Hi Friends,
I would say I strive to be healthy.
Eating healthy foods, exercising, taking supplements, are things I strive to do everyday.
I also try to keep my home indoor environment as healthy as possible and free from pollutants. There are many environmental toxins in all of our homes and I don’t know about you but I spend a lot of my time inside especially in the winter months.
Curious of some simple things you can do to create a healthier home environment???
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Air quality
We absorb many toxins just by simply breathing. Making sure our homes have clean air, are free from molds, dust, chemicals, small gas leaks, and fumes is vital to our families health. My family members have allergies to dust so we invested in two Aprilaire 5000 Air Cleaners to keep our indoor air clean. These connect to our main HVAC units. Learn more about the Aprilaire 5000 Air Cleaner.
We also have an Intellipure Air purifier in our master bedroom to keep the dust levels down. I did a ton of research and this air purifier stood out to me on so many levels. I have owned mine for several years and it works great. I do replace the filters twice a year but knowing that I am investing in good air quality for my family makes it worth it.
Do you think that opening windows to let fresh air in is always a good idea?
I’m honeslty not exactly sure about this idea only because the quality of the outdoor air where you or where I live may not be good. I think that if I lived in the mountains with no industry and with great air quality, I’d be more apt to open the windows.
Green Guard Furniture
Most furniture today is made with many chemicals and glues, which creates an unhealthy air quality environment. If you are shopping on line for furniture and you look in the printed details of most items, you will see a California Proposition 65 Warning. This informs the buyer that the material(s) used to make the piece of furniture could cause cancer or birth defects. When I see this warning, I typically do not buy it. Especially if it is a furniture piece that would be in one of the bedrooms or be in close contact with any of my family often.
In our bedrooms, I aim to buy real wood furniture pieces. “Green Guard” labels are so helpful because they tell us the product meets all standards for VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) and are safer for us. We can also look for low VOC paint and furniture pieces. Safe furniture is becoming more standard for some high end furniture stores like Pottery Barn, RH, and Crate and Barrel.
Standard commerical mattresses have toxic chemicals such as flame retardants, formaldehyde, and benzene. All of these chemicals cause cancers to form and grow in the human body. We are making more work for our body and our detox pathways if we are spending 8-10 hours per night trying to rejuvenate and heal our body on a toxic mattress. I use all organic matresses, that have a zero VOC emmitance. Many companies make these organic safe sleeping mattresses.
For babies and children buying Green Guard and organic is especially important.
Electromagnetic Frequencies (EMF’s)
This is where you may just think I’ve lost my marbles. LOL That’s okay – my husband did for a while too! So EMF’s (short for Electromagnetic Frequencies) are in many home appliances. Our internet Wi-fi routers, our cell phones, TV’s, electronic hand held devices and even household items such as floor fans, electric tooth brushes, and hair blow dryers all put off high EMF’s.
Unhealthy levels of Electric Magnetic Frequency (EMF) exposure is linked to cancer, neurological, and psychiatric problems, and can affect sleep and mood.
What do we do when we live in a world with EMF’s everywhere?
We can be attentive to the ones inside our homes, where we spend a good amount of our time.
Here’s what I do to protect my family from EMF’s inside my home.
I purchased an EMF Detector to check my home and then learned which appliances had the highest EMF’s.
I made sure our Wi-Fi router box was located in a cabinet with a solid wood door. You could also get an EMF shield for it and/or get in the habit of turning it off at night. THIS IS THE EMF SHIELD I HAVE USED BEFORE! It worked so good my teenage son would even ask why I shut off the WIFI.
The microwave has crazy high EMF’s. Everyone knows that – right? That’s why we tell our kids – “don’t stand near the microwave”. We almost didn’t get a microwave in our new home but with a teenage boy in the house I figured I might be wishing I had. I invested in low EMF hair dryers (CHI ROCKET) and I unplug electric devices not in use. No TV’s in our kids bedrooms. Cell phones go on the kitchen counter at a specific time every night. If I absolutely need to have my cell close by me during the sleeping hours, I turn blue tooth and wifi off or put it in airplane mode.
Battery operated alarm clocks without a phone charging station and radio option are healthiest, especially when they sit right next to your bed for 8-10 hours.
Buy this Aesthestic Battery Operated Alarm Clock!
You can check out this whole home EMF NEUTRALIZER!
When purcashing a new home or a piece of property, be sure to check out the area. We all want to avoid living close to power lines, high tension wires, and cell phone towers. These are high sources of EMF’s and studies show they cause cancer.
Dirty Electricity
I use a little Dirty Electricity Meter to check all of my homes electrical outlets. The lower the number the better. Ideally we want to check every room in your home and we want the number to be under 100. When it gets into the 400’s you can even hear the static of the electricity coming through the device. It’s crazy! If you are noticing high numbers in your rooms you may want to invest in a Dirty Electricity Guard or Plugs. My electrical outlets were in the 100-200’s so I use at least two safe plugs in each room, especially if the outlets are near beds. Learn More about this Dirty Electricity Meter
Dirty Electricity Meter! Check out the online store Green Wave for more information on the plugs.
Cleaning Supplies
This is straightforward – Cleaning supplies with harsh chemicals are an added layer of something you’re body will need to detox. I have used cleaning supplies before that were so strong I literally could taste the chemicals in my mouth after spraying them. It was gross! Good thing there are so many options now for healthy non-toxic cleaners. I use Seventh Generation and Method. CLICK HERE, HERE, and HERE for a few of my favorites!
Room Odorizors
Any plug in, aerosal deodorizer, or any synthetic smell used to cover up a bad smell is not going to be healthy for our bodies. These artificial smells are hormone disrupters and contain Phthalates, which are on the State of California’s list of toxic substances and are known to cause birth defects or reproductive harm. Airborne phthalates can also cause allergic symptoms and asthma.
So only use scents in our homes that have ingredients containing herbs, and real essential oils.
*Synthetic plug-ins are very commonly used in schools and classrooms. Hopefully we can spread the word to teachers and they can find alternatives that are healthier for the students.
I hope you found some tips to make your home healthier!
XOXO
Eve