Tag Archives: healthy home

Feng Shui for Health: Your Healthy and Eco-Friendly Challenge

by on June 11, 2011 in Blog, De-Cluttering, General, Green and Sustainable, Health

One of my certification course students from Phoenix sent me over her healthy-home to-do list from her course homework. I thought was so good, I thought I’d blog about it. See if you can check them all off yourself! (And if you need a consultation in Phoenix area, let me know and I’ll put you in touch with her.)

1. Avoid sponges, waterproof gloves and cleaning products treated with antimicrobial chemicals.. Anti-microbials are pesticides added to protect the life of the product, not the health of the user.

2. Cleaning the air is like making sure your lungs work. Open a window each day to let fresh air in and pollutants out:especially when cleaning.

3. Shed some light. Allow yourself and your pets health promoting qualities of natural daylight – artificial light all day, everyday can develop into health problems and depression.

4. Replace toxic cleaning products with healthy alternatives; incorporate white vinegar and baking soda into laundry regime.

5. Clean dryer lint filter after each use; your dryer will work more efficiently and you will reduce air particles in your environment.

6. Stop using fragrance laundry products. Healthy, fresh laundered items have no smell… better yet, air dry the sheets, you will love it.

7. Put a water filter on your shower head… Over 2 gallons of potentially toxic water is emitted through the skin in one shower. Cost $25.

8. The smell from the dishwasher is a chemical cocktail from an enclosed shower. The heat volatilizes the chlorine in the water activating air pollution. Add chemicals and fragrance from soap and phew.

9. Avoid colored towels and toilet paper. Those bright fluffy towels contain chemical dyes from aniline (coal tar) – to make the color last additional chemical toxins are added. So if you have faded towels, where did the dye go? partially in the laundry and partially absorbed through your skin.

10. 100% cotton is better than polyester but beware it is the most contaminated of all natural fibers, seeds are treated with fungicides, herbicides and pesticides. The healthy choice is certified organic cotton and toilet paper bleached without chlorine, unscented and uses no dyes. Having a recycled content is also a kind choice for the planet.

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Need a Breath of Fresh Air? Here’s how to clean your air and beautify your home.

by on June 7, 2011 in Health

Asthma sufferers, second-hand smokers, and anyone living in a building (that narrows it down, eh?) take heed! A few indoor plants may seriously save your life!

I’m still getting questions about indoor plants ever since that last article on the subject. So, here’s another bit of info you might find interesting:

TED presentation on indoor plants and air quality

By adding indoor plants to your home, you can literally clean toxic chemicals from the air. Here’s NASA’s top plant picks:

Areca Palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) 

Mother-in-law’s tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata) - best for bedrooms

Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)

Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis)

..and for flowering plants, use Chrysanthemums and Gerbera daisies!

 

Keep planting, and help change the world’s atmosphere, one plant and one household at a time!

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Breathe Easy: Top 10 Tips for Your Lungs

by on March 11, 2011 in Blog, General, Green and Sustainable, Health

Feeling stiffled in life? Maybe its your indoor air quality! Let’s feng shui it with some tips from the American Lung Association, because, believe it or not, according to them, indoor air quality is more often than not more toxic than outdoor air because of all the synthetic construction materials and products in homes these days. Here is the American Lung Association’s Top Ten Tips for a Healthy Home‚ especially for people have ANY breathing maladies:

1) Declare your home a smoke-free zone. Secondhand smoke can cause serious health problems, especially for children. Ask smokers to take it outside.

2) Good ventilation reduces indoor air pollution. Leave doors between rooms open most of the time for better air circulation. Open windows when possible to allow for a good supply of outdoor air. Install exhaust fans in bathrooms to remove moisture and chemicals from the house.

3) Keep humidity levels low with a dehumidifier or air conditioner, as needed. Clean both regularly so they don’t become a source of pollutants themselves. Fix all leaks and drips in the home, as standing water and high humidity encourages the growth of mold and other biological pollutants.

4) To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, have all fuel burning appliances inspected by a qualified technician once a year. Install a carbon monoxide detector near your sleeping rooms.

5) To keep dust mites and other allergens to a minimum, clean regularly. Wash bedding materials in hot water (at least 130°). Consider replacing carpet with area rugs that can be taken up and washed often.

6) Fit your gas range with a hood fan that exhausts the air outside. Use the fan or open a window when cooking to remove gas fumes.

7) Check commercial cleaning products and pesticides for toxic ingredients, and use according to manufacturer’s directions. Ventilate your home well when using these products. Consider switching to less toxic alternatives.

8) Test your home for radon. Use a radon test kit labeled “Meets EPA requirements.”

9) Never leave a car or lawn mower running in an attached garage or shed. Avoid the use of unvented heaters or charcoal grills indoors.

10) Call your local Lung Association at 1-800-LUNG-USA for more information about avoiding indoor air hazards in the home.

Do what you can to up your air quality and spread the word!

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What harm can electromagnetic fields do?

by on January 15, 2011 in Health

Yesterday, my acquaintance neighbor stopped by today to offer me his 17″ computer screen as he was getting a new computer.(When you’ve got your house feng shui’d like I do, opportunities are always knocking. :) ) I asked him how his wife was (she has terminal cancer) and he said, “sleeping.” He then added that he needed to get a new heating blanket for the bed because it has been so cold lately, and she doesn’t like getting into a cold bed. Well, at that point, I could not contain myself. I said, you do know that my job is to create healthy homes for people, right? (He’s an older gent with a Parkinson’s-like shake, so I didn’t want to presume he remembered.) So off I went. “Do you unplug it after you heat up the bed?” “No, but we do turn it off.”

I continued, “All I can say is that 100% of my clients who have issues of arthritis, rheumatoid issues and MS have electric or electromagnetic fields (meaning the invisible, “charged-up” field that is often created when electricity is being drawn) where they spend a lot of time – usually in their bed. And 100% of my clients who don’t – don’t.” I then invited him inside so I could go get my Gauss meter (that reads EMF) and my electrical field meter. I showed him that even though a lamp, heating blanket (or other electrical item) is of, it still has an electrical field around it because the electricity is still in the cord all the way up to the switch. And that is any part of your body is in the field, your body is conducting electricity. “Now, here’s how I explain what electrical current does to the body: Electricity causes our cells to vibrate, the vibration causes friction, friction causes heat, and heat causes dryness, and dryness causes stiffness – AKA arthritis.”

“Now, if your body is in these fields long term, it doesn’t do such a good job of repairing itself at night (that’s why we sleep), and when it “gets behind,” it tends to shows signs of dis-integration – AKA illness. So, if you spend a lot of time in a massage chair, touching a heating pad, blanket, or have ANYTHING plugged in touching your bed (those sleep number beds maybe???) then you’ve got the potential of sleeping in these fields. You also have a possibility of sleeping in these fields if there is something plugged in on the other side of your headboard wall. (There are actually other ways that I could go on and on with, but I think you get the idea.)

He then asked for my advice, and of course I told him I’d be glad to run over when she woke up to test the bed area. Hopefully, once she feels better after her chemo treatment, he’ll take me up on it.

So, what does this have to do with you? I’d like to hear from you. Do you have arthritis, MS or some other disease in this “family?” If so, do you know if you spend a lot of time in electromagnetic fields? Do you use a heating blanket, pad, massage chair, spa tub, have radiant floor heating, fluorescent lighting, or otherwise spend a lot of time around electricity and items with electrical motors (even hair blowdryers have big EMF fields!) If you do, I’d love to know how you’re holding up!

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