While you’re working on those personal resolutions for the new year in the coming weeks and months, why not give some attention to making your home healthier and happier at the same time? We’ve gathered six New Year’s resolutions you can adopt for a happier and healthier home in 2022 and beyond. A healthy home helps improve your family’s health and happiness, too. And if you’re planning to sell your home in the next several months, these resolutions might help you sell it faster. Why not adopt a few for your own home?
1. Improve Your Home’s Air Filtration
One of the best ways to help protect your home against COVID and other airborne illnesses is to provide HEPA air filtration throughout your home. You’ll also want to ensure good ventilation on all floors of your home. Consider adding an independent ventilation system in your garage so that any toxic gases or fumes will be redirected away from your home’s interior.
2. Replace Carpeting With Hardwood or Other Flooring
Carpets and rugs are great collection spots for dust, mites and other microscopic substances that aggravate allergies and asthma. Replace wall to wall carpeting with hardwood or tile flooring to make it easier to keep them clean and dust-free.
3. Replace Bedding With High-Quality Linen or Cotton
Sheets, pillowcases and duvet covers made of breathable materials help both you and your bedroom stay healthy. Cotton, linen, and hemp-based materials can all give you a clean, green, and sustainable bedroom.
4. Explore Non-Toxic Home Materials and Products
Between interior paints, gas stovetops and ovens, and new appliances and carpeting brought into the phone, you can find a myriad of ways to bring toxic materials into your clean home. Instead, try selecting low VOC (volatile organic chemical) interior paints and stains for your home’s walls, trim, and stair railings. Experts also suggest unpacking outside any item that might release gases into the home after being unboxed. Finally, “cooking with gas” might be a good thing as a metaphor but it can also raise your home’s CO levels. Explore induction stoves and ovens.
5. Add Houseplants That Help Purify the Air
According to some studies, certain plants might help reduce formaldehyde and other indoor air pollutants. They also help create a calmer, more serene environment that can help reduce stress and improve health. English Ivy, Chinese Evergreen plants, and peace lilies all help improve air quality to a small degree, although not all plants are non-toxic to pets, so be sure to check with your veterinarian before adding a plant to your home.
6. Explore Non-Toxic Cleaners
Harsh cleaners and chemicals aren’t necessarily the only option for cleaning your home. Explore green-based cleaning lines or even consider making your own. For example, diluted white vinegar with a bit of lemon juice can effectively clean surfaces.
Design Your Home for a Happier, Healthier Year
Making your home and its occupants healthier isn’t just a matter of meeting code requirements and scrubbing with bleach. Wellness home design is about creating a home that’s a breath of fresh air and an oasis of calm and respite.
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