Healthy Home Environment * Spotlight My Health

When someone says environmental health or wellness what do you immediately think of? I bet your mind goes to climate warming, recycling, keeping our water clean and reducing emissions.

Normally, it is all that, but it’s also about our immediate surroundings. And that would certainly include our workplace and our home. So, that is what this post is about, our immediate environment—our home.

I recently did a post about how to create calm and peacefulness in your home. This post is going to dive into some other ways you can try in and around your home to make it healthier for you and your family.

What The Heck is Environmental Health/Wellness?

The National Institute for Health says that environmental wellness is all about creating clean, safe, and healthy surroundings.

And that environment has to do with your home or any space that you tend to spend a lot of time in, like work, for instance. But environmental wellness is more than that.

Environmental wellness means protecting your surroundings. Humans have a rather large impact on our natural environment. We should take some responsibility in making sure Mother Earth doesn’t suffer for things we humans do or don’t do.

Just like anything else, there are limits to the Earth’s natural resources. Taking care of the planet we live on comes back to us because the Earth is then able to provide us with things and elements we need. Being aware and taking care of the Earth can make a big impact on our health.

Our lifestyle could be lived so that we automatically and easily take care of and respect our environment. Living in harmony with our Earth and protecting it in turn protects us and helps us live our most healthy life.

Environmental Wellness Is More

But environmental wellness is also more personal. It effects our immediate environment or space and our day-to-day life. Do you have a healthy home? Does your space inspire you and contribute to your health and core values?

It also has to do with how our environment or space affects our day-to-day life. Environmental wellness has to do with how we have decorated our home, to how we feel in our home, to the cleaning products we use.

These things contribute to our general feeling of goodness and wellness in our home which is our “environment” or surroundings.

This area of health encourages a general feeling of wellness and interaction with the world and nature around you.

You don’t want to come into your own personal space and feel overwhelmed or just not quite right. Your space should inspire you, honor your values and contribute to your good health.

Questions to Ask Yourself to Create Your Healthy Home

*What am I already doing right in my space?

*When I walk into my space at home or at work, what do I want to feel ?

*Why do I want to make these changes to my space?

*What resources do I have available and/or not available?

*To help me achieve better health and feel good in my home, what changes should I make to my space?

*What items and things would I need to improve the space around me?

By asking ourselves these questions it helps us to start figuring out what we really need in our space. We should want to be our best self, be healthier and live a more meaningful life.

You may not need to make any changes to your home or workspace. These questions are just geared toward getting you thinking.

Environment plays a very big part in how we feel about ourselves and how productive we are. So, your environment needs to be in your plan for better overall health.

use essential oils for a healthier home---no toxins

Ways To Make Your Home A Healthier Environment

** Use less toxic cleaning products (see Essential Oil post)

** Don’t use the chemical laden air fresheners that many of us use. Instead, try a diffuser with essential oils or…..

Tip: Use a small piece of sticky felt with essential oils added and put under a table or chair; anywhere you want to smell fresh

**Get rid of any extra stuff you may have.

** Test your home for toxic gases.

**Do a de-cluttering of your complete space.

use essential oils for a more healthy home

put a essential oil sticky fleeze under a table for a nice smell

Getting rid of anything extra you may have, don’t need or are keeping “just in case” will help everyone in your home. Not only will your home feel more peaceful and inviting, but you will feel more free.

The trick is to maintain the peacefulness by not collecting more stuff to replace what you have just given up.

Having too much stuff not only takes up a lot of space, but it also sucks away your time by having to keep track of it and cleaning it, etc. And that time could be better spent with your family or on self-care for yourself.

Why De-clutter your home?

Because you will feel free and much lighter and therefore more productive and happier.

** Break cleaning tasks down into smaller chore lists of three to four things, to do daily. This will allow more time spent with family or some “me” time.

** Make it convenient and easier to cook healthier meals by stocking healthy options in your cabinets and pantry.

** Get rid of food that doesn’t promote health.

** Conserve energy—turn off lights and don’t leave the water running while brushing your teeth.

** Make it easy to get your workout or movement in by keeping equipment you need handy in nice baskets or boxes.

** Organize belongings that comfort or help you feel good, so they are handy when you need them. For instance, I like sitting under an afghan so they are stored in a basket or hanging over a ladder, close to my chair. That makes them handy when I want one, but out of the way when they are not needed.

** Reduce allergens in your home by using a HEPA filter on your vacuum.

decluttered room makes for a healthy home

Ways To Improve Environmental Wellness To Help Us With Our Health

**Don’t pollute our water, air or the Earth.

** Dispose of or even better—don’t buy to use, products not good for the environment like styrofoam and plastic, whenever possible.

** Picking up trash. Spending time outdoors.

** Don’t keep buying single-use plastics.

** Biking or walking for your commute.

** Recycle, reduce and re-use as much as possible.

** Don’t use pesticides in your garden or greenspace.

** Use reusable bags and water bottles. Plastic doesn’t decompose very quickly, if at all. Plastic is an environmental problem in many ways.

All these things help make a healthier environment while at the same time give you a more healthy home. And if you are not using some of the above mentioned in your home–again, a good thing for your health.

Final Thoughts

Our homes are our sanctuaries. It shouldn’t be toxic in any way and cleaning with non-toxic compounds will certainly help with that.

But, the atmosphere or feel of your home is also important. You want people to feel comfortable and welcome when they come into your home, and even more so – your family.

We need to take this into consideration when we are decorating and setting up our home. Design and decorate areas in your home to make sure it feels peaceful and you and your family feel like you want to spend time in the space.