Detox Your Home

When living in Shanghai, there are good and bad air days. Despite the fact you can’t control the air outside, you can make it a better place inside.

I want to share three major things I changed in my home that improved the overall feeling of my place.

AIR

Air inside our homes is often much more polluted than outside. If you want to have a healthier home, check and research the materials of new products you are buying to make ecological choices. Sofas, carpets, paint, and even toilet paper can contain toxic elements.

To get fresh oxygen in inside, open your windows daily on good air days (skip on bad days and increase the speed of your purifiers).

Adding plants in your home can help remove pollutants. Plants are natural air purifiers. Place one large plant per 10 square meters or 10 – 15 smaller ones for the same area. I love the Mother-in-Law’s Tongue (or Snake Plant) as they are easy to maintain, absorb carbon monoxide, and transform carbon monoxide into oxygen – these plants give your room an oxygen boost! The Areca Palm is also an excellent air purifier with easy maintenance. But please don’t limit your choices; go and find out yourself. There is research by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the US) that reviews plants, what they purify, and how to maintain them.

Another way to improve the air quality is by using essential oils. They remove metallic particles, increase atmospheric oxygen, and fill the air with a fresh, aromatic scent. Orange, citrus, and lavender oils are my favorite because of their antiseptic, purifying, revitalizing and respiratory benefits. When buying essential oils, buy oils that are organic and 100% pure and not blends. For example, “with jojoba/almond” means they are diluted and not pure essential oil.

CLEANING PRODUCTS

Since you use cleaning products several days a week, I find it important to choose healthy options that are environmental friendly. My favourite cleaning products are all natural: warm water, vinegar, baking soda, and essential oils.

These are my regular cocktails:

Kitchen/stainless steel/oven: baking soda and warm water
Bathroom or kitchen tiles: baking soda, dishwasher soap, and water
Bathroom/shower/stainless steel: warm water, vinegar, and essential oil drops
Laundry softener: vinegar with essential oil drops
Windows: warm water, vinegar, and essential oil drops

My favourite essential oils for cleaning are orange and citrus. They make your house smell like fresh laundry dried in the open air.

Personally, I love Soapnut Republic and I buy their floor cleaning, laundry, and toilet cleaning products. These cleaners are environmental friendly, non-toxic, and use essential oils as perfume. If you live in Shanghai, give them a try. I love them!

GOOD ENERGY

Some rooms carry good energy while others might feel heavy, cold, and uninviting. That might be because the room’s energy is off. Here is what you can do to improve it in your home:

Feng Shui. It’s complex to describe in a few words, and I can’t even begin to master it, but I’m definitely inspired by Feng Shui and use a few tips. Imagine water is flowing in your room; would the water flow smoothly to all areas of your house or would it be congested in a forceful way? Would the water flow slowly in curved lines (which is considered good Feng Shui) or rather quickly and powerfully (considered bad Feng Shui)? The water – and so energy – should be able to flow freely. Also, it’s important to have enough light everywhere, so I suggest adding light sources in darker places. Repair broken items around your home as they contribute to the leakage of energy. Here’s a good article and video that gets you started with checking the Feng Shui of your home. Access it HERE.

For the bedroom, remove everything what’s not sleep related. That includes your laptop, tablets, cell phones, work-related literature, chargers, and TVs. Electronics especially interfere with your sleep pattern—just remove them, there’s no excuse. And if you use your phone as an alarm, well, put the phone on flight mode. But better yet , buy a simple clock. In the many fake markets in China, you can find nice ones for just 25 RMB.

Keep your home tidy! In a clean and tidy home the energy flows better. Use the KonMari method to purge and never relapse again! I’m a fan of KonMari because it helps keep my place clean, organized, and clear forever and ever.

Use essential oils to purify the energy in your home. Yes again, essential oils… they are amazing and can be used in many different ways.

What to do when you feel like there’s a lot of negativity going on, like conflict or anger? Try purifying the air in your home with white sage. Do it by burning dry white sage and let the smoke diffuse the spaces with negative energy. The smoke from dried sage changes the ionic composition of the air (removes the negative energy) and can have a direct effect on reducing our stress response.

And the last tip is to place a Himalayan salt lamp in your home. It purifies the air, helps with poor sleep, reduces static energy, is good for people suffering from asthma and allergies, and improves your mood!

I hope I inspired you with these tips. Let me know which ones you will try!

Tanja