How To Make Your Home Greener, Safer & More Comfortable

Our homes should be the havens where we can retreat to and rest. We all know how great it can be to just stay in and relax on a weekend! In your little corner of paradise, there are many factors that contribute to a calming and friendly atmosphere. Luckily, there are several ways to create such an atmosphere—a home where you can rest easy knowing that you are safe and your home isn’t leaving a horrible impact on the environment. This post is by no means exhaustive but goes over a few easy and important things for you to do…

Clean up the air

Often, we overlook what is in the air we breathe. It’s important to have good air quality since it impacts our lives tremendously—indoor air pollutants are a risk to your health. Headaches, dizziness, nausea, and eye, ear, nose, and skin irritations can be traced to poor air quality in some circumstances. And nobody wants any of these!

While going out and buying an air purifier might seem like the obvious answer to your air quality problems, a cheaper and more natural solution is houseplants. Certain plants are fantastic for improve the air quality in your home, pulling toxins and dust from the air. Plants are also known to make people feel better, lowering blood pressure and stress levels. Check out the many beneficial plant types and take your pick!

Ensure your home is well-insulated

Especially during the frigid winter months, nothing beats a warm and cosy home. At the same time, there’s nothing worse than a poorly-insulated, chilly home. That’s why it’s so important to make sure there are no ways for cold air to blow in and hot air to escape. Take some time—this will only take a weekend or two—to look for draughts throughout your pad.

Common culprits are gaps in and around your doors and windows, as well as your loft space. Make sure that there is no condensation or fogging in the pane and that the frame is intact. If not, you can attach draught excluders or make a few repairs. For your doors, apply adhesive excluders along the edge, fill in keyholes with some wool, or install a mail slot with brushes to block cold air. Also, make sure your cavity walls, in particular your loft, have enough insulation.

Check your central heating

Related to your home’s efficiency, checking your central heating system is crucial to a green, safe, and comfortable house. If your heating is running without any hitches, you can fully enjoy a warm and cosy home without spending a ton of money. A malfunction-free system also means there is no risk of dangerous carbon monoxide leaking. Take a good look at your boiler and the rest of your system to make sure everything is alright.

Together with a properly-insulated home, central heating that is in its optimal condition means you won’t have to crank up the heat any more than necessary. And that translates to more money in your wallet! Schedule a checkup by a registered professional or, if necessary, upgrade to a more modern system—in some cases, the energy savings down the line will outweigh the upfront costs.

Go natural for your cleaning solutions

For cleaning your house, there are plenty of natural options that don’t use harsh chemicals. These smell much nicer (just compare them to the strong, synthetic smell of non-natural cleaners and you’ll know what I mean) and are cheaper. And for most cleaning jobs, you can even make your own recipes to save even more money.

Basically, if you want to go down the natural route when cleaning, white vinegar and baking soda are your best friends. They can clean almost everything. As such, these two ingredients are found in the majority of natural cleaning supply recipes you’ll find online. And speaking of recipes, here is a great list of recipes for homemade cleaning solutions.