With a new year in swing, it may be time to audit your living conditions to create a healthy home you can take pride in. Easily transform your personal space by improving indoor air quality, leaving shoes at the door, and better organizing.
A healthy home benefits your health by reducing exposure to dirt, germs, and toxins from Salmonella to VOCs. According to the Insulation Institute, as many as 40% of American homes have a health or safety hazard from mold or chemicals. Plus, a clearer space free from clutter makes it harder for destructive and disease-spreading vermin to hide and nest.
In this article, we'll cover the three main home health improvements you can start today.
What Three Ways Can I Create a Healthy Home?
A healthy living environment should be a place where you can breathe easily, be free of safety hazards, and enjoy mental clarity. Simply changing filters, using indoor-only footwear, and utilizing storage can create an ideal living situation.
Improve Air Quality
The path to home wellness can start with simple ventilation techniques, like opening doors or windows for about 10 minutes daily to let in fresh air. However, you should also regularly change your HVAC or furnace filters.
Start using your range hood every time you cook and clean its filter. Using back burners and lower heat also reduces the amount of potentially harmful particles, volatile organic compounds, and moisture that can impact your respiratory health.
When vacuuming, use one with a HEPA filter that can capture mold spores, dander, and dust. Remove lingering dust mites built up on surfaces, as well as your bedding, as dead skin is one of the main components of dust.
Use damp microfiber cloths that will trap these particles instead of spending time around. Don't forget to regularly wash your bedding and curtains to remove those mites.
If you don't have time to clean your home properly or as often as needed, let expert professional home cleaning services in South Florida handle the job.
Declutter
You can simultaneously improve living space, mental health, and physical safety with some decluttering. According to studies, doing so can lower your cortisol levels associated with stress.
Other cognitive health benefits include:
- Better sleep
- Improved mood
- More concentration from less visual stimuli
Take a weekend to go through your closet, garage, kitchen drawers, etc, so you can sort items you're no longer using. Donate discarded items to charity or someone you know. Earn extra bucks from a yard sale or selling to a local consignment shop. Businesses such as Trashie and GotSneakers provide cash or store rebates in exchange for old apparel.
You'll improve your home's wellness and safety by eliminating hiding spots and potential food sources for insects and rodents. Freeing up space also reduces the amount of hidden dust, mold, and mildew that can harbor allergens.
Remove hazards you can trip over, or that may fall on you. Create an ongoing organization system with drawers, hangers, labels, color codes, and regularly declutter every few months, seasonally, and/or annually.
Remove Shoes
Several Asian and Polynesian countries are known for not allowing outdoor shoes in the house for good reason. As a professor of biomedical sciences at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, Lisa Cuchara told CNET in 2025, "Your shoes are probably dirtier than the bottom of a public toilet seat." Shoes can drag in bacteria, germs, and even allergens like pollen into the home.
Consider initiating a no-show policy. Make it easy by keeping a shoe rack or shelf near a door for everyone. Keep house shoes or flip-flops for guests.
How Often Should I Clean My Home?
Overall traffic, health concerns, seasons, and high-touch points like doorknobs affect your ideal cleaning schedule. Pay immediate attention to dishes in the sink, spills, and messes.
Weekly and biweekly cleaning can include mopping, vacuuming, dusting, and bathroom cleaning. However, you may want to do quarterly deep cleaning under your appliances, wash windows, and vacuum window treatments.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are the 7 Principles of a Healthy Home?
Several principles of a healthy home include dryness, cleanliness, safety, ventilation, pest management, decontamination, and maintenance.
Dryness helps prevent mold growth and water damage that can weaken structures and attract pests. Cleanliness removes dirt, germs, and chemicals that can affect your overall health. Safety measures, such as decluttering, prevent injuries from falls.
Ventilation is vital in reducing exposure to carbon monoxide and other VOCs. A pest-free home prevents exposure to diseases they may carry, especially if they infest food. Chemicals such as lead and asbestos can lead to severe allergic reactions and disease.
In addition to regular cleaning, staying on top of repairs and inspections help keep the home healthy and well-maintained.
What Are Red Flags in a House?
Being safe in your home means looking out for red flags pertaining to structural strength, water damage, and electricity. Problematic electrical wiring, unmanaged leaks, and poor foundation can be very expensive to repair, as well as create safety and health hazards.
For example, a foundation with water damage can breed mold, which can circulate throughout the air and get into your lungs.
What Is the Correct Order to Clean Your House?
When cleaning two or more floors, it's best to start from the top and work your way down. Also, work from the back of the house to the front to ensure the dust and dirt do not fall onto untreated areas.
Start in spaces where you need to allow a cleaning solution set for a while, such as your bathroom, and then dust other areas. The last step in cleaning should be the floors, which you sweep and mop up debris left from previous cleaning.
Thrive in a Healthy Home
A healthy home is worth the extra work to maintain, as it affects your mental and physical health. Regular cleaning can reduce harmful germs, allergens, and contaminants that can lead to allergic reactions or disease. Removing items you're no longer using can help someone else in need while reducing safety hazards. Breathe, sleep, and walk around more easily with home wellness tips anyone can do.
Did these healthy home tips inspire you to learn more about optimizing your living space? Check out our website for more lifestyle coverage.
This article was prepared by an independent contributor and helps us continue to deliver quality news and information.