by Thomas Maurer
Creating healthy and eco-friendly homes has become a focus for more and more people in recent times. At first the organic food movement took off. Organic fabrics came soon after the organic food movement. Now thanks to market demand and the entrepreneurship of many talented individuals, there are a range of organic and natural products available for the home.
However out of all areas in the home, I believe that the bedroom is the most crucial for creating a healthy space. It is the place you relax and unwind. It should be nurturing and comforting. It should not be a place where you are exposing yourself to unnecessary toxins in everyday products that you take for granted.
Switching to a green and healthy bedroom can be an expensive process. This is especially the case if it means buying organic linen and bedding or even switching to an organic or natural mattress.
But there are small steps you can take that allow you to green up your bedroom on a budget.
Use Dust Mite Spray
Dust mites are microscopic arachnids that live in your bedroom by the millions. They feed on dead human skin cells, which is what makes up 80% of household dust. Dust mainly settles in the carpet and on the bed and this is where most of the dust mites in your bedroom live.
Dust mites themselves are not harmful, but their waste product does cause an allergic reaction in some people and a less severe reaction in others.
For those people allergic to dust mites you have the option of buying reasonably expensive organic allergy bedding.
Alternatively you can purchase quite a cheap organic spray that neutralizes the allergen from dust mites. It doesn’t kill the dust mite but then again neither does allergy bedding. Rather it makes the allergens less irritating so you can cope.
Trying to kill dust mites is a losing battle because they will always come back. It is best to accept this and just focus on reducing the allergic reaction.
Regular Cleaning
Keeping your bedroom clean reduces the amount of dust and therefore the number of dust mites. Wiping with a damp cloth rather than a dry one will keep dust particles from becoming airborne.
Baking soda, vinegar and lemon are effective natural cleaners and prevent the need for you to purchase harsh chemical based cleaners.
These are the substances that people cleaned their homes with for hundreds of years before modern day spray and wipes came out. They are just as effective today as they have always been and are much healthier for you.
Coffee As An Odor Remover
The bedroom can be a haven for odors from shoes, dirty clothes or dampness. Coffee grounds left out in a saucer or a bowl can be used as a natural and effective way to deodorize a room as they absorb odors.
This is a much better option than spraying your room with chemicals to try and produce a nice aroma. That tactic merely masks one smell with another anyway. The coffee actually removes the bad odor.
The quality of the coffee is not a concern and therefore it is very cheap if you purchase a budget brand.
Salt As A Dehumidifier
Running an electric dehumidifier can be expensive. You can purchase dehumidifying products to place around the room and hang in the cupboard that are not electrical.
Yet you can also make these cheaply and easily at home with regular salt. Just leave it in a bowl or container and it will absorb the moisture in the room. This saves a lot on the power bill.
Get a House Plant
Having some living greens in a room brightens it up but also makes it feel much more welcoming. Increase the oxygen flow in your bedroom by getting a house plant and improve the quality of your air.
Rather than purchasing an air filter this in effect becomes a natural air filter.
Think About Cost Vs Value When Buying Bedroom Products
There is a large range of natural and organic bedroom products on the market these days, from mattresses to comforters, pillows and sheets.
The organic and natural products tend to be more expensive than their counterparts. But this is not a reason to dismiss then immediately for budgetary reasons. Think about cost versus value.
Lower priced products are not necessarily better because they often wear out faster. A more expensive product that lasts twice as long is often cheaper in the long run. It pays to consider this fact when you are making large purchases.
Organic and natural bedding products are often not just healthier but also tend to be of higher quality. So you receive a double advantage in terms of value. It does cost more up front but if you can afford the outlay it may be worth it down the track.
(Thomas Maurer is passionate about creating eco-friendly living spaces. He writes about healthy bedrooms and natural and organic bedroom products at his website Luxury Organic Mattress.)
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