Clean and decorate a natural home: these 30 tips help make your house a place where good health flourishes - Consumer guide: how to be an educated consumer

Natural Health, May-June, 2002 by Julia Tolliver Maranan

YOU TAKE TIME AND EFFORT to ensure that the food you eat, the supplements you take, and the medical care you receive all benefit your health. So it makes sense to ensure that your home--the refuge for you and your family--is good for you, too. You'll be relieved to hear that making your home healthier doesn't have to involve drastic renovations, says environmental health consultant Debra Lynn Dadd. In fact, she says, some of the most important changes you can make to your house are the simplest and least expensive.

From Dadd and other experts, we gathered easy ideas for nontoxic cleaning and decorating in the rooms where you spend most of your time: the bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and living room.

The Bedroom

You spend about one-third of your life in your bedroom. "So if there's only one room in your house you're going to focus on making more healthful, make it your bedroom," Dadd says.

Eliminate EMFs

Some researchers believe electromagnetic fields (EMFs)--created by electrical appliances, including alarm clocks, lamps, electric blankets, and televisions--could trigger behavior changes, memory loss, and health problems like cancer. But reducing your risk may be as simple as rearranging your bedroom. EMFs grow weaker with distance, so move appliances like clock radios and televisions seven to eight feet away from your bed. (If you prefer to keep a clock on your bedside table, consider battery-powered or wind-up versions.) If you use an electric blanket, click it on only to preheat the bed before you get in, and then unplug it.

Select Better Sheets

Many sheets and blankets are made with polyester or acrylic, plastics that, when heated by your body, can emit gases that irritate your skin and eyes. Even 100 percent cotton sheets are commonly treated with formaldehyde resin to make them stain- and wrinkle-resistant. Classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a carcinogen, formaldehyde is also blamed for problems including insomnia. And it's difficult to remove from sheets. "It decreases each time you wash them, but it never completely goes away," Dadd says. To avoid formaldehyde, don't buy sheets that say "easy-care" or "permanent press" on the label. Or consider untreated organic cotton sheets; one source is Real Goods ($32 to $202; 800-762-7325; www.realgoods.com). Cotton flannel or jersey sheets are another healthy option because they're not treated with chemicals.

Launder Your Linens Safely

Because you spend hours in bed, wash bedsheets in a dye- and perfume-free detergent to reduce your exposure to these ingredients. Natural home writer Annie Berthold-Bond recommends two dye- and perfume-free products: Seventh Generation Free & Clear Natural Liquid Laundry Detergent (50 ounces; $5; 800-456-1911; www.seventhgen.com) and Ecover Natural Laundry Liquid (53 ounces; $8; 800-449-4925; www.ecover.com). Or make your own gentle soap for sheets, says natural housekeeping expert Sandy Maine. This recipe, from her book Clean, Naturally (Interweave Press, 2001) includes lavender to help you sleep. Mix 1/4 cup clay powder (available at natural food stores) and 2 tablespoons lavender essential oil (Lavandula angustifolia) in a 2-quart container. Stir in 1 cup borax (also found at natural food stores), 2 cups baking soda, and 1/2 cup sodium lauryl sulfoacetate, a mild detergent derived from coconut oil, available from Maine's company, SunFeather Natural Soap Company (24 ounces; $10; 315-265-3648; www.sunsoap.com). This makes about 4 cups; use 1 cup per load.

Hang Healthy Curtains

Curtains made from natural fibers like cotton, linen, or silk are healthier than those made with polyester and acrylic, plastics that can emit irritating gases when heated by the sun. Dadd notes that many stores, like Eddie Bauer Home and Pottery Barn, now carry curtains made of natural fibers like cotton and linen, but organic fabrics (grown without chemical pesticides) are harder to find. Fair Trade Naturals offers a limited selection ($41; 888-662-4367; www.algomaya.com/store). If you prefer blinds, choose metal or real wood over plastic, which will emit potentially irritating vapors into the air.

Scent Your Storage

Homemade sachets add a pleasing fragrance to drawers and closets, and certain kinds repel moths, eliminating the need for mothballs. (Mothballs contain paradichlorobenzene, a volatile chemical that can cause damage to your kidneys and liver when inhaled for long periods.)

Berthold-Bond offers this recipe for a mothproofing sachet: Gently combine 1/2 cup each of dried lavender, rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), and peppermint (Mentha piperita), 1 to 2 tablespoons cloves (Syzygium aromaticum), and 1 tablespoon each of dried thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and ginseng (Panax ginseng). To make small sachets, spoon this mixture into cotton teabags. For larger sachets, use cotton handkerchiefs or bandanas. Place the plant mixture in the middle, gather the edges together, and tie with a ribbon.

The Kitchen

You spend more time cleaning your kitchen than any other part of your house. Here's how to make the job easier and safer.