So often I talk about small changes you can make at home TODAY — because that’s usually what we’re looking for – a quick change or fix. Which is completely fine I might add. But where do you start when you’re ready to make a BIG change. You know, like replacing flooring or improving your air flow at home. Where do you start with some of the overwhelming home ideas — or which one do you start with?
I think it’s so important to not only be doing small things every day to improve and keep your home moving towards being as low toxin as possible, but I also think it’s important to keep a pulse on bigger projects and changes moving forward. Many of us are either in one camp or the other: Either we live for the big home changes and forget the everyday habits or we only do the small improvements and forget about the big home ideas we can work towards in the future.
While these day to day habits are the ways to keep your space healthy on a regular basis, the big- change home ideas are the ones that will make a drastic change in one step. Really, the overall health of a home is dependent on two factors. First, you have to stop bringing toxic chemicals and products into your space. Second, you have to bring in fresh air and adjust the indoor climate to dilute products and materials that will remain in your space.
With each of these steps you can babystep small changes as well as take massive steps forward with some BIG changes to your space. A small change like keeping shoes out of the house will reduce some of the toxins that enter your space on a daily basis. In comparison, if you take out all your synthetic carpeting and replace it with a low or no toxin smooth flooring, you’ll reduce toxins that have been in your home constantly. Both changes are important, but there’s a time and a place for each one.
When you’re ready to make one of those BIG healthy home ideas, you want to really go about it the right way. A small habit change might not take a lot of planning or research on your part, but you can implement it quickly. A big change will take detailed planning and likely some research in order to find the best products and method for whatever home ideas you’ll be working towards.
And then there’s the question of WHICH big project is best to start with. It of course all depends on your home and your budget, but let’s break down this list of healthy home ideas that will give you the most improvement in your space.
HOW TO EVALUATE HEALTHY HOME IDEAS:
No matter how you think you’re going to proceed, it’s important to do some evaluating of your space and home before getting too deep into any new home ideas. These are the areas that I recommend my clients evaluate in order to ensure the project will align with not only their healthy space wants as well as their budget
Surface Area: The bigger the surface area in your home, the more beneficial a project can be when it comes to replacing current materials with toxin free materials. Flooring is a great example of this. Flooring covers an extremely large surface area in the home and so replacing flooring will likely reduce more toxins from your space than perhaps switching out your drapes.
Frequency of Use: I always ask, is this a space or item you use every day or multiple times a day? If the answer is YES, then it’s one of the home ideas that gets moved to the top of the list. For example, your mattress is something you use for 6-8 hours every day. In comparison to the towels that you use for 5-10 minutes every day.
Investment/Return: This may not apply to all of the items on your home ideas list, but it will certainly be beneficial to look at for others. You won’t likely get any sort of return on items you buy like furniture or bedding or mattresses. BUT, you will get a return on adding new flooring to your space. And some things you add to your house will get a bigger return when you go to sell your house than others. This might not be important to you, however, which is fine. It’s just an item I strongly recommend you consider.
Waste Not: Sometimes we want to improve spaces in our homes that just don’t need anything at the moment. If you just installed carpet last year and now you’re changing your mind, see if there’s a way to reuse that carpet either yourself or if someone else can before just tearing it out and throwing it in a landfill. Try to wait until an area of your home truly needs an update before replacing perfectly good components of your home.
TOP HOME IDEAS FOR A HEALTHIER SPACE
Flooring: Flooring is at the top of my healthy home ideas list for a reason. It has a HUGE surface area in your home and it can be one of the best “bang for your buck” improvements. If you have small kids (who likely play in close proximity to the floor), then this is a big one to consider.
The great thing about flooring is you can either DIY this project OR you can hire it out. Either way, opt for a dustless install method and block off any vents during the work.
Investment Range: $$$
Toxins Reduced: Formaldehyde, polyvinyl chloride, PFCs, PFOAs, VOCs, Phthalates
Surface Area: Large
Frequency of Use: Constantly
Resources: Low Toxin Laminate Flooring
Countertops: Countertops are an item that can generally earn you more when you go to sell your home and I think it’s also an important component to consider for health as we cook and eat off of this surface.
Investment Range: $$$$
Toxins Reduced: Radon, PVC, Formaldehyde, VOCs, Styrene, Benzoic Acid
Surface Area: Medium
Frequency of Use: Daily
Resources: Healthy Kitchen Counter Tops
Air Exchanger: If your home is a smidge older even, you won’t have this incredible tool to keep your indoor air as clean as possible. An air exchanger can be added on to just about any HVAC system and it essentially pushes air from inside to the outside and brings air inside, runs it through a filter and brings it into your space. It does exactly what it says: exchanges air. It’s a great tool to improve the indoor air quality inside.
Investment Range: $$$
Toxins Reduced: Radon, Formaldehyde, VOCs, CO2
Surface Area: Large
Frequency of Use: Constantly
Resources: Home Renovations for a Healthy House
Furniture: While you won’t be able to get anything back from purchasing healthy furniture, you’ll have your own peace of mind. Replacing furniture can be a really big undertaking when it comes to your home and there’s a lot of research that goes into the quality, health, comfort and design of the items you choose.
Investment Range: $$
Toxins Reduced: Formaldehyde, Flame Retardants, VOCs, Phthalates, PVC, PFOAs, Synthetic Fragrance, Chemical Antimicrobials,
Surface Area: Medium
Frequency of Use: Daily
Resources: Affordable Non Toxic Couches, Non Toxic Furniture and Accent Pieces
Mattress: We sleep on them for a third of our day and they’re a bigger investment which is exactly why mattresses make the healthy home ideas list for bigger improvements.
Investment Range: $$
Toxins Reduced: Formaldehyde, Flame Retardants, VOCs, Phthalates, Benzene, PFOAs
Surface Area: Medium
Frequency of Use: Daily
Resources: Non Toxic Mattresses
Water Filter: While a water filter doesn’t necessarily fit into all of the categories we talked about, it does involve water, which is our life source. Because water is used so many times during the day from drinking to bathing to cleaning, it’s an important part of our healthy living environment. With a simple filter you can cut out many contaminants that you may be ingesting.
Investment Range: $$
Toxins Reduced: Chlorine, Pesticides, Nitrates, Bacteria, Heavy Metals
Surface Area: N/A
Frequency of Use: Constantly
Resources: Water as Part of a Healthy House, Healthy Water Toolkit, Chlorine in Drinking Water
Woodwork & Doors: This will ultimately depend on what type of doors and woodwork you have at home. Solid wood is probably a good option to keep and perhaps just reseal with a healthy sealant. If you have medium density fiberboard (MDF) or another pressed wood, it may be in your best interest to change the item out. However, just know that replacing woodwork in an entire house can get quite expensive, and if you can work room by room you may be able to keep the project in your budget.
Investment Range: $ – $$
Toxins Reduced: Formaldehyde, polyvinyl chloride, PFCs, PFOAs, VOCs, Phthalates
Surface Area: Moderate
Frequency of Use: Daily
Lighting: EMFs produced by lighting can take its toll on your brain’s ability to process and calm. It can also lead to insomnia, sleep disturbances or depression. Simply changing out your lighting to a less toxic version that emits fewer EMFs can be really helpful when you consider how often we’re using and under lights in our home.
Investment Range: $
Toxins Reduced: EMF
Surface Area: Moderate
Frequency of Use: Daily
Resources: Healthy Light Bulbs
Windows: Windows are another investment that you usually see a decent return on when selling your home. Windows are in most spaces of the home and many times they get warm from the sun and climate outside, which means they’ll be off gassing inside your home at a decent rate. Changing them out could improve your space quite nicely.
Investment Range: $$$$
Toxins Reduced: Formaldehyde, Polyvinyl Chloride,, VOCs, Phthalates
Surface Area: Moderate
Frequency of Use: Constantly
Resources: Eco Friendly Windows
