I’m still always learning new things about being green, but I’m passionate about keeping my family, and especially my son, healthy. It starts with a healthy diet, plenty of fresh air, and the choices I make in our home. I want to share with you what I do to make sure our home environment is healthy and eco-friendly.
1. Be aware that new furniture outgases
All furniture outgases fumes for quite a while when you first buy them. Therefore, look for quality wood furniture, preferably unfinished and made from recycled and sustainable materials. If possible, keep them outside for a few days before you bring them inside the house. The same goes for new mattresses!
2. Buy organic fabrics whenever possible
Landon has stuffed animals made from organic cotton. They are more expensive, but I rather buy less stuffed animals than be cheap with toys he will be in very close contact with. And when I looked for bedding for him, I found sheets made out of organic cotton at Target that cost only a few dollars more than the non-organic cotton sheets.
3. Use eco-friendly non-VOC or milk paints
I recently painted our living room and bought non-VOC paint. I don’t want any of us to breathe paint fumes, and the few extra bucks per gallon of paint are well worth my knowing that I’m doing the right thing for our health. I also believe in supporting companies who make those eco-friendly products and rather buy from them.
4. Buy dye-free, fragrance-free laundry detergent and buy dryer balls to eliminate dryer sheets
One day I’m going to make my own laundry detergent — you can find recipes for that on Google without a problem. For now, buying fragrance-free detergent is a no-brainer to me since I don’t get why laundry detergent has to be blue or green, and fragrances are often toxic and can result in health issues. The cost is the same — just look for the word “free” on the bottle or box.
And I haven’t used dryer sheets in years. Smelly dryer sheets offend my nose and since I bought dryer balls for a few bucks, I use those in our dryer and eliminate the costs and waste.
5. Air out dry-cleaned clothes
For the most part, I buy clothes that doesn’t have to be dry cleaned. If you have clothes that needs to be dry cleaned, look for an eco-friendly cleaner. If that is not an option, take off the plastic bag at home (make sure to put a knot into it before you throw it out to avoid a suffocation hazard and recycle it) and hang the clean clothes outside for a while so the chemical fumes don’t get into your house.
6. Ventilate your home
Unfortunately, indoor pollution is one of the nation’s most pressing health concerns (according to the Environmental Protective Agency). The air inside of our homes is often way worse than the outside air, so it is imperative to ventilate your home periodically, even during the winter months. Wait for the warmest time of the day and open the windows for a few minutes — and buy plants that are known to greatly improve air quality.
7. Take off your shoes
Shoes track in the most dirt into our home, and to keep crawling babies and kids who play on the floor from harm, it is best to have a “no-shoes” rule for your house (and ideally, avoid carpets altogether).
I hope these tips inspire you to look into protecting your children from harmful exposures and to make easy, eco-friendly changes for your whole family. As you can see, it’s easy to make little changes in your home to make it more green, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot.
Do you have a green tip you want to share with other moms? Leave me a comment. Thanks!
Rachael Clugston says
July 10, 2012 at 3:23 AMWe buy less – we simply less stuff, and anything that is finishd with, we donate or give away, trying to stay minimalist. We also have a small apartment so that we know we don’t have the space to accumulate. Were live in Germany, where there is a lot of recycling, but we also used the A & V shops as well. We also have bikes instead of a car. For leisure, we get out into the bush, or camp, or go rafting – anything that instills a love of nature in our kids. And we have minimal toys – they craft using packaging etc. On a bigger scale, we do experiments with solar powier etc and discuss weather events in the world, to show our “eco footfrint”…
Angela (Toucan Scraps) says
January 31, 2011 at 9:08 AMGreat post Dagmar,
We have a special “mat” by the door – the only place for outdoor shoes to go. One of our friends was a missionary in Thai Land a few years ago and she still follows their tradition – A rack of guest slippers in the hall by the door, space for guest shoes in the shoe shelves and a bench for them to change footwear on. I think it’s neat!
forget laundry detergent – just use washing soda (works fine, even on nappies), if you need a scent then put a few drops of essential oils in the softener draw.
and a great home-made disinfectant (works better than the chemical stuff too) is to put 20 drops of pure lavender oil in a spray bottle full of water (remember to shake well before using)
Debbie Gartner says
May 23, 2010 at 9:31 PMGreat tips. I especially love the take off your shoes. That has so many additional benefits including easier clean up.
And, what I’ve noticed is that customers that take their shoes off have their floors in much better condition. This in turn reduceds the waste and cost for replacing new floors – regardless of whether that is carpet (so replace less often), hardwood (resand less often) or tile (grout lasts longer).
And, for those that do have carpets, I recommend using a professional cleaner once a year (I know a great one – Carlan Cleaners). That will get rid of a lot of the dust and germs and help lenghthen the life of your carpet.
I know this is prob. bad business for me since I’m in the business of selling floors, but I tell it like it is.
http://www.westchester.floorcoveringsinternational.com
sandra (hicksgirl93) says
December 3, 2009 at 11:46 PMGreat tips, I had no idea that furniture outgases! I certainly agree with you about the no shoes policy in the home. One thing that I do with my family is try to make sure that we use natural chemical free products on our bodies.
Melodie says
August 13, 2009 at 12:02 AMThese are great, and not your regular Green How To’s, so thanks for this! We are in the process (still!) of trying to rid our home of plastics, at least in the kitchen. I take all bulk foods I buy out of their plastic bags and put into a glass jar. If you don’t, the plastic eventually leaches into the food. I remember having a plastic bag of pastry flour for ages that I kept forgetting I had and then when I went to use it it smelled of plastic and the bag was practically falling apart around it. Yuck! We also don’t use anything aerosol and try to use green or homemade cleaners as much as possible.
Erin says
August 10, 2009 at 6:25 PMAnother easy way to go green is cloth napkins! They’re so easy to use, and you just toss them in the wash with your clothes, plus you can use them to wipe the table after a meal. Think of all the paper waste that cuts down on a year.
Sarah says
August 10, 2009 at 11:21 AMWe believe that greening our home includes the 3 Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle). We use cloth diapers, try to air dry as much laundry as possible and recently bought cloth napkins. It’s the little things that count when your going green!