Please note: this is a contributed post.
Making your home more natural can help to make it healthier for you, as well as for the environment. If you want to feel happier and more comfortable in your home, making some changes to create eco-friendly and natural spaces can make that possible. You can create light and bright spaces that give your home a welcoming feel for both you and anyone who comes to visit. Using the right materials, letting in natural light and even choosing the eco-friendly cleaning products can make a difference so that you can enjoy your home to its fullest. Here are some of the ways you might want to make things more natural in each room.
Kitchen
In the kitchen, keeping everything clean is a top priority. If you’re not cleaning everything well, bacteria and pests could be two of the problems you have to deal with. You cook and prepare food in the kitchen, so cleanliness is vital. To start with, you might want to consider how to extract moisture and odors from your kitchen when you’re cooking. Steam can condense and cause problems with dampness and mold, while cooking smells (stinky fish, etc.) end up getting embedded in your kitchen. Consider using a range hood, or extractor fan, to deal with odors. Natural cleaning products are a great idea for dealing with your kitchen too – you can even make your own.
Dining Room
The dining room is another space in your home where it’s important to be clean because it’s where you eat. However, it’s not as difficult to keep clean as the kitchen. Another thing you might want to prioritize instead is how much natural light gets into your dining room. When you have plenty of natural light, it creates a welcoming space for you and your family to enjoy. Natural lighting also reduces your reliance on electricity and might even help lower your energy bills. You might also want to think about your furniture – if you’re buying a new table or chairs, think about whether the materials they are made from are sustainable.
Bathroom
Moisture can be a problem in the bathroom, just like it is in the kitchen. A bathroom vent fan can help prevent condensation and mold. If you want to make your home more natural, consider the products that you use in the bathroom. Not just cleaning products, but also the toilet paper and other products that you use every day. What effect do they have on the environment when you use them on your body and then they get washed down the drain? Consider looking for eco-friendly and natural alternatives, whether that means choosing an organic shampoo or using a facial scrub that doesn’t contain plastic microbeads.
Living Room
Your living room is another space that can benefit from a lot of natural light during the day. Try to maximize the light by leaving the windows free from heavy curtains and decorating with lighter colors. If you want another way to brighten up this room, a few houseplants can make a big difference. Another thing to consider in this room is how you vacuum. Make sure you use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter so that you filter out any fine particles and dust from the air as you clean. If your living room has a chimney or fireplace, make sure that you maintain it and clean it on a regular basis.
Laundry Room
In the laundry room, everything needs to be kept neat and tidy as being organized helps you find what you need when it comes to wash your clothes. But, if you want to make your laundry room more natural and eco-friendly, you should consider the cleaning products that you use. At CleanHappens.com, you can see some examples of natural cleaning products, like laundry detergent. Switching your products to more eco-friendly and natural alternatives can make a big difference to your home, your health and your lifestyle. Another thing to consider in your laundry room is your use of anything disposable. Consider reusable alternatives for things like detergent bottles. You can buy laundry detergent in bulk, then use a smaller container and refill when necessary.
Bedrooms
The bedrooms in your home should be set up for quality sleep. Making these rooms more healthy and natural helps you sleep better at night. For a more natural bedroom, you should consider removing electronics and gadgets that don’t need to be there. While you might be used to watching TV, or using your cellphone in bed before you go to sleep, it’s not exactly the best thing to do if you’re hoping to easily drift into a peaceful sleep. In fact, it’s a good idea to try to remove as much clutter as possible from your bedroom. Focus on making your bed comfortable – you can choose hypoallergenic and breathable materials to create soothing and peaceful sleeping environment.
Garage
Your garage is usually full of things that you wouldn’t want cluttering up the rest of your home. If you want a natural and eco-friendly home, the garage can be one of the more difficult spaces to tackle. However, there are some things that you might be keeping in your garage that don’t belong in there. For example, it’s not a good idea to store paint in there because fluctuations in temperature can affect it. If you have propane tanks for barbecuing or anything else, you shouldn’t keep them in your garage, either. To improve the health of your garage, improving the ventilation is a good idea. Bringing in more natural light could be good too, so consider adding a window or two to the garage.
Entranceway and Corridors
It’s often easy to forget about your home’s entranceway and corridors because they’re places that you move through, instead of spending a lot of time living in them. These areas can also benefit from more natural lighting. One interesting place to consider installing a window is along a staircase or in a stairwell or landing. Another way to control light in your entranceway and hallways is to install lights that use motion sensors and timers. You don’t need these lights on all the time, so it makes sense for them only to come on when you need them – saving energy and money.
Image source
Basement
In the basement, damp can be one of the major issues that you face. A damp proof course helps to protect the space, but you might be worried about the chemicals it uses. Fortunately, there are more natural options if you’re looking for chemical-free damp proofi systems. Green damp proofing systems also don’t leave any installation holes, which makes them invisible once they’re installed. They’re a good choice for older buildings, in particular, when you might want to avoid doing any unnecessary damage or leaving any marks. With a damp proof course in place, you can protect the structure of your basement and also make it a healthier space to spend time in or to store things in.
Attic
If you have an attic space, you might use it for storage, or perhaps it’s been converted into a livable space. Either way, it can be prone to dampness, just like the basement. Taking care of your roof is important too, but you should also consider how well insulated the space is. Adequate insulation is essential, but you might not want to use the usual insulation materials that are commonly used. There are more natural alternatives, such as wool insulation, that does a good job but makes your home a bit more eco-friendly. Even if you already have insulation, it might need replacing or enhancing if it’s not thick enough.
Utility or Mudroom
A utility room or mudroom is a great place to help you keep your home clean. You can use it to take off shoes and boots, as well as wet or muddy outer layers. It’s also a good place to clean off your dog or keep things like gardening supplies. If you want to make it a more natural space, consider what you use to keep everything organized. Instead of plastic boxes, invest in more sustainable materials for your shoes and coats. Flooring is another part of your mudroom you should pay attention – it needs to be durable, but you can still choose a sustainable material if you want to maintain a natural and eco-friendly space.
Yard
Outdoors, you might also be thinking about how to keep things natural. Of course, you have the benefit of using plants and other living things, but you still need to think about how to make eco-friendly choices if you want to create a natural home. Start by thinking about spaces like patios or decks, where it’s important to consider the materials you use and how sustainable they are. You can also think about the fertilizer, mulch and other products you use to maintain your lawn and garden. If you don’t want to use lots of artificial chemicals, there are more natural ways to do everything from fertilizing to keeping pests away. You can make your own solutions or buy natural gardening supplies.
+ There are no comments
Add yours