You can implement many strategies to ensure your home is greener, environmentally friendly and less toxic, both for you and for the earth. This is part 1 of the way to detoxify your home to ensure it is greener.


1. Pot plants
Pot plants are natural air filters, which help to detoxify and improve the air in the rooms that they reside in - they are much more effective (and cheaper) than the air filters that can be purchased in shops. Research shows that plants absorb toxins such as cigarette smoke, pollution from car fumes, carpet, wooden floor lacquer and even the fumes given off by new furniture (from the lacquers, glues and even fabric coverings). Plants just suck up all these toxins and release good-quality oxygen into the air around them. Plants basically take in all the rubbish and release all the excellent oxygen to ensure the air is healthy and breathable.

The most effective benefit of having plants inside your home, especially if you have an apartment, is that the plants are providing more oxygen into the air, by removing some of the pollutants from the air around them. This is positive both for you and for the earth. Less pollution means less greenhouse gases and this is what will help reduce the toxic load on the planet.

The best types of plants that help to humidify and freshen up stuffy environments are: Mexican cacti, spider plants, ivy, rubber plants and gerbera daisies.

So if you live close to a main street, in a busy city or just want to improve the quality of air in your apartment or house, why not get yourself a lovely, health-giving plant to help your improve the air you breath.

2. Showerheads
It is really simple to install an energy efficient showerhead to reduce the amount of water that comes through, which means less use of hot water, less energy usage. This is a really simple, cost-effective way to reduce the amount of water used. Many areas of the world are experiencing drought conditions and if everyone had an energy efficient showerhead, it would reduce a great deal of stress on water usage.

Remember, water is a precious resource, without which all life would perish, so use it wisely.


3. Native plants in the garden
Plants which are native to the area you live in are usually more hardier and will survive longer, need less gardening and less water. This puts less stress on the water supplies in your area.


4. Composting
This is a great way to get rid of natural waste, which is unbelievably beneficial for your garden and helps to reduce the amount of garbage in our dumps. Ensure you separate all your plant-based garbage into a separate container at home, in order to take it to the compost heap in your backyard on a regular basis. Compostings is an excellent way to keep your plants, trees and shrubs healthy that is free! There can be initial costs in setting up the compost bin, but there are equally simple ways to make your own, at no cost too. All the plant-based waste you put into the compost bin will decompose and provide excellent food for your plants when it is ready to be spread around the garden.


5. Use pavers/tiles
Instead of using concrete in outdoor driveways, pavements and exposed entertainment areas, consider using tiles/pavers instead. Concrete heats up very quickly and gives out heat, which means that if there is a concreted area near your house, it will radiate that heat toward the house, making it hotter and making it necessary to use air conditioning to cool the house. The Paver/tiles on the other hand, are much cooler in temperature, do not radiate heat to surrounding areas, are much more aesthetically pleasing to the eye and can even be placed so that vegetation grows in between the tiles/pavers.

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