5 Simple Ways to Make Your Home Healthier
Since spending a lot more time indoors, I’ve found myself reorganizing, cleaning and decluttering my house. All the projects that usually get pushed to the back burner (like cleaning out the garage) have all been taken care of, and it feels good to get them all out of the way! For those of you that know me, you know how much of a neat freak I am. I love a clean and organized house - truly very few things house wise make me happier. Nicky always laughs at how happy it makes me lol!
In today’s post is about several easy ways you can take to have a cleaner and more healthier home.
Incorporate steam cleaning - This is one of those oddly satisfying/addicting things that makes you ask yourself…why am I like this??? Seriously though, steam cleaning is easily forgotten but so beneficial. Steam kills 99% of bacteria including e.coli, salmonella, staph, micro organisms, surface molds and other yucky stuff lurking around your house. The important thing is to make sure your steam is hot enough - 180 degrees F or higher is best. The hotter the steam the better. My favorite steam cleaner is this one. I love it because it’s small enough to move around from room to room easily with plus it comes with several attachments depending on the surface you’re cleaning. I use this to clean everything from my carpets, floors, car and mattress! Pro tip: Soak your towel or cleaning pad in lemon essential oil for an extra boost when you clean. It also smells so fresh and amazing!
Add more plants - Not only does this lightly help to purify your air, they’re aesthetically pleasing to look at. To really clean your air, you’d need an absurd amount of plants… something like 1 plant for every 100 square feet of floor space, which is A LOT of plants for you average sized home. No need to go overkill, just focus on the plants that are best known for the healing properties like the broadlady palm, snake plant and pothos, to name a few.
Substitute artificial fragrance for essential oils - As tempting as those room fragrance sprays are, they’re usually packed with chemicals. I’ve made the gradual shift over the years to fragrance my house with essential oils only. My favorite diffuser is this one, I usually have it running all day and swap the oils out depending if it’s during the work week vs weekend. I love peppermint or orange when I’m working since those scents are great for helping with memory and energy levels.
No shoes rule - For the love of all things holy don’t wear your shoes inside! Juussst had to get that out of the way. Our shoes carry so much bacteria and gross stuff from outside - things like feces, dirt, and all kinds of nasty stuff you don’t want tracking around in your house. We have a firm no shoes inside rule - it’s just not worth it. Once the world is open again and we’re all back to hosting people over, I recommend these shoe covers if you don’t want to ask guests to remove their shoes.
Go minimalist - A minimalist approach includes everything from furniture, to cleaning supplies, to the food and items you store in your abode. Not only is this easier to keep clean, but removing clutter helps keep the mind clear and stable. Not only does decluttering help with clearing space, it’s much easier to clean around.
