offer a convenient way to get rid of bad odors, dissolve residue, and reduce pet hair. Simply use a tablet every 2 – 4 weeks to keep your machine sparkling clean.
Add Indoor Plants
Even if they didn’t offer any health benefits, we’d still recommend adding some indoor plants to your home. After all, they’re an easy way to brighten up the space and give your interior decor a boost. But as it happens, indoor plants can offer a wide range of health benefits, which makes adding them a no-brainer.
So, what kind of benefits can you expect to see from adding some plants to your home? Here’s a run-through of some research-backed benefits:
- Reducing stress levels
- Faster recovery from illnesses
- Improve air quality
- Improved concentration
That’s a lot of good that can come from something as simple as adding a few plants to your home. Plus, you’ll likely find that looking after your plants is pretty therapeutic.
Open Up the Windows
Looking for an easy, fresh way to improve the health of your home, and thus the health of your family? Open up those doors and windows. Unless you live in an area with poor air pollution scores, you’ll find that letting in a fresh breeze is an excellent way to, among other things, keep mold at bay. It’ll help to improve indoor air quality and can even help boost mental wellbeing. After all, opening up your windows makes it more likely that you’ll be able to hear birdsong, which studies have shown is an easy and effective way to increase your happiness levels.
Invest in Your Sleep Quality
Everyone knows that eating well, avoiding bad-for-you products, and working up a sweat can all do wonders for your health, but actually, the quality of sleep might be just as important. Getting a consistent good night’s sleep can help to boost physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing, as well as keep health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure at bay.
One way to increase your chances of getting a good night’s rest is to improve your bedroom’s sleep credentials. Some bedrooms will have you sleeping soundly all night long, while others will have you tossing and turning all night.
So, what makes a sleep-friendly bedroom? Having a neat and tidy space, ensuring that no external light or sound can enter, and having a great mattress can all make it easier to fall — and stay — asleep. It’s also recommended to put together a good pre-sleep routine, such as avoiding tech in the hour before hitting the hay, meditating, and drinking a relaxing tea. They can really make a difference!
Have a Kitchen That Makes You Want to Cook
Finally, you can ensure that your home supports your overall health by putting together a kitchen that you genuinely want to be in. Having a kitchen that you love makes it more likely that you’ll take the time to create delicious, good-for-you meals. Remember, eating well is a foundational part of good health, and while the quality of your kitchen isn’t the only factor, it certainly plays a role. If you’ve been looking for a sign to upgrade your kitchen, then consider this to be it!
