Three Free Ways to Create a Green & Healthy Home
Want to create a greener, healthier home but don’t have a fat bank account? Good news – some of the easiest ways to go green and create a healthy home don’t have to cost a dime. Here’s three simple, free steps you can take right now to eliminate toxins in your home while being kinder to the planet.
Open the Windows The U.S. EPA has shown that the indoor air inside your home is 2 – 5 times more polluted and toxic than the air that you breathe outside. How is that possible? Every product that you bring into your home can off-gas, meaning that small amounts of chemicals and particulates are released into the air.
These chemicals build up in your indoor air and have no place to go if you don’t have a great ventilation system or air purifier. And you’d be surprised at what can accumulate in the indoor air that your breathe! Chemials from cleaning agents, air fresheners, hairspray, perfumes and other personal care products get trapped in the air that you breathe. So do industrial chemicals used in furniture, carpeting, flooring and other home decor items brought into your home. And anything that was trapped on the soles of your shoes when you walked into your house is now a part of your air quality, too!
What’s the answer? Simply open your windows. Sure, you can install fancy air filtration systems or buy expensive air purifiers, but the easiest, most natural and cheapest way to get clean air is to open your windows. Even opening your windows just one to two inches can be enough to let air start recirculating and refresh with outdoor air. (Obviously you don’t want to do this during allergy season if you suffer from outdoor allergies)
Pull Weeds There used to be a time when people simply pulled weeds in their garden. Then we were introduced to sprays and powders that would do the work for us. While the ease and convenience are nice, the chemical exposure of weed killers harbors a nasty secret.
Dr. Alan Greene, author of Raising Baby Green, has said that “I believe, in time, the products we use around our lawns and gardens will be proven to be among the greatest health risks to our children.”
Studies have shown that dogs exposed to 2,4-D, just one of the many chemicals found in lawn and garden products, have a much greater risk of developing cancer.
While lawn and garden chemicals were never designed to be in contact with humans or animals, the simple fact is that they are. When you walk across a lawn that has been treated with chemical herbicides, the soles of your shoes pick up those chemical residues. You then bring those into your home where they mix with your indoor air and you’re suddenly breathing in lawn and garden herbicides.
What’s the answer? Simply pull weeds yourself. Spend an hour in your yard, get some exercise and fresh air, reconnect with nature and use some hand power to get rid of weeds instead of a weed killer.
Stop Using Air Fresheners Commercials would have us believe that the only way to eliminate the odors of stinky trash, smelly shoes and a cat litter box is by buying air fresheners. Have you ever thought of just taking care of the source of the odor, instead?
Once again, these chemicals build up in your indoor air. A study by New Scientist reported that women in homes with air fresheners were 25% more likely to experience headaches than those without air fresheners. While that might be a health problem in the short term, no studies have been done with long term results.
What’s the answer? Stop using air fresheners. If you’re not buying the product, you’ll actually save money while creating a healthier home. Treat the actual problem instead of trying to cover it up. Take out the trash when it smells. Throw out stinky gym shoes or banish them to stay on the porch. Find the odor and then treat the cause.
