Category Archives: Going Green

Going Green, Going Healthy, Health, Life, Lifestyle, Tips

Simple Upgrades For A Healthier Home

07/29/2020 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

home, health, family, living room, furniture — Image credit.

Keeping your home a healthy space for you and your family is important now more than ever. Not only is it important to make your home good for your family’s physical health, but it is also important for your home to be clean and organized for your family’s mental health. You may have started a conversation with your family about using the home to improve the health of your family, but there are other things to keep in mind as well.

Your mental health is deeply affected by your surroundings. When it comes to the things you do not like about your home, it can raise your levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Too much of this will keep your body in constant flight-or-flight mode. Over time this could cause adverse effects on your body.

When you start a home improvement project, life can sometimes get in the way causing you to leave it incomplete. Almost-finished projects can leave you feeling overwhelmed and stressed out. If you are looking for a way to keep your house from driving your crazy, both mentally and physically, here are some easy tips.

Keep Allergens And Harmful Chemicals At Bay

During the springtime, keep the pollen out of the house by shaking or brushing off outerwear. It may also be a good idea to avoid hanging your clothes outside on a clothesline during this time to prevent any allergens from getting into your clothes. If you have pets, keeping a brush and wet wipes nearby can be useful.

When taking your clothes home from the dry cleaners make sure your clothes are aired out fully. Remove the plastic bag before setting foot into your home to ensure that any lingering perchloroethylene can evaporate.

Consider adding mats on the inside and outside of the door. Allergens, bacteria and lawn chemicals are all things that can easily be tracked inside the house if not first caught on a doormat. Make sure that your doormats are washable.

Filter Your Drinking Water

There is nothing wrong with drinking water from the tap if that is all that you have, but seriously consider filtering your tap water. You can do this either by installing a water filter faucet by the kitchen sink or getting a pitcher with a water filter inside. Filtering your water can easily cut levels of lead, chlorine and other harmful chemicals.

Fill Holes And Gaps

Maybe you have done a lot of home renovations over the years. Make sure that your holes and crevices you forgot about or were too lazy to fix are caulked and covered. This is a very important step to creating a healthier home because doing so can avoid disease-infested mice and insects from crashing in your home. Whether you are covering these holes or replacing a failed caulking session in the kitchen or bathroom, this is a very important step.

Install Right Materials For Your New Floors

Instead of installing carpet and vinyl, use linoleum, cork, tile wood or stone. These are natural materials and they do not have phthalates. Some of these materials like linoleum prevent bacterial growth. Compared to carpet, all of these materials also do not collect as much dust. That is great news for your allergies if you have them.

Be Selective About Furniture

Home renovations sometimes call for new furniture. On your search for the perfect couch or end table, make sure that the furniture is chemical-free. Your house furniture should be filled with batting made from natural fibers. Your pressed-wood furniture and cabinets should also be made with little or no formaldehyde. By following this tip, you can prevent yourself or your family from becoming ill. Find more info about this by doing some quick research on the safest furniture for a healthier home.

Take Note Of The Humidity

Your home should be at a humidity level of 40 to 50 percent. Any higher and it can offset the growth of mildew and mites. It is also important not to let it fall below 20 percent. Setting up a humidity monitor will easily track your humidity levels. If your home is often in the 20 percent humidity range, you should consider getting a humidifier and finding out where to buy distilled water so that you can introduce some good, pure air into your home. Some can act as both a humidifier and an air purifier.

Take Care Of Your Lawn The Organic Way

Keeping up with your lawn may be an easy way to upgrade your home, but make sure that you stay away from harsh chemicals. They can weaken the defense against drought and disease. You also want to be cognizant of your contributions toward runoff pollution in your local rivers and lakes.

Going Green, Health, Life

Are We Recycling As Much As We Should Be?

03/29/2020 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

There is no denying that we all know the importance of doing our bit in order to protect the planet. This is something that all businesses and individuals know; we have to do more if we want our world to not only survive but thrive.

At the most basic level, we know that we need to recycle items, rather than simply throwing them in the bin. But are we doing enough? Unfortunately, the statistics show that there is still a long way to go. In the U.S., 262.4 million tons of trash are produced per annum. However, only 67.8 million tons of trash gets recycled. This shows that there is a significant way to go when it comes to recycling the trash that we are responsible for. The quest to be sustainable is still far from being complete.

This is why we all need to do our bit and educate ourselves on recycling. Knowing what to recycle, and how to recycle it, is key. After all, you cannot simply throw everything in your curbside recycling bin. The likes of batteries, electronics, and aerosol cans can be hazardous, and so there are specialist processes in place for recycling items like this.

For more details about recycling and the right way to go about it, check out the infographic below. You will find out everything that you need to know about recycling and where we stand on the matter right now.

Infographic Design By educationconnection

Going Green, Life, Lifestyle, Parenting

Easy Ways To Go Green With Your Family

07/09/2019 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Responsibility is one of the most valuable lessons a parent can teach to their children, especially in this day and age. The planet that we call home is in trouble, with waste and pollution all around us. While we may have become more aware of the impact that we have on the Earth, we must ensure our children know of this too. After all, before long, the world will be theirs to take care of, just like it is now ours. Living an eco-friendly lifestyle can seem complicated, but it’s actually quite simple. With that in mind, here are seven easy things that your whole family can do to go green.

go green, family, eco-friendly, recycle, earth — Picture

1. Make A Meal Plan

Reducing waste is a big part of living a green lifestyle. While material waste is definitely an issue, food waste is becoming a huge problem in many places around the world. Thankfully, this is one that is very easily solved. All that you have to do is only buy groceries that you know for certain you will eat. By creating a weekly meal plan, you give yourself a list of all the food products that you need for the week. You can create these meal plans as a family so that everyone is happy.

2. Bring Your Own Bags

When you go shopping, make sure that you have your own bags before leaving the house. While single-use plastic bags used to be commonplace, they are slowly being weaned out of grocery stores and supermarkets. Many shops now charge for such bags, while others refuse to stock them at all. Tote bags are much more eco-friendly, as they can be used again and again. If you buy a few plain ones and some fabric paint, you could allow your kids to decorate them.

3. Ditch Single-Use Items

Being a parent isn’t easy. As well as working and looking after the children, there are household chores that need completing. While it can be tempting to eliminate the washing up by using paper plates and plastic cutlery, the waste this produces just isn’t worth it. Before you buy stainless steel knives and forks, however, you should learn everything you need to know about bamboo cutlery. This cutlery works just as well as steel but is much better for the planet.

4. Grow A Vegetable Garden

Starting your own vegetable garden will benefit the entire family. Learning about where food comes from and the process of growing it is incredibly beneficial for children, as is the fresh air that they’ll get every time they help you with the gardening. Plus, you won’t have to travel to get fresh vegetables. This is incredibly convenient for you, but it also means that you won’t have to drive, which limits pollution. If you don’t have a green thumb, you could buy from other growers.

5. Turn Off The Electronics

Kids these days tend to be in front of screens longer than they are away from them. While this can harm the health of your child, it also contributes to pollution. Because of this, you should set limits on how long your children are allowed to watch TV and play their consoles. Once this time is over, you should turn off those electronics at the wall and unplug them from the outlet. Simply leaving these devices on standby will continue to use electricity, costing you and the planet.

6. Use Natural Cleaning Products

The cleaning products we tend to find in supermarkets and grocery stores are far from healthy. In fact, they contain incredibly harmful chemicals, which can damage the environment and your health. Before you send your kids off to do their chores, therefore, you should make your own cleaning products. There are many natural ingredients that you can use for all sorts of cleaners, including lemon juice and vinegar. These clean just as well, but aren’t nearly as dangerous.

7. Take Walks To School

As tempting as it may be on cold mornings, you should avoid driving your little ones to school. If at all possible, you should instead walk with them or ride bicycles together. This is a great way to exercise and reduce your carbon footprint at the same time. If the distance or weather makes walking or riding impossible, then consider carpooling instead. This would mean that fewer cars are on the road, which would benefit the environment in a big way too.

Going green isn’t nearly as difficult as most people think, so follow the advice above and start making positive changes with your family.