Cleaning your home and making improvements aren’t just about aesthetics and function, these also are good ways to help improve your quality of life. While there’s always a sense of satisfaction that comes from a deep cleaning, a bit of tidy organization, and upgrading and/or installing new things, the most impact these can have is on your health. We don’t often think of it, but it’s nevertheless true: a new appliance might use less energy and look great, but it’s also a way to live better.

Sure, there are always things that must be done to maintain a healthy living environment, like changing water filters and air conditioning filters, but, there are common improvements and upgrades that can be of the same benefit.

Best Ways to Keep Your Home Healthy

We simply feel better living in a clean environment, it’s what you might call a kind of positive psychological impact–knowing that everything is clean and functioning properly. What we don’t often stop to consider is how those things we leave out of our “to-do” lists can, over time, begin to have an adverse affect on our health. You see, healthy living isn’t just about diet and exercise, it’s also about our homes.

“The benefits of improving your home go far beyond just cosmetic changes for your home. Although home improvement projects can raise the value of your home and make it easier to market it when the time comes to sell, many projects have other benefits for your health as well.” —RedBeacon

To make your home a more healthy place to live, you can do certain things. The good news is, most of these don’t require anything more than a few household products and some elbow grease. Here are some ways to make your home a healthy place to live:

• Closets and other storage areas. Though we don’t really think about it, though we do access these areas all the time, clean, organized storage spaces can have a positive impact. These are the places we tend not to tend, meaning, we don’t go in a clean them. The result is build-up of dust and other tiny debris that clings nearly invisibly on everything we retrieve and use.
• Pantries and cabinets. Here again, is the same principle. We let items sit and age in these places and only think to throw them out when they look and/or smell funky, or, when the expiration date can’t be ignored.
• Vents and filters. The air vents in your home collect a whole lot of stuff, and, most of the time, it’s visible around the outside. Regularly cleaning vents and replacing filters in fans, faucets, and air conditioning returns make for a better living environment.
• Appliances. We go in and out of the refrigerator on a regular basis, usually several times each day. What we don’t do often enough is to pull everything out and clean every nook and cranny. This should be done not only for the refrigerator, but also, the microwave, oven, and dishwasher. Pay a little attention to the clothes washer and dryer, as well.
• Countertops. Be it the kitchen countertop or bathroom vanity, these get a whole lot of use and little real cleaning. While we generally wipe these down, we should be sanitizing them regularly to keep bacteria and other harmful things away.

Last, but certainly, not least, is that dreaded, awful mold. Because we live in a subtropical climate with plenty of warm, moist air, mold is a continual problem. In the shower, under and around faucets, and near the air handler, all make for great growing environments. Keep all of these clean, make replacements when necessary, and, you’ll enjoy better home health.